Week 2: Having fun yet?

Monday, March 30, 2020
by Sam Vandekerckhove

Week 2: Having Fun Yet?

I had a dream earlier this week where I went to work. There wasn't anything remarkable about the experience, and I found it odd how the only memorable aspect was that I physically left my house and went to the office. I once knew someone who attempted to rationalize dreams as 'unconscious desires'. If that's truly the case, then I really need to get out more. Lol, amirite? 

"It's easy to stand in the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone."

Mahatma Gandhi

Renate and I have received a number of suggestions and recommendations for topics to cover in this blog. Keep them coming (email us: engwellness@uwaterloo.ca)! For this week's topics we'll focus on more important themes encompassing our new virtual realities; screen time, online learning, how to keep to (or develop a new) routine, and more items of e-ntertainment of course! 

Check out the drop-downs below for this week's tidbits. If you ever need to chat, EngWellness is still here for you!

Staring into Space - How To Manage Screen Time

Growing up (and to this day), I've spent a solid chunk of time in front of a screen. Whether that be my clunky, off-white colour monitor of the 90's, the well aged 1st gen LCD-LED hybrid of a TV that still works, or my impressively new smart phone, interacting with a screen makes up a big portion of my day. Now with our remote capabilities and priorities, we have even more time to spend as the screen is now our primary conduit for social interaction and connection. As great as the technological marvels are, our eyes aren't designed to stare into the abyss that is a Windows Update for hours on end. Eye strain, headaches, blurred vision, and other nasty impacts can result from an overuse of our digital windows, and it's important to do what we can as we can to try and reduce the possibility of these impacts. Here's some common causes:

  • poor lighting
  • glare on a screen
  • improper viewing distances/angles
  • poor seating posture
  • uncorrected vision problems
  • a combination of the above!

It's important to remember to break from your screen once in awhile (and we get this isn't easy these days). Something that has worked for me is setting a 'screen-off time' for an hour before I go to bed and at least an hour after I wake up. Throughout the day is important, too! As a guy who once spent many a meal hunched over a tiny screen while shoveling calories into his gullet, I now take a few minutes to enjoy my meals screen free! Do your best to leave your phones down when you head to the washroom as well (yeah it's gross but I'm sure many of us have done it). If you're even unsure if your screen situation warrants a change, start by tracking how much time you spend in front of one. Let's just say, my personal results were shocking. A five minute break makes all the difference. 

Here's some more suggestions on how to cut back or adjust if you feel it's necessary:

Finding your Groove - Advice on Building a Routine

Last week we briefly touched on the importance of having a daily routine, but today we'll flesh that out a bit! Given our newly self-isolated realities, it's understandable that our usual status-quo modus operandi isn't directly transferable to the new socially-distanced, self-isolated norm. In working with several students (along with myself) on this subject, there are a few different ways we could go about sticking to our standard routine (modestly) or establishing a new one. Let's take a look! 

One Routine to Rule Them All

Routines are awesome as they are essentially automated habits and activities we do without much conscious thought, and our brains love any opportunity to compartmentalize and structure itself to save precious (my precious...) resources. The power of a routine is in it's consistency, and this is exactly the same power that makes them difficult (and in many cases, uncomfortable) to break. We've all had our established routines thrown to the wind courtesy of COVID-19, but with some (modest) adjustments, we can leverage the power of our routine and get back on track! Try your best to get up at the same time that you would for your work or lecture. Stick to your usual breakfast time, usual exercise routine (as best as you can), and hygiene practices as well. I'm writing this blog from the comfort of my own home, while still wearing dress pants and a collared shirt! With the lack of a morning commute, I've been doing my best to establish good practices for that newfound free time. My dog is loving the additional walks (spoiled pup). 

A New Routine for a New You

There are others who feel they would benefit more from discarding their standard routine and devising an entirely new way to stay productive. Some have shared that they have found success in establishing separate sets of lists and accomplishing items on each accordingly. I've seen an academic-stuff list, a co-op work stuff list, and a personal stuff list system where the intention is to complete a few items from each list throughout the day (some follow a standard 'one list at a time' rule whereas others bounce around them to keep the day interesting). I know of a few students who benefit from rigorously scheduling their days (what they are doing every hour) and keeping a big reward at the end to motivate them (we love you, positive reinforcement!).

There are millions of different ways to structure your day, but taking the time to do so will give you and your brain more resources to focus with! Here's some more suggestions to assist with keeping your routine or making a new one:

Online Learning - The Final Frontier

Online Learning, the final frontier. These are the chronicles of the institute, UW. It's academic mission, to explore strange new modes of instruction. To seek out new teaching methods and technologies. To boldly go where no school has gone before. 

I've been rocking out to another run through of Next Gen and enjoying every tasteful moment of it. So yeah, the Spring 2020 term is completely online, and I know that's a concern for many of you. I think we can all agree there isn't much that's ideal about this, but there are some strategies we can look at to keep us productive, motivated, and engaged with online content. It's also helpful to consider some additional perspectives once we've rationalized past the expected aprehension. Here's a few thoughts from some of your peers about next term:

  • The online courses for S2020 are not going to be standard online courses. These are courses designed to be in-person and are being modified to support remote learning. It might be helpful to not judge the syllabus before you've seen it. 
  • There is always the 100% drop period if the term really isn't working out (although consult with your program/advisor about this too)
  • Faculty are thinking outside of the box. How do you design an online course with a lab component? Or hands on work? There are bound to be some exceptionally unique and creative ideas to support this during the Spring. 
  • The potential to review/re-review lectures in their entirety is helpful for studying. 
  • This could be an opportunity to grow your learning styles and reinforce your ability to self-learn. Both useful skills for post-secondary and beyond. 

As a former student myself, I did not do well with online or self-directed learning. It's taken a lot of work to become productive without prompts, but difficulty does not dictate possibility! One first step is to make sure you're not encouraging a Self-fulfilling prophecy. Just because you've struggled with online classes before doesn't mean you will struggle with them forever. An amazing aspect about the human existance is our ability to adapt, learn, and grow. You CAN do this, especially if you try. Here's some handy resources to support you with your goal to succeed in the Spring:

EngWellness Recommendations

Staying Active

Staying Informed

Staying Well

EngWellness also has a series of videos that we've uploaded to YouTube to help support you all. Here's more for this week!

Previous Videos:

Don't forget that EngWellness is here to support you! You can always book a remote meeting with your Student Wellness Coordinator! (shameless plug).

E-ntertainment

Thanks again for taking the time to read, and please let us know if you have anything you would like to see covered or anything you would like us to share in a future post! Connect with us at: engwellness@uwaterloo.ca. 

Stay Safe and Healthy!

-- Sam and Renate

Thanks again for taking the time to read, and please let us know if you have anything you would like to see covered or anything you would like us to share in a future post! Connect with us at: engwellness@uwaterloo.ca. 

Stay Safe and Healthy!

-- Sam and Renate