To all the students out there, be it those who are still in secondary school or those who are in college, online classes can seriously be tough. It can be hard to concentrate and frustrating at the same time, especially for those who have poorer internet connection compared to others. But many face common problems as well. So here are some tips and tricks to help you through this tough time.
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#1 Plan and Organise
Benjamin Franklin once said, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." It is true because our days would just be sort of meaningless without having any plans to look forward to. People are more likely to succeed when they write down their goals and plan out their actions. Thus, we need to make study plans accordingly.
There are multiple ways for students to make plans.
a) Have a functional and portable planner.
There are various types of planners out there available in the market with a variety of sizes. Common sizes include A4, A5 and B5. Some are available in a binder where you can refill the pages when they are all used up, whereas some are just like normal notebooks.
b) Try bullet journaling.
For those who want a more flexible planner and let your creative juices flow, the bullet journal method can be an excellent choice. It can be done minimally or creatively depending on your preference. Overall, the bullet journal method runs on the same system, that is to use symbols and dots to indicate your plans. The most common symbols are, a dot/bullet as a task, an 'X' to mark as a task completed, and forward and backward arrows to show the migration of a task or event.
c) Digital planning for convenience.
For those looking for a more convenient and paperless alternative, you can try to plan your studies digitally. Google Calendar is one of the most popular choices among students when it comes to digital planning. You can use colour-coding techniques to differentiate your tasks or subjects, and there is also an option to view your plans monthly, weekly or daily as well.
To sum it all up, planning is generally a crucial step to mastering our days. Not only it lets us see how much free time we have in a day, but we can also use it to manage our study times and times for our daily activities for a more balanced life.
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#2 Cut Out Distractions
One of the most prominent problems students face during online classes is not paying enough attention. Sure everyone is guilty about it at some point, even the most organised and manageable students do. But don't be too hard on yourselves, there is always a silver lining. This gives us a chance to train our discipline and concentration levels.
Distractions come in different forms and they are different for everybody. Here are some of the ways to combat specific types of distraction.
a) Put the phone away.
It is easier said than done, but please do put your phone away during your class times or study times, unless you really need it. Don't give yourself excuses to let the phone be in your sight. Some excuses may include "But what if someone calls me?" or "What if my friends ask me about something?" or "What if there is an announcement about xxx?". No matter the excuse, these types of common situations can be put till after your class/study time.
Ways to put your phone away can be, putting it in a different room than your study area, under your pillow, or in a drawer far away from your table. If you are not comfortable with physically putting your phone away, you can try out focus and productivity apps like Forest. Whichever method you choose, make sure your phone is off-limits during the times when you should be focusing.
b) Block websites that may distract you.
Even if we put away the gadgets that would cause distractions. We are all still using our laptops or computers to take our classes. Thus, social websites can be rather tempting and distracting during class times. This can be managed by using apps or web extensions that help block those websites during our class or study times. Some popular and free options include StayFocused and Block Site.
c) Isolate yourself from distracting home environments.
It can be quite a nightmare when you are stuck at home while also attending school. No one can focus properly when your family members are watching TV or when your younger siblings are there playing catch. Thus, you must give yourself a comfortable environment to study. Maybe go to a different room, or discuss with your family members about your distraction problem and see what can be sorted out, as long as you get your arrangements in order while also keeping everyone happy and satisfied.
All in all, distractions are a student's worst enemy. The sooner we tackle them, the quicker we save ourselves from jeopardising our academic performance.
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#3 Enjoyable Study Times
Sitting there at the desk while trying to fit information that you are hardly interested in into your brain can be a very draining experience. It is important for us to feel good when studying because it lets us feel more relaxed instead of feeling frustrated about why our studying performance is not meeting our expectations.
Here are some ways to help you improve your study performance.
a) Play some music in the background.
Studies have shown that listening to music does help in your concentration and study performances. Music not only keeps us from feeling negative emotions towards studying but it has even proven to improve test scores.
b) Take breaks.
Giving ourselves time to rest between our study sessions can help us do better in the next session. The Pomodoro method comes in handy for this. It is recommended to take a 10-15 minute break for every 50-minute study session, but you can experiment with your productive times and adjust with your own needs and preferences.
c) Reward yourself.
It is important for us to feel appreciated for our hard work. We often find appreciation from others when we should actually be there appreciating ourselves. Rewarding yourself doesn't mean you have to break the bank to buy you a reward. You can reward yourself with small things, like picking up the book that you had been wanting to read, watch an episode of a TV series that you had been anticipating, or enjoying your favourite snack.
In short, studying can be an enjoyable activity when you learn how to manage it according to your own needs.
