Coronavirus means that most students are not attending college and university right now. But this does not mean that classes are finished. Instead, more people are having to communicate online and study from home. This can be quite an adjustment and will require some hard work in order to be productive.
We have prepared some organization tips for students so that you can make the most of your time at home and study.
1. Have a Schedule and Stick to It
The first thing you need to do when you are studying is having a schedule. Create a timetable of when you will work during the day and what you will work on. When you have a plan of action, you can have something to aim for every day and keep you on track. Keep your schedule on a whiteboard or somewhere where you can tick off your tasks. This can create positive feelings of accomplishment when you are trapped at home. Of course, as with any of our study tips and organization, you need to stick to it. Try to get into a habit each day of getting up at the same time and completing your tasks. You will feel a lot better about it.
2. Have a Designated Work Space
They always say that you should have a space in your home that your mind associates with working. For example, it can be bad to work in your bed since the brain associates this space with sleeping. You will also be adjusting to working at home when you may be used to studying in a library. Therefore, it is time to designate a workspace that you will go every day so that you can home study. This can help your productivity and make sure that you are still able to study when you need to.
3. Minimize Distractions
When your whole family or friends are in the household where you live, there are going to be a lot of distractions. Everyone’s home at the same time and this means that everybody will distract each other and procrastinate together. The best way you can avoid this from happening is by telling everybody in your household the hours you are working. This can help them to stay away from you and give you study space. In addition, it is going to be beneficial to remove other distractions during study time too. This can include your smartphone or turning the television off. This is going to make sure that you retain the information when you are studying.
4. Use Online Services and Sources for Help
During COVID-19 and quarantine at home, you may find that you do not have a lot of help with your studies. You will not be surrounded by your friends and classmates to ask questions and your professor or teacher may not be available when you need their assistance. This means that you will have to find another way to gain help when it is necessary. Of course, the internet is a fantastic tool for this. You can use a lot of online resources that are going to help you with the topics you are writing about. You will have the possibility to find a free sample of essays and study notes from other students. In addition, you can investigate professional services such as StudyMoose for help with the essay on, for example, the “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
5. Take Regular Breaks
Of course, studying is important. For example, when you are writing essays about young Goodman Brown, you will need to put in a lot of hours of work. But in order to keep productivity high when you are stuck indoors, you have got to take regular breaks. This is a study routine students need to get into in order to refresh and feel good about their college and university work. This can be anything from getting a snack and stepping away from the computer to watching an episode of your favorite television program and then getting back to studying.
6. Use Website Blocking Apps
Are you always on social media? Perhaps it is time to try out some website blocking apps. This is going to prevent you from going onto social media and other distracting websites when you should be working. All you have to do is download a reliable one from the internet. Most of them are free and allow you to enter website addresses that you want to block for a certain period of time. You can use this in conjunction with your study schedule to ensure you get all of your work done.
7. Video Call Your Classmates
Just because you are quarantining and social distancing in the house, does not mean that you cannot keep in contact with your friends and classmates. This can be beneficial for your studying. Check-in with them and see how they are getting on with their essay, studying or other assignments. Discussing the work may help you both learn and allow someone to talk to about your studies if your family does not understand. Using a video call is easy and lets you speak in real-time, as opposed to texting and emailing online through social media.
8. Set Rewards and Downtime
When you are sticking to your study schedule and getting through your work, you have got to make time to reward yourself. Studying in a new environment and at home with lots of distractions can be difficult. Make sure that you enjoy regular rewards so that you can stay motivated and keep going through these strange times. In addition, enjoy your downtime at the weekends. You still want to have lots of fun and enjoy your favorite activities at home. Whether this is watching the television, playing your game consoles and hanging out playing cards with your family, make sure that you do not miss out on these things. They are going to be important to boost your mood when you cannot leave home.
