We’ve all seen the news and are up to date with the world situation right now, so we need to find efficient ways to study or work from home.
Source: Study Portals Masters – Online courses can be more convenient and are usually much cheaper than traditional on-campus options. However, concentrating can be difficult when you’re in your own home; maybe with a cute pet that needs attention, or perhaps you just have to wash the dishes or do your laundry. But here are some key tips on how to keep your study focus while taking classes from home:
Create a study schedule
Set a time to log into your online classes each day. Use an alarm, a reminder, whatever works for you. Proper time management is essential.
You may have some regular lecture times you need to attend, but you should also make time on your own end for review. This is especially important if you’re required to review some of the course materials on your own.
Use calendars, post-it notes and reminders
Online learning needs structure. Create a study calendar that will help you remember all the important exam dates or deadlines for submitting your assignments. You can save your calendar on your computer or your mobile device. You can even create a wall planner if you’re more of a visual type of person, which you can mark up and check every time you study.
Take advantage of productivity apps
We live in the digital age. Whatever you need to do, there’s probably an app that can either do it for you or make it a lot easier. These fantastic productivity extensions and applications make studying or working less of a hassle. They help to track your progress, organise tasks, set reminders, or make other apps work the way you want.
There are numerous productivity apps out there. Here are only a few examples:
- Any.do, Todoist
- Google Calendar
- Gmail, Outlook
- Notion
- Evernote
- Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox
- Slack
- KanbanFlow, Trello
Discover other apps which take your productivity to the next level.
Avoid distractions
If you want to work or study efficiently, it’s important to keep away any object that can distract you. For example, try to leave you phone in another room (don’t put it on silent, though, you don’t want to miss any calls) or behind your laptop or monitor so you won’t be tempted to scroll through your feed on Facebook or Instagram.
Avoiding social media or limiting the time you spend on it is especially important now when most of the news is related to the new coronavirus. It’s useful to stay informed, but it is even more helpful to keep some distance and take care of your emotional and mental wellbeing.
If you’re still tempted to use your phone, mute the notifications from social media and other non-essential apps. This way, you won’t be distracted from your work by a new like to that meme you posted on your feed.
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