Reflections on COVID-19 by Victoria Menzies https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5 Today we are witnessing large-scale social and personal transformation. Thank you for sharing your challenge in April. We invite you to please add a reflective update on your previous post commenting on whether your concern is still a challenge and what strategies you have put in place to address it. en-us 2020-04-09 02:49:52 UTC 2026-02-05 09:23:52 UTC hello@padlet.com As a people person my preference is to connect in person. I am making the transition to virtual meetings and building my capabilities and confidence in collaborating online. vmenzies1 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/499787023 2020-04-09 02:56:05 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/499787023 oliverbateman https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/505634262 I am challenged with staying motivated working in one space. I find it hard to differentiate between my study time and free time when both are spent in the same place. To overcome this challenge, I have set up hours that I work and take regular breaks.]]> 2020-04-14 04:50:29 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/505634262 A challenge I have faced is related to keeping a work-life balance - when both are at home. I have struggled, especially over the Easter break, to simply relax - as I almost feel guilty if I am doing anything other than study. To compensate for this, I have been keeping a diary with set tasks I want to complete for the day - which not only includes study, but also exercise and relax time. karabatchelor1 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/505637632 2020-04-14 04:55:12 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/505637632 I have found it challenging to maintain motivation when my days feel so repetitive. I have attempted to seperate my personal/professional life by working in different spaces but am still finding some difficulty in this. I feel as though this may be because I'm not surrounded by the uni environment and my peers. gracemcgahan https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/505672887 2020-04-14 05:44:59 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/505672887 My nature of my degree is very hands-on and practical. But now our assessments have been reduced to paperwork and planning for hypothetical activities. Although it's frustrating, it has forced me to go back and get a deeper understand of the theory of what I'm doing, which is a plus. annatwomey1 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/505726214 2020-04-14 06:44:48 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/505726214 Returning from overseas during a pandemic was a challenging and yet transforming experience. Situations enforced me to make prompt decisions that would impact my experience abroad and my degree timeline however it made me deepen my resilience in such a situation. Despite being faced with an uncontrollable situation I found it most important to be consistently connected and informative with those who need to be in the know especially when overseas. rachaelgrant1 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/506199250 2020-04-14 12:05:41 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/506199250 I have found it challenging to maintain a routine now that everything is online and I barely leave my room. I have found it helpful to make myself a schedule with alarms set at specific times in the day to keep me on track and not get lost in my university work. I have alarms set to remind me when to take breaks, exercise and eat meals. rachelkapnias1 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/506293468 2020-04-14 12:59:31 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/506293468 After moving to university online, I found the increased screen time affected my sleep. I struggled to fall asleep and would continuously wake up throughout the night, leaving me fatigued during the day. I have now rearranged my schedule to ensure that for half an hour before I go to bed I am not looking at a screen. In this time, I have had the opportunity to do some cool activities such as playing board games with my family and doing meditative yoga. https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507438180 2020-04-14 23:14:35 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507438180 Before the Easter break, I had no motivation to study. I found it difficult to maintain a schedule and often got caught up in other responsibilities. I always felt that what I could do was never enough. So I took the entire break - give or take a few days - to just distance myself from uni, rest properly and adapt to online uni more effectively. Now, I set an achievable schedule each day and study only between certain hours, where possible. jemmatelleman https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507637492 2020-04-15 03:07:00 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507637492 harryrodgers https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507776383 As I was living overseas I had to move back to Australia because of the outbreak. The main challenge I am currently having is feeling like I am currently lacking purpose as I am currently not studying or working this Trimester and am not feeling like I am currently able to make a meaningful impact to those around me and/or myself. I have attempted to address this by undertaking short courses online and trying to start some personal projects. ]]> 2020-04-15 06:01:55 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507776383 Balance katharinagutjahrholland1 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507868850 My biggest challenge is balancing study-home life. I have found that sleeping and studying in the same space is very difficult. I have lost routine and this has impacted my sleep. I was studying when I felt like it and found procrastination becoming a much larger burden than usual. After participating in the Productivity Ninja Workshop I have found tools to give my day structure. I hope structuring my days and allowing for proper down time will work. Poorly done study time and poorly done leisure time is dangerous. ]]> 2020-04-15 07:22:22 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507868850 Motivation https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507874584 I have found it really difficult to motivate myself to be productive and complete tasks at home with so many distractions and no routine. I have addressed this by creating a routine, waking up and going to bed at the same time and taking regular breaks.]]> 2020-04-15 07:26:36 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507874584 Home Life jonana9999 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507876073 I live in a house with 9 people and upwards of 30 pets, I find it hard to concentrate in my home environment because of this. I haven't been able to escape as I normally would, as I am temporarily unemployed and all my activities have moved online. 

I would normally have therapy appointments at Headspace where I would voice my concerns but it is hard to say what I think when I am around my family. So I haven't gotten the most out of therapy either. 

