This school year has been a bit of an odd one, especially for students taking their courses online. Instead of getting ready to walk, drive, or bus to school, you roll out of bed and open up your computer. It's not always easy to focus and learn when your environment is the same every day. Instead of coming back from school to your bedroom, you're in your bedroom for the majority of the day. You can feel trapped and bored. When it comes to being successful during school, it's important to take care of yourself first to have the energy and motivation to stay productive for your classes. For online students, like myself, our background looks the same for every Google Meet or Zoom. Organizing and decorating our bedroom, or whichever room you're stuck in the most, can help elevate your mood and energy while working there.
Image is courtesy of Brianna Marie via Pinterest
Organization
Some of us struggle with the idea of cleaning our room. Even the thought of putting our clothes away in the closet bums us out. Here are ways to motivate yourself:
Play music: Whether it's on your computer, phone, or speaker, blast some fun, upbeat songs that will boost your mood and energy. Personally, I find songs that I know the lyrics for as I'm able to sing along as I clean.
Work for a set amount of time: Put a timer for 20 minutes and do as much as you can. When the timer goes off, you can take a break or call it a day and still pat yourself on the back.
Image is courtesy of Wix
Decorating
Here’s where it gets fun! Decorating your room is always a blast because you can change it up whenever you want. Especially with the holidays coming up, it could be fun to have a Christmas themed set up. You can do so many things to give your room the flare it needs, not to bore you and leave you unmotivated and unproductive. Have fun with this because the ideas are endless. Here are fun ideas you could consider adding to your room:
Lights: Whether they’re LED lights, string lights, or just changing your lamps, lighting has proved to influence your mood. The atmosphere of your room mostly depends on your lighting. I recently hung string lights over my bed, and I am obsessed with them. I already feel less stressed with these dimly lit lights lighting up my room!
Wall decor: If you’re artistic and have many art pieces you cherish, this is the moment to show them off. Hang paintings all over your room. You can buy cheap stick-on wall hooks if nails and a drill aren’t your thing. Have prints of your artwork up on your walls that could spark up a conversation during your video meetings during class. Another idea is having shelves on your walls. The installation could be difficult, but you have total freedom of what you put on them, such as books, plants, speakers, festive decorations, and more!
Candles: Candles are by far one of my favourite things to have in my room. You have total liberty as to how you want your room to smell. Bath & Body Works is your go-to for candles, especially for the holiday season. They always have themed candles for any time of the year, so there is always a candle for you to enjoy. One candle I recommend is their Aromatherapy Stress Relief candle with eucalyptus and peppermint. It is on the stronger scented side, but that is my preference. Have a day of it, where you go and smell all the candles in their store. There is one that is right for you.
Bedding: Replace your current sheets and pillow covers with fresh new ones. It’s always fun and comfortable having brand new sheets on your bed.
Colours: Having a theme for your room makes it much more pleasing to see. Whether it’s festive colours like red, green, or white, or monochromatic colours, your room will look much more appealing to the eye.
Check out stores like Michaels, Dollarama, Home Sense, Urban Barn, or Simons for incredible and affordable room decor items!
Your bedroom must be one of the most comfortable places in your home. It’s where you rest and spend time alone. Now it’s the place where you go to school and complete assignments. This could negatively impact the energy in your room. Changing the layout of your room could improve the comfort of it and the appeal.
Including some of these decor ideas could help brighten up the place, or if you enjoy a more dimly lit atmosphere, you can absolutely achieve that as well. You can have so much fun with this! Hopefully, these additions and changes help you feel more comfortable during this strange time. Good luck, everyone!
Article Author: Alizeh Qaiser
Article Editors: Olivia Ye, Stephanie Sahadeo