stress – Dr. Rachel

Digital Fatigue

Rachel Horrocks Birss Blended Learning, Lightning Sessions 12th March 2021Academic Skills, Blended Learning, challenges, Digital, focus, Lightning Sessions, motivation, online, online lectures, online tools, productivity, recorded lectures, self-care, stress, time management, wellbeing, work 0 Comment

After a year of lockdowns, we’re all experiencing some level of digital fatigue. Whether we’re suffering physical consequences like headaches or eyestrain, or mental symptoms like lack of motivation or depression, digital fatigue can have a severe impact upon our wellbeing.

The good news is that there’s lots we can do to combat digital fatigue and improve our wellbeing, even during this unusual year. Watch our Lightning Session recording to learn more, then scroll down for our top tips!

There are all kinds of strategies we can use to combat digital fatigue. Here, we’ve grouped them into three categories: Before, During, and After, your online experience.

Before

Fighting digital fatigue starts even before you get online. The most important thing is to make sure you have a good space to work. We may not all have the luxury of a home office, but make sure you have a well-lit place to work with a good chair. Adjust your screen brightness depending on the time of day, and, if you find your eyes get tired quickly, book an eye test with your optometrist to make sure you’ve got the right prescription.

During

When you’re working on your computer, monotasking is key. Avoid switching back and forth between windows during a class, or getting distracted by social media when you should be writing an essay. Activities like switching between tabs or scrolling on social media are actually incredibly tiring for our eyes, so it’s best to minimize them. Instead, try taking physical notes (or even doodling!) during class so your eyes aren’t glued to the screen the whole time. You should also remember the 20/20/20 rule, where every 20 minutes you look 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

After

The best way to beat digital fatigue is to get away from the screen. When you’re finished with your onscreen work, take a proper break away from your computer or phone. It’s particularly good to get out and do something physical, like taking a walk or stretching. If you’re working from home, it helps to set boundaries at the end of your day, where you close all your work tabs or shut down your laptop completely, so you’re not distracted by work when you should be winding down in the evening.

Strategies like these won’t make digital fatigue go away entirely, but they will help you to stay healthy and improve your wellbeing, even in these challenging circumstances!

Presenting Online

Rachel Horrocks Birss Blended Learning, Lightning Sessions 12th March 2021Academic Skills, Blended Learning, challenges, confidence, Lightning Sessions, online tools, presentations, stress 0 Comment

Presentations are one of the most useful- and most feared- university assignments. For most of us, speaking in front of a group of people or filming ourselves giving a talk will be one of the most nerve-wracking things we’ll do at university. While it may be scary, presenting is also one of the most relevant and helpful skills for when we leave university and join the workforce. Nearly all jobs involve some form of public speaking, whether you’re a lawyer, a nurse, a teacher, or a CEO.

In this Lightning Session, we explore various ways to improve your presentation skills, with a particular focus on presenting online.

Presentation Tips

While it sometimes feels like some people are born presenters, the reality is that there are plenty of simple tips and tricks that any of can implement to improve our presentation skills.

Keep it Simple. Academic presentations don’t have to be confusing! Having a single key point with just 2-3 clearly-signposted subpoints will make sure your listeners can follow along easily.
Use Your Voice. Avoid simply reading from a script in a monotone voice. Instead, vary your tone and pitch to create interest. Most importantly, remember to sound enthusiastic; if you care about your topic, your audience will, too!
Practice! The absolute best way to improve your presentation skills is to practice. The more times you rehearse your presentation, the more confident and comfortable you’ll be. Also, on a larger scale, the more presentations you give, the better you’ll get.

Online Presentations

Online presentations offer some unique challenges, but some aspects are actually easier online! Watch this short video to learn how to set up your presentation environment and take advantage of the online format.

[Note: this video is primarily focussed on pre-recorded presentations rather than live, but most of the tips apply to both]

Dealing with Nerves

Feeling nervous is an entirely normal part of public speaking. While presenters typically look confident up on stage, the reality is that even experienced public speakers often still experience intense nervousness!

A few quick tips to control your nerves:

Recognise that nervousness isn’t always bad. In fact, some level of stress actually provides us with the adrenalin rush we need to perform at our best.
Take deep breaths. Anything that slows your heart rate down, like deep breaths or stretching, will help you calm your nerves and prepare your mind.
Practice, practice, practice! The more presentations you give, and the more often you practice your presentations, the more confident you’ll feel and the less nervous you’ll be.

Want more tips? Check out our full Presentation Skills resource for more tips and links to helpful videos.

