While the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted daily life in numerous ways we’re only beginning to grasp, one of the biggest changes for college-bound high school students and college students alike is the influx of online classes. Some schools have offered limited numbers of online courses in the past, while others offer completely online degrees; for the vast majority of students who must adapt to experiencing all classes online, this is an unfamiliar landscape. A common question most students are asking themselves right now is: what are the best ways to study, attend class, and complete all coursework from home?
Tips For Success
While many students chose to study for traditional classes while at home, there’s a marked difference in a brief study session in your bedroom and handling your entire course load remotely while in COVID-19 isolation. Switching to digital schoolwork can be a tough transition. We’ve built this list of tips to help you navigate your new reality:
- Build a familiar routine. Before, you were attending class, studying, and relaxing at different times and different places based on your daily schedule. Now that we’re all in isolation, it can help to keep the same routine; you’re still checking in digitally, studying for classes, and relaxing with family – you’re just doing it all in the same location.
- Set strategic study times. You’re much more likely to stick with plans to study if you set a schedule you can keep. Block out study time and relaxation time that fits in with your class schedule and make yourself a visual reminder of your routine. By making an official study date with yourself, you’re less likely to forego studying in favor of television or other distractions.
- Optimize your study area. Depending on your current situation, you may have roommates, family, or others in your home with you, most of whom are likely adhering to stay-at-home or isolation orders as well. Find a quiet space to study with ample workspace and a comfortable place to sit. Avoid setting up shop on your bed – a desk or table in your bedroom or a quiet corner of your home will have you feeling much more productive.
- Get a change of scenery. Pre-COVID-19, study sessions in coffee shops, libraries, and parks were a great way to break out of the doldrums. Now, you’ll have to be more creative. Try a study session in your backyard, on a deck or patio, or even on a porch or balcony – just ensure you continue to practice social distancing.
- Give yourself a break. In a study featured in Time Magazine, the most productive workers tended to work for an average of 52 minutes, then took a 17 minute “The key to getting the most out of those breaks is to throw yourself into your work during those 52-minute increments, since you know there’s a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel,” says Time. Just make sure you allow yourself to rest once you get there.
While we’re all experiencing COVID-19 together, it’s important to note that the impacts of studying and school work from home will feel different for each person. Thus, it’s important to find a study routine that works for you – if studying in the evening or on the weekend works better for you than keeping your class schedule, go for it! Just don’t allow yourself to fall behind; your continued efforts during this time will be rewarded.
Additional Resources:
https://goodcolleges.online/study-tips-for-success/
https://blog.collegevine.com/tips-to-stay-productive-while-studying-at-home/
https://studybreaks.com/college/attending-class-from-home-here-are-6-tips-for-success/
https://www.nottinghamcollege.ac.uk/coronavirus/information-for-current-students/student-mental-health-and-wellbeing/top-tips-for-studying-at-home
https://student.uva.nl/en/content/az/studying-at-home-during-the-corona-crisis/studying-at-home-during-the-corona-crisis.html?cb
ALL COLLEGE PLANNING CLASSES ARE NOW VIRTUAL