Overall, I feel very trapped in my house and find it very hard for myself to concentrate as there is always something happening in my home. ]]> 2020-04-15 07:27:35 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507876073 rdsmith20072002 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507938710 Routine

I sometimes find it difficult to follow a routine as my days were usually structured by uni classes and orchestral rehearsals. I am trying to work around this by drawing up multiple schedules and choosing the one that will work best after a trial of each.]]> 2020-04-15 08:06:32 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507938710 Home and work balance https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507944374 I am struggling to have the balance between relaxing and also working. In the past my home was my relaxing space, but now as I have to work from home it is affecting the balance. I’m finding myself either not working enough or sometimes working too much. To try and help this I have written a planner on how many hours I want to be proactive in the day and after that I make myself stop working and relax.]]> 2020-04-15 08:09:47 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/507944374 annamahon https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/508113759 I'm in both my first year and have only just moved to Brisbane from a rural town. 
Just as I was getting use to it all, I've had to go home again. 
I'm very fortunate, but it's hard working when I'm now living with school aged kids and a grandparent who needs full time care.
I've found distancing myself from phone while I'm studying (in turn, distancing myself from the news for a little), separating my study space from my lazy space and waking up earlier is quite helpful. ]]> 2020-04-15 09:45:46 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/508113759 pearljune5 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509491987 A challenge for me has been running PASS online. In PASS we attended lectures, plan sessions and actually run session. My favourite part of pass is the social aspect of running a session, having fun while learning.

I can not express how weird it feels talking to myself alone in my bed room. Running sessions are a lot less fun cause it is more of a one way conversation. I talk on the mic and they usually message, sometimes use the mic. I find it very nerve racking not being able to judge how the students are feeling the content and the activity we are doing. It is so much easier to judge how people are feeling when you can physically see them doing the activity. It's so much easier to tell what they want, what they need and where they are actually confused.

To combat, I try to check in as often as possible ask them how they are feeling about the last question the next content, the current content. Hopefully I can make the content as relevant and useful as possible. 

But I'm also guilty of not turning my mic on for the classes where I'm the student ]]> 2020-04-15 21:53:48 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509491987 Major Changes in Circumstances https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509694756 After moving out of home to Brisbane for university for the first time in February there have been many sudden transformations I have had to accomodate to. One challenge I encountered was the sudden change of moving back home after just beginning to settle and create routine in my new home. There were many distractions from work at home and I found it difficult to become motivated to begin assignments or to study. 
To address this issue I created a specific space for study and started each day with a normal routine. This created a sense of normality during the crazy time and allowed me to focus on assignments and university tasks.  ]]> 2020-04-16 01:34:29 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509694756 Adjusting to a new normal https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509801675 The major challenged I have been faced with during this situation is adapting to life back home when everything is so far from what I used to consider normal. I was on exchange overseas up until a few weeks ago, and it was quite confronting receiving an email urging me to return home within 48 hours. Having to essentially pack up the life I had made was a truly stressful experience. Now being back home, it is hard settling into a routine when I had spent the last few months adjusting to a completely new environment. Lately I have been finding it difficult to find the motivation to complete my overseas courses that are now online, especially because it is harder to get support from my overseas university.]]> 2020-04-16 03:28:57 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509801675 Uncertainty williammaynard https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509818188 The biggest challenge I have faced is seeing the industry that I want to join -Aviation - be ravaged by the current situation. I lost a lot of motivation and felt like my dreams of being a pilot were being crushed. I think the over-saturation of negative news and uncertainty played a role in affecting my mental health as I felt constantly stressed and like the future had been taken away. 
I had to take time to think about other career paths, reflect on what was important and consider that all things remember I was still very fortunate in life.
I also went out of my way to avoid all news and info including TV, facebook, instagram and online. Without the constant barrage of bad news I felt like I could get back on track and wasn't constantly stressed. ]]> 2020-04-16 03:46:32 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509818188 Rapid changes and Uncertainty https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509858234 As someone who had been living overseas for the past 10 months, with no intentions to return to Australia until mid-December, my sudden move back to Australia has been quite a challenge for me. Prior to COVID-19 I had already been moved out of Hong Kong due to the political unrest, so I was just getting settled into my new life in Taiwan when I had to return to Australia. While I am totally understating of the unique situation and I recognise it was the best decision for me to return home, I was  left feeling disappointed about both of my exchanges being cut short and the uncertainty of being able to do overseas internships I was really looking forward to and had worked hard to get. 

While I have felt a bit stressed and uncertain about what my next steps will be, I know I am still fortunate to have had my experiences overseas and am lucky to still be able to complete my courses from my Taiwan university while I am in Australia.]]> 2020-04-16 04:30:11 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509858234 Dealing with the Performing Arts industry predicament juliahill1 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509862940 As a creative arts student (QLD Conservatorium), it has been hard to see how much the performing arts industry has fallen. Suddenly, we can't perform, destroying ticket revenues, and many, many jobs have been lost. The Conservatorium had to cancel all concerts at least until the end of May, including our first symphony orchestra concert which was supposed to go ahead on March 20th. Members of the MSO (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) have even been stood down. A lot of freelance artists are not eligible for the payments from the government.