Focus and Motivation

Rachel Horrocks Birss Blended Learning, Lightning Sessions, Study Skills 8th February 2021Academic Skills, Blended Learning, challenges, focus, Lightning Sessions, motivation, Procrastination, productivity, self-care, stress, time management, wellbeing, work 0 Comment

Learning how to focus well and motivate yourself are essential skills for university, as well as for the workforce and the rest of your life. If we can motivate ourselves to get going and focus intensely on our work, we can accomplish difficult tasks quickly and efficiently. If, however, we struggle to focus or get motivated, doing any work will always be a slog.

Particularly in stressful times, like the current lockdown, focus and motivation can be really challenging. Whether you find yourself with far too much to do (perhaps you’re trying to homeschool or care for an elderly relative alongside your uni work), or far too little (maybe your packed social calendar has been reduced to a string of lonely evenings), these tips can help you shake off the cobwebs and get back to productive, fulfilling work!

Watch our Lightning Session on Focus and Motivation, then keep reading for more tips!

Motivation

In essence, motivation is all about empowerment. It’s about believing we have the ability to do something that matters. After all, if we believe we can’t do something, or that it won’t make any difference, then why bother?

If you’re struggling to get motivated for a particular task, ask yourself these questions:

1: Can I do it?

2: Will it make a difference?

If the answer to either of these questions is no, ask yourself, why not? If you don’t believe you can do it, maybe you need some additional support or training. If you don’t believe it will make a difference, you should spend some time reflecting on whether completing this task with help you reach your goals.

Focus

Focus is essential to good work. When you focus on the task at hand, you can get more done in less time. So, how do we avoid distractions and focus on our work?

1: Work in Short Chunks. Strategies like the Pomodoro Method suggest setting a timer for 25-minutes, then taking a 5-minute break, then working for another 25-minutes. Whether you focus for 25 minutes for 55, working in short, focussed bursts is more efficient than hours at a time.

2: Eliminate Distractions. Put your phone on silent and close any social media tabs on your computer. Our brains are wired to pay attention to distractions, so do yourself a favour and shut them down before they start!

3: Take Breaks. Counterintuitively, breaks actually make us more productive! Taking intentional breaks away from the screen, whether that’s making a cup of tea or going for a long walk, allow our brain to reset so we can go back to our work with renewed energy and more creative ideas.

Managing Stress

Rachel Horrocks Birss Lightning Sessions, Study Skills 15th December 2020productivity, self-care, stress, time management, university, wellbeing, work 0 Comment

It’s hard to work when we’re feeling overwhelmed. Whether we’re struggling to keep up with deadlines, or we’re handling difficult circumstances in our personal lives, most of us will experience at least some level of stress while at university.

The first step to managing stress is to realise that stress isn’t a sign of weakness. Rather, stress is a physiological response to a perceived threat. Feeling some stress about an assignment isn’t a sign that you shouldn’t be at uni. Rather, it’s a completely normal response to a challenge.

Secondly, stress isn’t all bad. In fact, low levels of stress can actually increase our productivity! When stress gets to be too much, however, it’s important to seek help. If stress is impacting your physical or mental wellbeing, you should talk to a trusted friend, or get in contact with the University’s counselling services.

Finally, stress isn’t something we’re stuck with. While we can never totally eliminate stress from our lives, we can improve our response to it. By applying some targeted strategies, we can learn to manage stress and stay happy and healthy in the face of challenges!

To learn how to manage stress, watch our Lightning Session, then read the tips below.

[To skip the intros, jump straight to 2:17]

In the Lightning Session, we discuss at least a dozen different ways to manage stress. Here are our top three:

Take Care of Yourself

When we’re busy, self-care becomes the first thing to go. While we may not all have time for leisurely bubble baths, it’s important to take care of ourselves in several basic ways. Getting a good night’s sleep, exercising, and eating healthily are all major contributors to our overall wellbeing. If we’re feeling stressed or sad, going for a quick run or walk outdoors can have a significant impact on our mood.

It’s worth prioritising these things, even if that means we have less time for work. Going to bed on time, then waking up refreshed, will make you far more productive than staying up all night trying to finish your essay. If you take good care of your body, you’ll be able to get more done in less time.

Break it Down

Don’t try to get everything done at once. Instead, break your large tasks (such as “write essay”) down into manageable chunks (for example, “write introduction” or “research for 45 minutes”). Big tasks are unmotivating and can be overwhelming, while smaller ones give you that all-important sense of achievement.

It’s also okay to work for shorter blocks of time. Rather than setting aside a full day to work, try working in smaller segments, perhaps just 20 minutes to an hour. Working for shorter periods, then taking intentional breaks, will help you maintain focus, which makes you more productive.

Do the Things You Love

When we’re stressed, we feel like we need to work all the time. In fact, the opposite is true. During stressful times, it’s important to stay connected to the things that are important to us. This could mean spending time with family or friends, playing a sport, or working on a creative project. Doing enjoyable activities is actually one of the best ways to manage stress, which increases both our happiness and our productivity!