Day: April 15, 2021

Tips for online studying during lockdown

Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com

Transitioning to online studies can be a hard move, especially if you are completely new to online or cloud-based learning. Here are my top 5 tips to help you adapt to online studies and keep your motivations up throughout the semester.

1: Prepare your study area

When you are transitioning from classroom-based learning to studying from home, it is important to have a dedicated space for your learning. This will help you settle in and get into the mindset of studying.

The first thing I did to help me transition to online study was setting up a dedicated desk. I ensured all the important tools for my study were kept there such as my headphones, hard drives, stationery and books. I also added some small decorations to personalise the area so I can feel more relaxed. This has greatly helped me get into the mindset of ‘showing up for work’ at home.

If you live in a shared or confined space, this might not be possible or easy to accomplish. If this is the case, try to claim an area of the kitchen or dining room table and make sure your family or housemates are aware of the space you are claiming for your studies.

Once you’ve setup your study area, treat it like a productive workspace. Make sure you keep your study area tidy and organised as clutter is very distracting and can cause you to lose focus. If your space is not tidy, then set yourself 15-30 minutes before you start to tidy up the area around you. Don’t give yourself too long as that can be a form of procrastinating.

2: Establish a routine – and stick to it!

Once you have created a study space, it is important to establish a regular study routine. Remember, we are all creatures of habit and you can use this to help you get into the mindset to study. Setting aside dedicated and regular blocks of time is just as important as creating your study space.

We all have different preferences on how and when we like to learn, and this is one of the benefits of online or home study. It is important to find out when you are most productive, and if you prefer long study sessions or a lot of short bursts.

Once you have established your preferences, then remember to schedule in your study time accordingly. How much time you devote to each of your study sessions will depend on your subject’s estimated study hours, workload and work/family commitments.

3: Block out distractions

One of the biggest productivity killers when you’re transitioning to online study is distraction, and our homes tend to be filled with distractions. There’s social media, TV, internet, video streaming, games, YouTube, family, books, and the list goes on…

Blocking out distractions is much easier said than done, but there are some tips and applications that can help you. My first tip is to leave your phone on the other side of the room or in another room. The most important thing is to keep it out of arm’s reach and make it harder for you to procrastinate.

4: Track your progress in milestones, not minutes

When you’ve started up your study routine, it’s tempting to track your progress on the time you’ve spent at your desk, but this might not be the best way to track how you are going.

Make sure you track your progress against your actual study goals as opposed to how long you spent re-reading the same paragraph over and over again.

The easiest way is to set your goals before you start your study session. Think about what you want to accomplish in your study session and break it down into achievable milestones. An example of this can be the goal of catching up on a week’s worth of reading, so your individual milestones might be the articles or chapters you need to read.

Remember to keep your milestones realistic and achievable. Don’t give yourself too much to set yourself up for failure, and don’t give yourself too little that you are done in half the time.

A good way to track your progress is on a to-do list. This can be on your desktop, Word document or using pen and paper. If you want a task tracker with additional features, virtual kanban boards such as Notion, Trello or Asana can help with this. I use Notion since the paid version is free for students. Whatever system you decide to use, just remember to keep it close to you so you’re reminded of all the ‘right’ things you should be working on.

5: Start or join a virtual study group

Making a sudden switch from a bustling classroom environment to the solitude of home study can be a very daunting and difficult switch. Just because you are self-isolating, this doesn’t mean you are alone, many of your classmates are in the same situation as you.

If you’re new to your university or class, then contact your teacher or lecturer to see if there are any groups going, or a way for them to assist you with reaching out to your peers to start a study group.

I hope these tips help you.

Thank you.

How to beat the Covid blues

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

The world as we know it has been crippled under COVID-19 and the pandemic has brought all of us together. Most of us who are studying abroad are privileged to have a roof over us, enough food to eat and seamless access to the internet. And even though loneliness can drive any sane person to the edge, I feel that we’ve countless ways to cope with it.  

But adapting to this new normal is tough. I was miserable for the first two weeks. I kept refreshing Twitter for news updates every five minutes and was giving me so much anxiety that I couldn’t find the energy to move about during the day, eventually I was falling behind my university work schedules.  

By week three, I decided to turn things around. And I want to share them with you, hoping you’ll find a balance and regain some of your sanity as well. 

1. Get your sleep cycle on track:

I can’t emphasise enough how waking up early and going to sleep on time has changed me. Falling asleep when the sun rises and waking up just before sunset not only wrecks your body clock but also makes you feel groggy and gloomy throughout the day. Revive your routine and see how positively your body responds.  