As someone who doesn't solely rely on performing for an income (I'm a PASS leader), I am one of the lucky ones. But I feel for those who are quite stuck at the moment. 

To bring some light and creativity into the world in these times, I have started doing weekly livestream concerts on Facebook. The purpose of these is to bring comfort to the viewers while we're dealing with this situation. So far I have received very positive feedback and am glad to see that it's spreading some love around. :) I am doing another one tomorrow night at 7pm if anyone wants to come! It'll be via the link below!]]> 2020-04-16 04:35:08 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509862940 Balance and Isolation jennimenzie29 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509919448 My biggest challenge is balancing my study-home life. I used to do all my study and schoolwork at school, and then when I was at home I would do leisurely activities. Now as they have combined I have had the challenge of combining them both to become my new normal. In order to manage this I create to-do-lists and stick to these, this ensures I maintain a healthy balance between studying and relaxing.

I am also struggling with not having much face-to-face contact with people anymore, which is what I love and often thrive in. Being at home and not being able to socialised has heavily affected my mood. I am trying to overcome this by actively participating in online sessions, and reaching out to others]]> 2020-04-16 05:42:33 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/509919448 Overcoming lethargy. Powerninja https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/510021904 When you are trapped in your house for days, you would think that there would be a lot of time to work on self-improvement and what not. For me, however,  that was not the case. You see being on lock down gave me clarity and not the good kind. It's the type of clarity where you see all your shortcomings, all your demons and all the things that makes you bad. The worst part is there isn't even enough motivation to work on them. It's just a rabbit-hole, which we all tend to ignore. 
I've discovered that the only way to send this frame of mind back to the depth from it came is increasing social interaction. I Face Time my friends and families as often as I could. So far it seems to help.  

]]> 2020-04-16 07:12:14 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/510021904 Study https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/510027977 I'm finding it harder to learn content related to anatomy now that there are no in person labs. It is more difficult to learn through pictures than seeing it in front of you. To overcome this I make sure to stay motivated and do the online lab quizzes which help the information stick in my brain.]]> 2020-04-16 07:16:23 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/510027977 Study/Work/Home Balance https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/510033311 One of the biggest challenges I've encountered is having to perform all the different roles or where all the different hats you may wear in one place! It's odd to work and study and be a part of a family all in the same place. It's certainly shown me how I usually compartmentalise parts of my life and it's been an interesting challenge to see if there are tools I use in some aspects of my life that can carry over to others! 

]]> 2020-04-16 07:20:02 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/510033311 Study and Work karabatchelor1 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/623554582 Balancing study, work, volunteering, keeping fit and healthy, and upholding relationships - whilst dealing with the continual changes COVID-19 keeps brining us - has been hard, However, I feel as though reflecting on these times now that we are at the end of the trimester, I can see how much I have grown and the variety of skills I have now gained from doing so. Being able to organise my timetable and shifts around everything else has been a great skill to learn!]]> 2020-06-12 06:19:04 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/623554582 rdsmith20072002 https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/627910976 Motivation - Robert Smith

Since my daily schedule was up-ended this trimester, it was becoming harder to motivate myself. To combat this, I used a variety of intinsic and extrinsic motivators. These include planning schedules with 'rewards' for finishing them, finishing assignments and practice (I am a musuc student) early, weekly concerts with my siblings at home (helping to improve performance skills and motivation to practice for each concert), learning a language and completing both musical and non-musical activities online to develop new skills. These actions have aided greatly in my development as a person and a musician.]]> 2020-06-15 19:56:26 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/627910976 Post-Workshop Feelings https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/628495119 Since the reflection workshop I have started to do 6 minute reflections as we were shown in the session. I have found that this has helped me really understand what is going through my head and allowed me to see were my brain goes when I don't stop to think during these minutes. As a result of this I have focused more on the things that I found I was struggling with and it has actually helped me prioritise what is stressing me (study/life etc.) at the time. ]]> 2020-06-16 07:39:29 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/628495119 Getting used to a COVID schedule https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/635958500 During this time of COVID-19, I’ve been able to set up a schedule, adapt to online learning and appreciate the positives of a negative situation. ]]> 2020-06-22 10:38:59 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/635958500 Overcoming challenges during isolation... https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/638115426 After almost 10 weeks of isolation, my new, Covid-19, routine started to become the new normal. By reflecting on the challenges I was facing earlier in the trimester I was able to create more focused goals and despite the different circumstances achieve these goals to a similar standard to normal learning. Although I was forced to move back to my rural town during isolation, I decided to focus on the positives of the change rather than any negative points. This was an especially important factor in ensuring I maintained motivation. ]]> 2020-06-24 00:53:14 UTC https://padlet.com/vmenzies1/a1835dqzs9r31rw5/wish/638115426