It’s the start of a new semester, and even with everything going on right now, it feels like we have just picked up where we left off last spring. This semester, every class of mine is online, and everything just feels strange. I don’t know about you, but I thought that after barely leaving my house for this long, things would start to feel normal. But as of right now, everything still feels far from it. Because of all of this, I have been having a hard time staying on top of my course work. So, here are some tips that have helped me to manage my school work these past couple of weeks.
- Set a Schedule
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Doing schoolwork at home can be difficult because it can be hard to manage your time. That is why setting up a schedule has helped me stay on track. For me, I wake up every morning around eight and I do not do anything but school work until I am done with everything for that day. It doesn’t really matter what time you wake up, but try to keep that time the same each day, and do the same for when you are doing your course work.
- Wake Up Earlier Every Morning
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I know that this is what I have had the most trouble doing. If you are just doing online classes, and you have a job where time is not the most important part, like mine, it can be hard to wake up at any time that is before 1 p.m. But I know that when I wake up early in the morning, I feel more prepared for my day. This is probably because I feel like I have more time to work on projects rather than waking up late, trying to do some work, only to give up and end up watching Netflix until 3 a.m.
- Use a Planner
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How many of you bought a planner hoping to use it this year, but then Covid hit and you haven’t touched it in five months? Well, me too. But since this semester has started I have been using my planner again! I like to make lists of everything that I need to do that day as well as to keep track of what time my Zoom lectures are at. I cannot recommend this enough because it will help you to keep track of everything that you need to do throughout the day. With classes being online, I feel like I never have enough time to do everything. By writing it down in my planner I feel like I can at least keep track of the things that need to be done.
- Get Ready For The Day
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Now, this doesn’t mean that you need to put on makeup and get all dressed up. However, you should be doing what makes you feel good about yourself. I have found it helpful to get up and shower, take care of personal hygiene, and put on real clothes. And if you want to do your makeup, that’s good too! Do whatever makes you feel ready for the day. This helps me because when I sit around wearing my llama pajamas all day, I don’t feel all that motivated to do anything. I noticed that if I get ready in the morning then I feel more motivated to get work done.
- Take a Walk
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If it is safe for you to do so, going outside and moving around is very helpful for times when you cannot concentrate on that paper you should be writing or that test you should be studying for. When this happens, I normally put on a podcast and go for a long walk around my neighborhood. That way I can concentrate on something besides the looming due dates. Plus, it helps me to get rid of some of my extra energy. Then when I return home I am able to go back to my laptop and work on whatever needs to be done.
I know that this semester is different than what we were all expecting. However, please don’t be too hard on yourself and try to take care of yourself. We are living through crazy times and right now we all need to do the best we can during the next couple of months. Although things probably won’t be going back to how they were anytime soon, hopefully we can all carefully and safely adjust to this new normal.
Good luck and I hope you have an amazing semester.