2. Set goals for the day:

Make a to-do list the night before and follow it through the next day. Prioritize the most difficult tasks in the morning and save the easiest for later. Being productive will make you feel satisfied by the end of the day.  

This was not easy for me to do because I love to procrastinate, but I realised that all I needed to do was start and then I naturally picked up the pace.   

3. Talk to family and meet up with your friends in virtual worlds:

Come on, we international students should be experts on this – we depend on social media platforms or apps to connect with our family and friends back home. Although, in some cases you’ll have to do a little bit of investigative work to find out what apps or platforms work best for your home country.  

I also discovered Houseparty, an app that allows me to hang out my friends or play multiplayer games with them, such as the board game Settlers of Catan. Take hold of these apps and beat your quarantine blues. 

4. Discover new hobbies or revisit old ones:

This one’s a no-brainer. We’ve had hobbies we loved before ‘life’ happened. There’s no better time than now to unite with your long-lost hobbies.  

If you’re like me and have no recollection of having hobbies, then find something that you’ve always wanted to do. Have you been interested in taking up sketching? Maybe you’re interested in learning how to build websites? Well, maybe now’s the best time to brush up those skills. 

5. Redecorate your room:

If you think that the poster hanging on your wall has been there for way too long, maybe it’s time for a makeover.  

Change is good and the new and improved appearance of your room might be just the inspiration you’ll need to get back to work. After all, we’re going to spending a lot of time indoors so it’s a good idea to breathe new life into our rooms and make it feel more like home. 

6. Take time out for self-care:

Now that you’re at home, you have no excuse for being unable to drink enough water or not eating healthy or overlooking your skin’s needs. 

While we are spending more time indoors because of COVID-19, taking care of our body and health is even more important but I do not recommend suddenly switching to extreme diets and taking on 14 steps of skincare routine because that won’t last.  

However, take this time to start some healthy habits such as eating food in moderation, drinking eight glasses of water and invest in basic but pragmatic skincare habits.  

7. Keeping up with online classes:

By now, I’m sure our inboxes are stuffed with emails from professors informing us about the latest changes and dozens more reiterating the same, it’s understandable if you feel lost halfway through. Because I did, and I gave up. Then two weeks’ worth of classes came back to haunt me.  

There’s no shortcut or easy way out to deal with this. Hence, I decided to postpone my procrastination for a while. I noted down important pointers such as assessment due dates, Zoom meeting times and forums for class discussion. It helped me feel connected and informed.  

8. The mandatory Netflix:

As much as you stay connected and try to be productive, the need to be distracted can help to keep your mind and emotions in check. And that’s why it might be a good time to watch movies or catch up on your favorite shows.

I had a two-year long ‘must-watch’ list on my phone and now I’m finally getting around to it.

Finding serenity amongst chaos can be a gargantuan task but there’s no competition to see who can attain ‘inner peace’ first. Remember, it’s important to go at your own pace and create new routines according to your rhythm, and it only needs to be enough to get you out of bed in the morning and help you go to sleep with a clear head.  

I hope these tips help you.

Thank you.

Weekend Curfew to be imposed in national capital

The Delhi government has stepped up its efforts to deal with the unprecedented rise in Covid-19 cases in the national capital. The Delhi government has imposed weekend curfew in the Capital city which will begin at 10 PM this Friday and will last till 6 AM Monday morning.

Briefing media in the capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today informed that Malls, Gymnasiums, Spas will remain completely closed in the city whereas Cinema Halls have been directed to function at 30 per cent of their capacity. He also assured the citizens that the situation in the city is under control and urged people not to insist for admission into any particular hospital during this time of pandemic.  

The Delhi government has also directed hospitals to increase the number of beds designated for covid patients. The Chief Minister today reviewed the Covid situation in a meeting with the lieutenant governor of Delhi and Health Minister. AIR correspondent reports, The rapid rise in Covid -19 cases has prompted the Delhi government to further intensify its efforts to curb the spread of the infectious disease.  

Delhi government has decided to impose weekend curfew in the national capital. Curfew passes will be given to people working under essential services and to other people for special needs.

Following today’s meeting, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that more than 5000 hospital beds are still available in the capital. Moreover, hospitals have been instructed to futher increase the bed capacities for covid patients by attaching nearby banquet halls and hotels.

