Two years down the line and schools are still adapting to new conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the outbreak, active measures are in place to limit in-person interactions.
School closures during the pandemic led to severe disruptions to education worldwide. As a result, countries have had to devise learning recovery strategies, one such strategy being remote learning.
Today, most institutions have adopted online classes, albeit at a reduced capacity. On paper, this strategy serves as an effective way to undo the disruptions caused by the pandemic while also limiting the risk factors from in-person interactions. However, remote learning comes with its limitations.
It goes without saying that studying from home can be a real challenge. There are so many distractions present, and procrastination is almost always the order of the day. Additionally, technology cannot effectively convey the personal interaction between teacher and student.
These, among so many other limitations, are leading causes of low productivity among remote students. As a result, extra effort is required to stay productive. Aside from adapting to the current state of learning, studying at home has a lot of perks for both remote and in-person learning.
Fortunately, there are a couple of tips that can help you get used to studying at home. Here are a few tricks to help you stay focused when studying at home.
Tips for studying effectively at home
- Create a workspace
Selecting a work or study space in your home is an excellent start. Creating a workspace involves fashioning an environment similar to a school setting. By doing so, you are defining the confines of both study and relaxation areas. This helps to initiate a better level of concentration.
Your setup should include a desk, chair, and, if possible, a socket. Natural light has been found to improve mental health. Therefore, you should consider setting up your workspace close to a window. Creating a workspace is not enough. You should ensure that your space is also neat and focused. Populate your desk with only study-related items to avoid distractions.
- Set up a pattern
If you find yourself procrastinating a lot, then you are in dire need of a routine. A solid pattern can be an effective tool for improving productivity. It provides a concrete organization for all activities and a platform for effective planning.
Before you set up a routine, you should understand what exactly works best for you. Ask questions such as:
- When am I most productive?
- Am I a morning person?
- Do I work better at night?
Self-honesty is critical in establishing a pattern, and answering all these questions would help set up a routine that perfectly complements you. With the structure that comes with a pattern, you’ll be able to identify time for work and play easily.
- Create a study schedule
Having created a pattern, following a study schedule is also good practice. This involves highlighting realistic learning goals and how you intend to achieve them. Your study schedule should be specific on things such as:
- How many hours you’ll spend reading
- When you’ll search for additional sources
- When you intend to take a practice test
After stating achievable goals, you should assign specific timeframes to them. For instance, you could allocate one week for completing a book and the next for taking a practice test. Creating a study schedule is essential if you wish to master studying at home. It also improves time management skills (more on this later).
- Make time for physical activities
We all know what they say about ‘all work and no play’. Studying at home does not necessitate a brutal work schedule. As such, you should occasionally take a break and engage in different physical activities.
Food and exercise top the list of essential activities to engage in. Aside from the health benefits of a good diet and regular exercise, they also improve concentration and retention levels. You should also engage in other relaxing hobbies such as music, movies, meditation and even video games.
Understanding time management
Time management points to a person’s ability to utilize time effectively. Time is a finite resource, so there is a need to maximize it as much as possible. Understanding time management is not just relevant for students, but is also regarded as a top professional skill.
That being said, anyone can learn and improve on time management skills. As a student, here are some important techniques for maximizing time:
- Prioritization
This is one word that could determine a lot. Your ability to prioritize essentially determines how productive your day will turn out to be. Prioritization involves identifying all you need to do and ranking them based on their level of importance.
By giving very important activities higher precedence, you could identify the best time and process to accomplish different goals.
- Setting goals
Another important technique for managing your time is goal-setting. Identifying specific goals would help you to know what to do at all times. As a student, setting short-term and long-term targets would help to keep you on a more focused and efficient path.
Goals could range from simple targets such as how long you’ll spend online daily to long-term targets such as where you plan to work. Regardless of the timeframe, they all serve as effective time management techniques.
- Employ deadlines and checklists
In truth, nothing keeps you on your toes quite like a deadline. Keeping a list of deadlines helps in better prioritization. With this, you’ll be able to identify critical tasks and assign time to complete them.
A checklist can also help in this regard. List all activities and mark them based on completed tasks. This way, you will not forget to do anything.
The importance of time management cannot be overstated. It is a crucial skill to develop – so much so that it can be developed in different institutions, one being Aston University.
Aston offers a quality online MBA experience for the UK and international students looking to enhance their business skills. Through Aston’s online MBA program, students can build critical management, networking and relationship skills, and complete a hands-on research project to evidence leadership qualities developed throughout the program.
