
Like many colleges and universities, Berklee has transitioned to a remote learning model for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester. While students are adapting to the technological and time-management aspects of learning from home (or at least off campus), these new methods bring with them unique challenges.
In partnership with Eric Cornell, assistant professor of theater at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, the staff of Berklee's Student Wellness Promotion and Services office shares these tips for maintaining wellness while learning and working remotely.
1. Get showered and dressed before classes begin. A 2012 study led by researchers from Northwestern University showed that what people are wearing can affect their attentiveness.
2. Create a comfortable workspace. This could include ensuring you are using an ergonomically correct chair and maintaining good posture.
3. Put your phone on do not disturb mode when youre in class. You can also set social media timers for the hours you are attending a remote class. This will help you to stay focused and put less stress on your brain to multitask.
4. Take brief camera breaks during class. It's easy to feel like you're being watched all the time on Zoom or other virtual class platforms. Feel free to take a moment to stretch or close your eyes and breathe during class. It's okay to take your face out of the camera for a moment. Your faculty members will understand.
5. Separate your work area from your play and relaxation areas. The Harvard Business Review Guide to Being More Productive mentions that unless you are careful to maintain boundaries, you may start to feel like you're always at work and losing a place to come home to.
6. Give your eyes a rest. You may be spending more time in front of a computer screen than you are used to, which can lead to eye strain. Try wearing blue-light-blocking glasses, or try out some exercises that can help limit eyestrain. Also make sure to build in time after class hours for activities that do not involve screens.
7. Get up and move for several minutes between your remote classes. This could include walking or jogging in place, jumping jacks, dancing, doing seated arm movements, or other movements. Think about it as moving from one class to another, but be sure to leave enough time to get logged on for your next class. Here are six quick exercises to try.
8.Meditate at your desk between classes. Meditation can help lower stress, improve focus, reduce brain chatter, and more.
9. Stretch it out. Sitting in the same position can lead to stiffness and repetitive-use injuries. Try some stretches you can do in your chair or standing up, or check out some free online yoga classes for stretching. Some classes are as short as nine minutes-perfect for a quick break.
10. Set a time for when schoolwork begins and ends each day, and stick to it. For our mental and emotional wellbeing, it is important to feel like we can turn off work each day. After your schoolwork is done, transition to an activity that helps you unwind. But remember: you have been looking at screens all day, so resist the temptation to immediately reach for your phone or other electronic device.
Related categories:
How-To
Related Reading
5 Ways to Manage Stress During Midterms During midterm season, it's important to take time for self-care, avoid procrastination, and reach out to friends and loved ones for support.
Student Advice for a Smooth Finals Week Read advice from Berklee peer wellness educators on how to survive, even thrive, during finals week.
How Living Learning Communities Transform the College Experience It turns out students thrive when academic and residential life overlap.
More from Berklee Now
Most Popular
Berklee Announces Creation of Dream Theater Scholarship Progressive music icons Dream Theater and Berklee College of Music announce the creation of the Dream Theater Scholarship Fund.
Latest
So Youve Shifted to Remote Learning. What Now? Get up and move, rest your eyes, set an ending time for schoolwork, and seven more tips for making the most of this semester.
Moog-Korg-app-free.jpg
5 Ways for Musicians to Collaborate Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak Social distancing can be a strange new concept for musicians, but you don't have to wait until quarantine has lifted to get back to working with other creatives.
Stay at Home Festival Brings Relief to Fans and Artists Cofounded by alumnus and fiddler/composer Galen Fraser, the livestreamed event series helps keep artists off the road and in business.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Berklee Blogs
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
Snapchat
Soundcloud
Spotify
Most recent headlines
20/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking ProRes RAW recording from the...
20/12/2025
CJP Broadcast has completed the digitisation of the European Gymnastics tape archive, converting 328 tapes containing more than forty years of recorded material...
