Tips for maintaining motivation and mental energy as the pandemic drags on March 5, 2021USC The end of the pandemic glimmers on the horizon. Deaths and new COVID cases are in steep decline. Many people have been working at home for months instead of driving long commutes. So why do they feel so tired? USC experts point to one full year of stress brought on by the pandemic — with potentially months to go. In order to thrive, we have to “put on our own oxygen mask first,” said Rita Burke, an assistant professor of clinical preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “It’s critically important during this time to make sure we make time to take care of ourselves, not just those around us.”