Country reports over two lakh fresh COVID cases today

Corona cases are increasing rapidly in the country. The rapid rise in the Covid-19 cases has increased the active caseloads in the several States and Union Territories. As a result, the recovery rate is continuously declining in India. However, the vaccination drive is progressing smoothly in the various parts of the country.

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has informed today that over eleven crore forty four lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered to the beneficiaries so far. In the 24 hours, over 33 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been inoculated to the beneficiaries.

The Ministry further informed that a record number of over two lakh new cases have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours. With this, cumulative positive cases crossed one crore forty lakh mark. This is the first time when the country has registered over two lakh new cases in a single day since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has said, there are more than fourteen lakh seventy one thousand active cases in the country which comprises 10.45 per cent of the total positive cases. In the last 24 hours, a total of one thousand thirty-eight deaths have been reported in the country taking the toll to over one lakh seventy-three thousand across the country.

Amid the rising new cases, the recovery rate has further declined to 88.31 per cent. The Ministry informed that more than 93 thousand people have recovered from the coronavirus infection within 24 hours. So far, more than one crore twenty-four lakh patients have already been recovered from this infectious disease in the country.

Country reports over two lakh fresh COVID cases today

Corona cases are increasing rapidly in the country. The rapid rise in the Covid-19 cases has increased the active caseloads in the several States and Union Territories. As a result, the recovery rate is continuously declining in India. However, the vaccination drive is progressing smoothly in the various parts of the country.

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has informed today that over eleven crore forty four lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered to the beneficiaries so far. In the 24 hours, over 33 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been inoculated to the beneficiaries.

The Ministry further informed that a record number of over two lakh new cases have been reported in the country in the last 24 hours. With this, cumulative positive cases crossed one crore forty lakh mark. This is the first time when the country has registered over two lakh new cases in a single day since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has said, there are more than fourteen lakh seventy one thousand active cases in the country which comprises 10.45 per cent of the total positive cases. In the last 24 hours, a total of one thousand thirty-eight deaths have been reported in the country taking the toll to over one lakh seventy-three thousand across the country.

Amid the rising new cases, the recovery rate has further declined to 88.31 per cent. The Ministry informed that more than 93 thousand people have recovered from the coronavirus infection within 24 hours. So far, more than one crore twenty-four lakh patients have already been recovered from this infectious disease in the country

Over one crore 28 lakh vaccine doses administered under Teeka Utsav

India has been scaling multiple peaks in its effort to vaccinate vulnerable sections of its population against the COVID-19 virus. The clarion call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of observing a four-day special vaccination drive in the form of ‘Tika Utsav’ culminated yesterday with over 1 crore 28 lakh vaccine doses administered to eligible beneficiaries.

AIR respondent reports, Tika Utsav saw many Workplace Vaccination Centres (CVCs) operational across the private and public workplaces. In a span of four days, the nation also witnessed remarkable scaling up of number of functional COVID vaccination centres. With the mantra given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to achieve complete utilisation of resources, nearly 20 thousand additional vaccination centres on an average were made functional in addition to the existing 45 thousand centres.

The vaccination programme which earlier recorded lower turnouts on weekends witnessed heavy footfalls even on Sundays where on the first day of the special vaccination drive more than 27 lakh doses were administered.  

With over 33 lakh doses of vaccine being administered yesterday, three states in the country namely Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have till now given more than 1 crore doses to eligible beneficiaries.

Government assures of availability of sufficient stock of oxygen in the country; Says steps initiated to ensure supply of medical oxygen to affected states

Amid the growing demands of medical oxygen in the country, the government has assured that sufficient stocks of oxygen are available in the country. The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has informed that the present oxygen stocks are more than 50 thousand metric tonnes in the country.

It also informed that the country’s daily production capacity of oxygen is more than seven thousand metric tonnes and the production capacity has further scaled up. The Central Government has asked the States to make rational use of medical oxygen and avoid wastage to fulfil the growing demands.

Empowered Group has also initiated action to ensure the sufficient availability of medical oxygen. The government assured that the surplus oxygen available with the steel plants is also being utilized as per the need. States have also been asked to set up Control Rooms to ensure smooth supply of oxygen to the districts.

The government has initiated several measures to ensure supply of medical oxygen to various affected states. Steps have been taken to increase production of medical oxygen, utilization of the surplus stocks available with steel plants and mapping the requirements of states with oxygen sources.

Mapping of the surplus sources with States that have greater need for oxygen such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, is being finalised in consultation with the manufacturers, States and other stakeholders.