Looking after yourself while studying online isn’t a luxury, it’s essential. When your home becomes your classroom boundaries can blur, pressure builds quietly and switching off can feel like a really difficult process. This post explores simple, compassionate self‑care practices that help you ensure your own well-being throughout your online learning journey!
Why Self‑Care Matters in Online Study
Online learning often means your workspace is also your living space. This can mean that for some students it becomes difficult to separate “study mode” from “rest mode”. Without clear boundaries lines can blur and stress builds quietly. I’ve developed this post to help us all recognise that self‑care isn’t indulgent, it’s something we all deserve and is an essential part of our routine to prioritise for sustainable learning.
Core Self‑Care Principles for Online Learners
- Creating a Study Boundary: For many students I know there may not always be the luxury of having a dedicated office of ‘study’ room, however it can be useful for students to still envision a study zone. This can be as simple as sitting in a specific chair, corner, or table setup. Having this space signals to your brain when you’re working so hopefully when you leave this specific set-up this approach can enable you relax and unwind.
- Implement Micro-Breaks into your Study Sessions: Short, regular pauses can help students reduce fatigue and improve focus. Allow yourself this time. Stretch, get yourself a drink or even step outside to get some fresh air… these moments can help enable clarity and prevent you from becoming overwhelmed.
- Protect your Offline Time: Close tabs, shut your laptop, and physically move away from your workspace. To help implement this try and form some ‘after study’ habits. This could be going for a walk, making yourself a cup of tea, or even simply tidying your desk to mark that you are finished for the day.
- Stay Connected: For online students especially, the process of working in this format can feel isolating. Join community chats, study sessions, reach out to a student on your course or even pop a post in our Teams channel to check in. I’m also always happy to hear from members of our community and to receive an update of how your university experience is going. Although not in person, we are all in this journey together, so please don’t feel alone!
- Be Kind to Yourself: The last, put for me most important self-care principle! Please have compassion for yourself. What you’re doing as a student, working on yourself, developing new skills and continuously learning new things is incredible! Productivity fluctuates. Progress isn’t linear. Self‑compassion is a skill that is so important for us to develop and it’s one that supports long‑term success.
Things to Take-away…
Studying online gives us all incredible flexibility and can enable us access to education whilst completing a number of other challenges, but learning in this format can also blur boundaries, increase pressure and make it harder to switch off.Remember that YOU are the most important person in your academic journey and your well-being should always be a priority. Celebrate the small wins: a completed reading, a submitted task and on some days even just showing up to a webinar counts.
I’d love to hear if this post is at all beneficial to the Online Student Community and would also really appreciate any thoughts or ideas you have for future posts. Feel free to email me: j.thorne5@unimail.derby.ac.uk or message me on Teams.