Online school is something that every college student has gotten quite familiar with these days. The days are filled with zoom classes, online lectures, and readings galore. Professors expect us to stay up to date with the ever-changing syllabuses and keep assignments and work organized. It seems like a death wish.
But, all is not lost! I struggled at the beginning too. But then I figured out a few ways to stay organized and on top of my assignments that work for me. Here are five tips that have helped me immensely and might be useful for you too:
1. Scheduling
I make a schedule for everything. Monthly, weekly, and daily. I write down every due date, when to read things by, and any supplementary work. I make sure I know what has to be done for each class every week and hang that on a piece of paper on my desk. That way, I can look up and see exactly what needs to be done on a certain day! Writing out what needs to be done the night before has been a game-changer. Now when I wake up in the morning, I’m ready to start my day!
2. Writing everything down
I am constantly writing things down. I have calendars, notes on my phone, papers hung up on my desk. I always make sure to have my list of to-do’s written everywhere I may need it. I have a To-Do list on my desk, as well as on sticky notes on my computer desktop. That way, I can ensureI know when I’m supposed to start an assignment as well as when it’s due.
3. Dividing Work by Day
Something that has helped me not overload myself with work has been dividing up my work into multiple sessions. As I’m making my monthly schoolwork schedule, I count the number of pages to be read, the hours of online lectures to be watched, and the time it takes to write any forum posts or work on essays. By doing this, I know what amount of work needs to be done each day so I’m not stuck reading a 30-page article the night before a class. It’s a bit more pre-work, but it makes getting work done all the more effective.
4. Dedicating a Day for each Thing
It can be hard to keep up with schoolwork, especially when some of your classes don’t have allotted Zoom times. To help with this, I dedicate a day to each online lecture, as well as a day for doing readings for each class. This way, I know that I’m going to get classwork done on time and be able to have extra time to work on assignments.
5. Adapting as Things Change
Lastly, and probably most importantly, I never beat myself up if I can’t follow my schedule or To-Do lists perfectly. Things are always changing, and I may have a day where my low motivation doesn’t allow me to get everything done and that’s okay. I give myself room to adjust and know that it’s not the end of the world if I do a reading the next day, or if I can’t finish reading the number of pages I was supposed to that day. Motivation comes and goes, and we can take advantage of it when it’s there, and forgive ourselves when it’s not.
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