Online school can be an overwhelming landscape to navigate. We don’t see the same faces we used to, and starting a new routine after having an already perfected one is frustrating. Everyone is discovering and developing their routine. Everyone’s work habits and preferences are different so just because one thing works for your best friend doesn’t mean it has to work for you. Here are five tips that I’ve found helpful along the way and that you can incorporate into your daily life.
1. Change the scenery.
You’ve probably heard this many times before but bear with me here. When you’re attending school online, it can be hard to separate home and school life like you were once able to. For many people, it was easy to figure out a balance between the two when you could go to a library or nearby café to make studying easier. It’s okay to give yourself a break and not be so focused on separating the two. Take the time to find new areas in your house and discover what works for you. This allows for a change of environment and maybe a different way of thinking. I think it’s helpful to take a step back and figure out what kind of learner you are. With everyone working from home, this might be easier said than done but even if you are limited to working in your room, decorating your desk area can motivate you to work a little bit more. After all, who doesn’t want to sit at their desk and get into the Dead Poets Society aesthetic of it all?
2. Friends who suffer together stay together.
Somedays school can just be too hard for one person to go through alone. I’m a real supporter of study groups and think that in between all the jokes, you can always get something out of working with a friend. You don’t even have to be working on the same assignment or project to facetime your friend and go down in the trenches together. Having some company makes things feel a little less overwhelming and if you’ve got a real one, they’ll make sure you’re staying off all the socials and not watching the same interviews of Timothee Chalamet that you have already seen multiple times before. I’m sure we can all relate, right?
3. A messy inbox makes for a messy mind.
There’s only so much I remember that I can’t even recall what I had for lunch the other day. With online school comes a bunch of email notifications full of updates for assignments, webinar links, and dates. You want to declutter your inbox of unnecessary subscriptions/promotions and pin the emails with dates coming up for the week so it’ll be the first thing you see whenever you log in during the week. Try different methods out to keep you organized with your deadlines. Have a planner that you haven’t used since February? Well, now’s the time to get it out! Translating everything from your brain to paper can make you feel lighter. A simple method like setting reminders on your phone can make all difference when you’re away from your laptop and emails.
4. Check out the app store.
If you have trouble focusing on completing tasks because of going on your phone, you are certainly not in the minority there. This is why there are a billion apps out there to stimulate productivity! The same phone that distracts you can help you if you spend some time experimenting with some apps. One app that’s recently gained a lot of popularity is called Flora. Flora allows you to stay focused on your tasks by setting a timer and blocking the distracting apps on your phone. Additionally, when you put down the task in flora, a little seed is planted that can grow into a healthy tree unless you exit out of the app while completing your task in which case your tree will die. No one wants to be a tree killer, it’s not a good look so you might want to consider downloading apps like Flora to make checking things off your to-do list easier (also, this is not an ad, only a suggestion!).
5. Speak to your school advisor.
Online school is a big change for everyone especially if you’re a freshman starting college online. Every university handles things in different ways and it can be hard adjusting to this if you’ve never experienced it before. These superheroes have heard it all, they’re there to offer up their advice, guide you, and simply listen when you need to vent. Don’t be afraid to schedule a meeting with your advisor, they are there to accommodate you in the best way possible for your school year to run smoothly.
I hope these tips prove to be helpful and remember there is no right way to be productive! Don’t forget to stay hydrated and taking a rest day doesn’t mean you’re quitting, it just simply means you’re resting.