Residence Life
Pilots Prevent
March 30, 2021
If “unprecedented” was the word of the year for 2020, “fatigue” has got to be at the top of the list for 2021. We all have it: Zoom fatigue, quarantine fatigue, mask fatigue, staring-at-the-same-four-walls-and-computer-screen fatigue. The struggle is real.
It’s hard to stay motivated this time of year even in the best of times, but this academic year has been particularly tough on students (not to mention faculty and staff too). “A lot of the burnout is exacerbated by COVID and Zoom fatigue in addition to the normal burnout students might feel,” says Ian Robins, Residence Life’s associate director for student care. “A big chunk of students are feeling stressed, anxious and overwhelmed, and that’s affecting their classes, or their classes are affecting their mental health.”
As the spring semester barrels closer to the finish line, Robins and the rest of Residence Life’s student care team wants everyone to know there are some simple ways to manage stress and stay motivated, and it starts with reaching out.
“One of the biggest things students say they really miss is interactions with faculty or other students, so I talk to them about how you can still make those connections even if you’re in an online setting,” says Robins. “It’s hard for them because they don’t have those touch points to make connections in person, but they can send an invite in Teams or Zoom and say, ‘Hey can you study tonight at 10:30?’ ”
Another way to cope? Talk things out with someone, whether that’s your professors, hall director, someone in the Health and Counseling Center, or campus ministry. “There are a lot of feelings of failure for not doing well in an online world, but I remind students that they didn’t come to UP for that. Right now, they’re not getting to have that experiential style of classroom learning they came here for, so be gentle with yourself. It’s ok to take a step back. Share what’s going on with your professors. Make a plan to catch up. It’s not a normal year and normal semester, and faculty understand that.”
It’s also important to find ways to carve out some downtime and distance yourself from work or school. “It’s tough when your room, where you relax and sleep, is also where you work,” says Robins. “Students will say, ‘I’m on my laptop the entire day’ because they’re not giving themselves a break. They need to create some structure around their day, some different spaces in terms of time that will give them a break, and then be intentional about that time.”
That means building in study breaks—and sticking to them. Getting up and going to bed at regular times. And getting outside for regular exercise, even if it’s just a quick walk between classes.
“The intentionality is important,” says James Peña, Residence Life’s wellness education and prevention program coordinator. “It’s not going to happen by accident. You need to plan for it. And if you fall off in a few weeks you need to revisit it.”
Peña says the best thing students can do is take a few minutes a day to unplug and assess how they’re doing. Are they eating well? Getting enough sleep? Falling behind or feeling overwhelmed? What can they do to reverse the trend? “It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day scrolling on your phone,” he says, “but put it aside and ask yourself ‘How am I doing?’ If you can spare yourself from your phone for 10 minutes and unplug, check in with yourself, you’ll hopefully catch those early warning signs and get some help.”
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