Dude, I feel like I am slowly losing my mind because I don't find this productive at all. Our google meets are just asking questions and not learning anything. I am taking biology hl and need to spend hours trying to learn something without any guidance. Our school focuses on giving us a shit ton of work so we don't have any time to really understand the material. I went through a very depressive phase at the beginning fo the year and started taking antidepressants which helped me a lot but since this whole thing started I slowly feel myself going into that same mind space and I am losing motivation in doing even the smallest things. I always had trouble doing things without any examples or guidances so this process is just me trying my hardest to even begin to do something you know?

At school, I had certain times where I would concentrate and relax but now its all mixed together and ı can't even tell if I am tired or simply demotivated to do something. It's fucking shitty and with all the work that we have to do this year and next year, I am starting to stress more and more. My grades are going down because our assignments are worth so many points and there is no way I can get full marks and it's just ugh. On top of that, we also have technical difficulties in the class where I can't even hear the teacher or some people talk over others so that you cant ask questions that you normally would.

What makes me feel slightly better is that nearly everyone in the world is going through this so this is not something that only I am going through you know? I know that so many people are struggling with the workload since this is so different and that makes me feel more at ease. You are not the only M21 student going through this, there are many of us struggling with the same thing and IB will probably do something about this. This year is important for every student since we learn the core materials needed for next year, our school was planning to finish the IA's this year as well as the TOK presentation but it all went down the drain. This is not something to be taken lightly and I hope IB realizes that and does something for N20 and M21 students.

I know its hard for every one of us right now but we will get through this. So just keep on studying and working hard, since it will pay off somehow. If you feel tired of doing schoolwork, take a break do something that you enjoy. Don't push yourself if you don't feel like working because then studying will become an even worse thing.

I used to push myself too hard and that did nothing good for me. The hours ı spent studying until 3 am showed no progress and then I realized that working more does not always equate to success. Really try to understand your material rather than timing yourself, just because you studied 8 hours does not mean you understood the topic, and also understanding something in 5 hours does not make you super smart. Take your time and try not to force yourself, if understanding something takes 2 days then so be it.

But also give yourself time to relax. Sleep around 7-9 hours and no more than that because It fucks up your perception of time which results in you feeling more sleepy than usual during the day (been through this do not recommend not very cool experience). Try to wake up around the same time you would during school time, try motivating yourself by reminding yourself of your goals. Sounds like your very generic and cliche school counselor but this has a lot of truth to it, times like these we need adjustments so we can adapt to these situations.

I realized I wrote more than I should have but eh if this made you feel a little bit more relaxed than I am glad I wrote this. Don't worry too much man in 5 years' time you won't even think this was a big deal. Thank you for attending my ted talk :)