For many post-secondary students, class is online this fall. The dream for some, bit of a bummer for others. I would not call myself a "work-from-home" type, but I have discovered some ways to make remote learning more enjoyable (and productive) than I previously found it to be! I would like to share my findings with you to hopefully make life this fall a little more manageable.
Create a space
Set aside a designated space for studying. If you have a desk, try not to do anything but school while sitting there. This means going somewhere else to take your study breaks rather than staying at your desk to scroll through your phone or online shop. This however may not be feasible for everyone depending on the space you are in. If this is you, try to designate a space for solely studying for a set period of time during the day. For example, if your study desk doubles as a kitchen table, set the specific hours that you are going to use it for school. For example, maybe it is a “study space” from 9:00 to 5:00pm and you move to your couch to eat lunch and take your study breaks.
Make a schedule
It is really easy to let those pre-recorded lectures pile up without watching them. Next thing you know you are 6 lectures behind and the midterm is fast approaching. To avoid this horrendous fate, make yourself a study schedule. I have some sweet scheduling resources coming your way soon so be sure to subscribe to the blog below for email updates on when these are available!
Take real breaks
I am very guilty of eating my lunch while studying. I am also very guilty of not taking actual breaks and instead just a lot of 5 minute breaks to go on my phone. Stop what you are studying and take a REAL break. Leave your desk. Get a snack. Go on a walk. Do not stay sitting at your desk and scroll through your phone. By taking purposeful breaks you are going to come back to your work refreshed and ready to go again. I find that a 10 minute break every 90 minutes, with a 1 hour lunch break around noon works best for me.
Ask questions
I find that emailing questions to my professor is so much less intimidating than going to office hours to ask them in person. Utilize this as much as you can! Some of my professors in the past have offered live Q&A video sessions online which I found to be helpful. I always like to hop on just to hear any questions that other students have to ask.
Make to-do lists
I. Love. Lists. I have found that keeping myself motivated and on-track has been the hardest part of online classes. By making a checklist in the morning of what needs to be completed in the day I have been able to keep myself (mostly) on track and checking off those little boxes is such a good feeling.
Sit away from your phone
Get your phone out of sight. Don’t even have it face down on your desk. Put it in a drawer or a different room. If you see it your brain will think about it. Check it on your breaks (away from your desk) but do not fall into the trap of scrolling mindlessly through social media while listening to your online lectures.
Communicate with the household
If you live with your family, a partner or roommates, COMMUNICATION IS KEY. Set boundaries as to when you need “quiet time” in the house if you have an exam. Let them know when you will be unavailable to chat because you have an online lecture. I have found that even just a little sticky note on my door that says “meeting in progress” or “exam in progress” has gone a long way in maintaining order in the household.
Change your clothes
Get dressed for the day or at least just change out of your pyjamas and into a different pair of sweatpants. Changing your clothes is going to help change your mind from sleep mode to work mode. If these are the mind tricks that are going to help us get through this semester, let’s use them for what they are worth.
Remember to connect with other humans
This semester it will definitely be trickier to connect with others as we sit in our rooms on zoom and google meetings. For me, this makes it really easy to hide away and just immerse myself in school but that can get lonely! Make sure to schedule in time for friends and family either in person (if it’s safe to do so) or on online. This is a great way to refresh your mind from everything that’s going on because this semester is definitely going to be different. A quick text or phone call can make all the difference to remind you that we are all just doing what we can and we will make it through this together.
Together we can learn to navigate this space of online learning. I have some exciting study resources in the works so be sure to subscribe to the blog below to ensure you don't miss out on any updates!
Happy studying!
- Jess
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