For the fall semester, The Equinox is excited to announce the continuation of the roundtable series. This time around, the roundtable will be hosted by Entertainment Editor Nancy Sanchez-Diaz. You will still see familiar faces such as Jhoana Merino, Anthony Covino and Sonal Tulsyani discuss various topics important to college students today.
In this particular roundtable, the team discusses different ways to deal with stress during these unprecedented times. Many students are finding it difficult to adjust to a routine that fits their needs while being able to learn remotely.
Check out this video and more on our YouTube channel. We also post frequently on our Instagram account.
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TRANSCRIPT
{0:12}
[Nancy] Welcome to the second episode of the fall 2020 roundtable series.
I’m Nancy, the entertainment editor for The Equinox.
We hope the first couple of weeks have been productive for you all.
In honor of suicide prevention awareness month this week’s episode will focus on how to deal with stress as college students.
Some of us are still trying to figure out the best routine in this online environment. Some of us have work internships, extracurriculars and other responsibilities to take care of at home, and this is all on top of having to still deal with the pandemic.
We understand it can be overwhelming so we have compiled some of our best tips to help you manage any stress in your academic professional and or personal life.
A good stress management tool to start with is managing your time wisely. We have Jhoana our News Editor who will tell us how to improve our time management skills to boost our productivity in the long run.
{01:11}
[Jhoana] Thank you Nancy. I’m Jhoana Merino, News Editor for The Equinox.
This fall semester is undoubtedly hitting different, so The Equinox has compiled some tips to help your time management skills especially during online classes. Keeping track of your assignment due dates, tests and quizzes is a must. We suggest keeping a planner or calendar nearby.
If you don’t have one readily available, use the calendar app on your phone. This really helps visualize and gauge time between due dates. This can often get blurred with the monotony of online classes.
Another tip to have is your week schedule on paper somewhere within eye view, such as on a wall or a fridge so you can see it every day and familiarize yourself with the times.
So if you’re forgetful, set alarms on your phone to go off before class with just enough time for you to get on, of course. If you can, always keep your parents informed. Life happens, if distractions cannot be avoided, be sure to allocate time outside of class so you know when you’re free to study or review notes quickly.
In addition to that keep a daily or weekly to-do list and cross them off as you finish. A lot of people like to do this for the self-satisfactory feel. Seeing tangible proof that they finish something helps motivate them to do more this can include things like assignments, readings or other general things like chores.
Keeping separate lists can also help you feel more productive as you can see how much more you can get done in one course as opposed to seeing tasks lumped up with the rest.
It can also help you better gauge how much you got done in a certain amount of time so if you do decide to do daily or weekly lists, make it realistic. Chances are you might not write a five page essay in between classes.
So plan to recently in advance to avoid disappointment or any additional stress. Go easy on yourself.
Post-its are my personal fav– it’s so satisfying to crunch up the whole list after you finish. They’re handy and you can stick them on your wall, desk or laptop where you can see them.
Keeping track of your assignments during a remote semester is difficult but it’s not impossible. Curb the stress by being three steps ahead of it.
And back to you, Nancy.
{03:33}
[Nancy] Thank you Jhoana. Solid time management skills are extremely fundamental to keeping our stress and our worries at bay.
Now we can comb relentlessly through all of our responsibilities and duties but it’s also important that we remind ourselves to keep each other safe and that we take good care of ourselves.
This is especially pivotal now that we are heading into the fall and winter seasons, which means COVID-19 poses a much greater risk.
Next up we have Sonal who will remind us of the necessary covid precautions to take at home.
{04:05}
[Sonal] Good afternoon, my name is Sonal and I am a staff writer for the FDU Equinox.
The start of the fall semester has brought many changes to the school concerning campus reopening, housing, athletics, library services, tutoring services and dining services. These changes can increase stress levels in college students.
According to the CDC this increase in stress levels can lead to difficulty sleeping or concentrating changes in sleep or eating patterns, worsening of chronic health problems and worsening of mental health conditions.
Luckily there are many resources and many ways to manage stress. There are a myriad of ways to help manage COVID-19 related stress.
The CDC advises to know what to do and where to get treatment if you are sick and concerned about COVID-19.
The CDC and McLean Hospital advise being knowledgeable and staying aware of the true facts about COVID-19. They also advised to take a break away from the news by taking up a hobby such as reading or watching TV.
The Medical University of South Carolina suggests writing as a hobby. The McLean hospital and the CDC also advised to stay connected with other people by making plans to participate in virtual activities together.
The Medical University of South Carolina suggests managing anxiety by finding a mantra to focus on, doing breathing exercises and meditating.
The FDU Metropolitan campus preside provides counseling services through S-CAPS. When in doubt, ask for help. It is extremely important that you take care of yourself mentally and physically.
{05:46}
[Nancy] Thank you. So now something we also want to stress is the importance of taking a break, because we are only human after all. Anthony could you tell us a little bit more about that?
{06:01}
[Anthony] Yes I can. So, hello everybody, so it’s Anthony and I will be back talking about the importance of taking an off day or even just needing a break from remote learning for this semester coming up.
So, since we will all be remote learning for the majority of the semester it is essential to try to not procrastinate with work. The feeling of not going into a live instruction will be one of the weirdest feelings we will feel in the future when we do go back, but for now we have to adapt using technology even more for our learning.
It can be very tough to sit in front of a computer for the whole day and it’s easy to doze off or be and become distracted at home.
Even though the work will be much different compared to in class it is important to refresh after all your classes. Practice the same positive habits you did before virtual learning yeah earlier, like, earlier in the spring.
Stay on top of Webcampus with all your announcements and work. The most important thing is to take as many needed breaks from your computer. This would definitely help with relaxing your mind and your brain.
Just take a day to regroup, sit down, watch your favorite movie, read your favorite book, find a good healthy way to distract yourself from all the stress with school and work… many things.
For people with non-stop zoom sessions, this is a good way to hit the reset button on your mind and thought process preparing you for a clear mindset and objective for the following week of your classes.
Back to you Nancy.
{07:23}
[Nancy] Thank you, Anthony.
I hope everyone can find some time for themselves, even if it’s just for 15 to 30 minutes. We all deserve the same amount of time and energy that we pour into our own work.
Last but not least, I would like to personally highlight the significance of getting enough sleep. It sounds so simple yet the power that sleep holds is extraordinary.
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood institute, sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life and safety.
People who are sleep deficient are less productive at work, in school, they take longer to finish tasks, have a slower reaction time and make more mistakes.
After several nights of losing sleep– even a loss of just one in two hours per night– your ability to function suffers as if you haven’t slept at all for a day or two.
Make sure you’re getting at the very least eight hours of sleep at night. You’d be surprised just how much of a difference it can make.
{08:30}
We hope that these tips and tricks from our staff can help you all better deal and manage any stress or worries that you may be having.
To reiterate, S-CAPS or student counseling and psychological services are still being offered. Should you need someone to talk to, all counselors are available remotely and are offering phone consultations by appointment.
Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. depending on availability. Do not hesitate to reach out to them if you are feeling distressed.
I want to thank you all for tuning in to this week’s episode and I want to encourage you to keep tuning in every other week for a new episode of our roundtable series.
Follow us on our social media accounts, which will all be linked down in the description below, and don’t forget to share and subscribe.
See you next time.
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