[Mallika]

Hello and thanks for sharing!

COVID-19 lockdown is taking a toll on all of us; with our regular routines disrupted, it's hard to suddenly adapt to doing all our work and assignments from home.

I'm a college student myself and I can understand how different it is doing assignments from home. In fact, I was under a very strict lockdown whereby I couldn't even go out for a walk, because I had previously travelled from a high-risk area. I can give you a little tip from my experience over the past few weeks of "attending" college virtually - plan your day-to-day activities in small chunks.

I know that there are many who find it hard to follow a plan/timetable, but a big reason for that is that they are assigning too many things for themselves in a single day. Perhaps you could say:

- listen to 2-3 lectures (2 hours)
- half an hour break/lunch
- do a bit of my assignment (1-2 hours)
- And call it a day!

Start on your assignments early so you won't have to cram having to do them; these strange circumstances are stressful as it is! You'll find that getting little chunks of work done each day goes a long way in boosting your morale!

I also found that exercising helped a lot. I just jogged on the spot for 20 min every second day, or followed from home workouts by Danielle Peazer. Go out for a walk. Maybe try your hand at cooking, baking or a new hobby! I am currently learning how to decorate a cake and it's the little incentive I give myself after getting some college work done.

I understand how difficult it is not being able to see your family; tell yourself that this is a passing cloud, and better times will come. Remember, humans have lived through tougher times like war; no doubt our current circumstances are no cakewalk, but it probably could have been much worse. Stay strong!

If you feel your day isn't as productive as you would have liked it to be, don't be too hard on yourself. Tell yourself tomorrow is another day and you can start on a clean slate the following day.

Take care!