Like many other colleges across the U.S, the University of Michigan cancelled all in person classes and decided to make the transition to all online classes for the rest of the semester. I personally have not been a fan of this transition because I actually like going to class and seeing my friends. However, no one could have predicted the gravity and escalation of COVID-19 and no one asked to work from home or have all online classes. For now, we must accept that this is our new reality.
If this is the first time that you’re reading my blog, let me introduce myself! I am a junior at the Ross School of Business at University of Michigan with a concentration in marketing. I am also pursuing a Religion minor through the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
I am currently taking 5 classes for a total of 15 credits. I am enrolled in Marketing 313: Consumer Behavior, Business Economics, a seminar about Millennials and Gen Z, a Buddhism seminar course, and an art history course about the “Miraculous and Diabolical”.
I really enjoy all of my classes but the transition to online has been different for each class, as some don’t even use Zoom and are rather completely online.
This day in the life is representative of my Tuesday/Thursday schedule.
8:15 AM - My alarm is normally set for 8:30/8:45 AM but lately I’ve been waking up before my alarm goes off, which kind of sucks. But I have begun looking forward to the mornings and they are actually my favorite part of the day now. I go to the bathroom and wash my face and brush my teeth. Then I return to my room to make my bed, which I do every single morning! Next, I head downstairs to the kitchen and drink a tumbler (16 oz) of water and make coffee. While I’m waiting for my coffee to brew, I go on my phone and scroll through social media, read my daily horoscope, and check emails. I also typically listen to a podcast while I do this.
8:45 AM/9 AM - At this point, my coffee has finished brewing and I’m done checking my phone so I head back upstairs to my room and sit at my desk. Then I go on Pinterest and pull up my “Journal Prompts” board and find a question to answer in my journal. This is absolutely my favorite part of my day. I just pick a random question to answer and give myself a page to write. It really sets the tone and mood for the day. I feel most refreshed in the morning. By the time I’m done journaling, writing things in my planner, and doing other miscellaneous things on my laptop, it’s time to log into Zoom for my Business Economics class.
10 AM - I log into Zoom and see that there are 75 other people logged on. About 15 people have their cameras on and my friends tell me to turn my camera on, so I oblige. By the time the class is over, my friends and I are the only ones that have our cameras on…. Oh well, at least I was committed.
11:20 AM - Business Economics is over now. I actually enjoyed logging on and seeing my classmates’ faces, even if they all left in the end. I need to buy football tickets so that’s the first thing that I do after I log off Zoom. I normally have a break from 11:30 AM - 1PM before my Art History class at 1 PM. However, my professor said that she forgoing using Zoom and instead will be uploading pre-recorded lectures every Tuesday and Thursday morning. So I download her lecture along with the audio. I change the speed on the audio to 2X and do my best to pay attention so I get the right answers for the “Quiz” questions at the end of the lecture. After I answer all the questions on the quiz, I upload them to Canvas (our school’s online platform for uploading assignments) to get attendance for the day.
12:30 PM - It’s time for lunch! I head downstairs to the kitchen to make some food and watch a YouTube video while I eat.
1:30 PM - I go back to my desk in my room and do some more work for other classes. I also made a cup of green tea because I got cold and needed some energy.
3 PM - At this point, I am going stir-crazy sitting at my desk all day. I try my best to go on a walk outside everyday. So I put my coat on and walk around my neighborhood for 40 minutes while listening to my Quarantine 2020 playlist.
4 PM - By the time I get back from my walk I’m kind of hungry, so I make some popcorn to eat as a snack. Then I go back to my room and watch some YouTube videos and chill.
6 PM - I change into my workout clothes and go to the basement to workout. I like to run on the treadmill at an incline of 3 and speed of 7.4. I run for either 1.25 miles or 1.5 miles, depending on how I’m feeling. Then I walk for 2 or 3 minutes at a speed of 4. After my run, I like to do circuits of whatever exercises I’m feeling. I do each exercise for 1 minute and do exercises in sets of 3.
7 PM - I shower and then eat dinner that my mom made.
8:30 PM - Time to unwind for the night by going to my room and watch a mix of YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, depending on what’s in my subscription feed. Some nights my subscription feed is dry and some nights there’s a lot of content. I couldn’t find anything that I really wanted to watch, so I started Sarah J. Maas’ new book, House of Earth and Blood. I am a huge fan of her books, especially the Court of Thorns and Roses series!
12 AM - I normally like to go to sleep at midnight. I find it important to establish a routine for myself.
I hope you enjoyed reading about how I structure my day, as I adjust to this new life of being a quarantined college student!