20/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced the launch of the Stream Lab MCP Server, to give AI agents and large language model...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Barack Obama Includes Laufey on His 2025 Favorite Music List The former presidents roundup of books, music, and movies includes a song from the Berklee alums ...
20/12/2025
Study reveals a key hormonal circuit in the kidneys Scripps Research scientists identify the protein that helps kidney cells regulate renin, providing foundatio...
19/12/2025
With Playout Release 2025.4, ToolsOnAir continues to push professional playout w...
19/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Jared Timmins on AI for Broadcast Sports and Cre...
19/12/2025
2025 SVG Summit Audio Recap: Say What?The Audio Production and Distribution Workshop at the SVG Summit 20 took on issues including speech intelligibility, Next-...
19/12/2025
Gamified fun: Channel 5 on its NFL Big Game Night ambitions with Hungry Bear Med...
19/12/2025
College Football Playoff Preview: For ESPN, Round 1 is a Fantastic Yet Familia...
19/12/2025
AWS's Jason Dvorkin on Developing Partnerships With the NBA and PGA Tour, Em...
19/12/2025
Netflix Kicks Off Packed Sports Week with Paul-Joshua Fight Before Shifting to N...
19/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Nareev Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
19/12/2025
Mounted to the pylon of an AH-1Z Viper helicopter, a Red Wolf vehicle successful...
19/12/2025
L3Harris technology for the SDA Tranche 3 Tracking Layer program will provide in...
19/12/2025
Partnership brings Nielsen ONE measurement activation directly into XR's adv...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
19/12/2025
Berklee Announces Spring 2026 Signature Series This season's highlights include the Gospel Extravaganza, the 40th International Folk Festival, special gue...
19/12/2025
Performing arts centres across the globe have doubled down on live production infrastructure in recent years. For venues like the Queensland Performing Arts Cen...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
19/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
19/12/2025
Ricardo Coke-Thomas Named Chair of Theater for Boston Conservatory at Berklee The distinguished theater educator, director, and performer will join the Conser...
19/12/2025
Back to All News
Salvador Arrives to Netflix on February 6
Entertainment
19 December 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
WHEN THERE IS NOTHING LEFT ...
19/12/2025
As the year comes to a close, it's the perfect time to give your WO Automation for Radio system a quick tune up. At the top of your year end checklist is on...
19/12/2025
19 Dec 2025
VEON's Mobilink Microfinance Bank Launches Islamic Banking Oper...
19/12/2025
Wrapping up a year of connection and clarity!
19 Dec Written By Suzanne Costello
As 2025 comes to a close, we want to take a moment to thank our incredib...
19/12/2025
The six-part drama, set in a close-knit Welsh town fractured by an unspeakable c...
19/12/2025
Rohde & Schwarz drives the future of mobility at CES 2026 At the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Rohde & Schwarz will present a powerful lineup o...
19/12/2025
Back to All News
Salvador arrives to Netflix on February 6
Entertainment
19 December 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
WHEN THERE IS NOTHING LEFT ...
19/12/2025
Back to All News
Last Samurai Standing' Renewed for Season 2 - A Global Se...
19/12/2025
RT is proud to return to the RDS to support the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist & T...
19/12/2025
Nanoparticle vaccine strategy could protect against Ebola and other deadly filoviruses Scripps Research scientists turn nanoparticles into virus showcases to ...
18/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Kurt Sutton, Director of Broadcast Operations, Clemson ...
18/12/2025
Follow the Money Episode 2: Inside the Sports Media Biz with Sam McCleery and St...
18/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Google Cloud's Anshul Kapoor on the Future of Generative Prod...
18/12/2025
The 2025 SVG Summit Draws Record Crowd for 20th-Annual Sports-Production Industr...
18/12/2025
SBS's sports schedule sizzles in January with Dakar Rally, Kooyong Classic a...
18/12/2025
Canada's largest indoor arena has transformed its live production capabilities with a full ST 2110 infrastructure and Calrec's compact Argo S console. S...
18/12/2025
During November, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.2%, an increase of 0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...