For many students, remote or hybrid learning can make it difficult to focus and practice self-discipline.
A recent video floating around on TikTok depicted a girl struggling to complete an online assignment at home due to being tempted to pick up the marijuana she had sitting right next to her laptop.
While it is unknown as to how many Winthrop students will face the temptation to smoke during the fully remote time towards the end of the semester, when it comes to marijuana users in general, “about three in ten (29%) participants are smoking more weed than normal during the pandemic,” according to an article on studyfinds.org.
Although it is understandable why more people would be smoking during a pandemic due to the stress and anxiety, smoking marijuana as well as vaping is now far more dangerous than it already was before COVID-19.
“What happens to your airways when you smoke cannabis is that it causes some degree of inflammation, very similar to bronchitis, very similar to the type of inflammation that cigarette smoking can cause,” Albert Rizzo, M.D., chief medical officer for the American Lung Association told CNN. “Now you have some airway inflammation and you get an infection on top of it. So, yes, your chance of getting more complications is there.”
Not everyone can relate to this temptation in terms of using marijuana specifically, but remote learning can bring a wide variety of other things that commonly distract students from completing assignments or at least dragging them out longer than what they should take.
Snacking throughout study time is nothing new for students, however since the pandemic began, even more people throughout the country have been eating a greater amount of junk food. In a survey reported by Food Manufacturing, 32% of Americans are snacking more during the pandemic than what they were before.
Regardless of whether it is cannabis, junk food, social media or YouTube that causes it to be too tempting to concentrate on completing assignments, most everyone has something they struggle with during online classes.
Everyone has different study styles and ways that they learn. Some tips to get focused and resist temptations might include placing your smartphone out of sight and away from your workspace, setting a timer to complete tasks (even if you actually do have time to waste) and planning out a particular time slot to scroll through all the social media posts or funny videos you want to enjoy.
Another powerful way to increase concentration and self-discipline is to wake up early (before 8 a.m.) and treat that first hour upon waking as a quiet time to meditate. Meditation does not have to be a far–out, psychedelic experience. It can be reading a physical book that gives you a sense of wisdom and peace, taking a walk or simply sitting quietly, just as long as you have a bit of introspective time to reflect, refocus and recharge your batteries to take on the challenges of the day.
Photo by Kaily Paddle
