My Tips For College Online

 Hellooo from BÁC. As you all have seen from my Instagram I've moved back to Dublin. Even though everything has been moved online for college I've decided to stay here for the time being. I've done one lockdown in Donegal so I don't know how I feel about another. Anyways, I hope you are all surviving theses crazy times and making the most of it. All colleges are online now for 2 weeks and most of us will have modules online for this whole semester. This means a lot of screen time so it's important to have a solid routine so that you don't burn yourself out. Here are a few of my tips for surviving college online;

1. Have your designated work space:

Even if it's just your kitchen table it's important to have an area that you use every day for work. I sit at the kitchen table with my roommates for our lectures every day. We make a point of tidying away all our college work once we're finished so that the kitchen/ sitting room is back to a chill out zone. It's probably best not to do your lectures from bed..... there I said it! This will just make you unproductive and you'll start associating your sleep space with your work space and that is a recipe for sleepless nights. It's also easier to switch off if you have to leave the area you were working from when you're finished. 

2. Pretty Stationery:

This might be just me but nothing makes me happier than pretty stationery. Whenever I buy new pens or notebooks I have so much motivation to do work. So my advice for college online would be to buy some pretty stationery that make you excited to use them. Some of my fav shops for stationery are;

• Sostrene Grene
• TK Maxx
• Tiger
• Mr Price
• Dealz

3. Always Plan Your Downtime:

Something I've started doing recently is planning ahead what I'm going to spend my evening doing. I have a little notebook that I write in everything I want to do. So every night I spend an hour or two chilling or having a self care evening. Self care can be anything from just making a cup of tea or painting your nails. I find that if I have time to relax every evening then I will have a much better sleep. It's also good to have a goal at the end of your day. Especially now with sitting in front of a screen all day it's good to have a something nice planned in the evening to reward yourself.

4. Make Sure To Get Your Steps In:

I aim to get at least 10,000 steps a day. I either track it on my watch or phone but even if you can't track them try and get a good walk in every day. Even if it's just a 30 min stroll the fresh air will make you feel so much better. If you're into working out or running make time for it because it'll keep you active during these very inactive days in front of laptops.

5. Have A Morning And Night Routine:

You're lectures might start at different times but if you're getting up at the same time every day it'll be much easier to maintain. I get up every morning at 7 (not on weekends) and I do the same thing every morning;

• Get up and go get a glass of water from the kitchen. (Gets me out of bed and the cold water wakes me up)
• Put on sports gear and do a 15 or 30 min Pilates workout. (All depends on how I feel that morning)
• Afterwards I shower and get ready for the day. I still make sure I get out of pj's for lectures because I can't focus if I'm too comfy.
• I watch some Youtube then with my breakfast and coffee. Most of the time I have overnight oats already made up so all I have to do is grab a spoon.
• I relax for the morning then until my lectures start or else I work on Instagram etc.

My night time routine varies most nights but I still do the same things;

• Put on some chill music and do my skincare routine.
• Write my day plan for the next day.
• Put my phone on bedtime mode (I highly recommend doing this to help you switch off and track your bedtime every night)
• I read then for 30 mins or so.
• Sometimes I do meditations on Youtube if I'm finding it hard to sleep.

6. Make The Most Of The Days Off:

Do something whenever you're free and you'll feel so much better for it the days that you're stuck at your desk. Go out for a coffee or even just for an adventure. Do something that'll make you feel grateful for having the day off. Make the most of what's around you.

That's all my tips and hopefully they'll help some of you. I'm far from perfect so I obviously can't stick by these things everyday but these are my tips for helping to feel a bit better about this situation.

Chat soon :)

Le grá,

M x