Staying On Top of Online Schooling

Online schooling is an adjustment for everyone, especially during this time. I know that for many people, it can be a struggle to stay on top of work or to just stay focused in general, so I wanted to share what I have been doing to make this change easier on myself & my family.

The first thing that I would suggest, if you haven't done this already, but create a work space for yourself where you know that you will have limited distractions. For me, this is my desk in my room, but it could be anywhere in your house. Things to consider are making sure there is plenty of sunlight to give you natural energy, keeping your space clean to limit your stress levels, and informing your family that this is your space to help keep interruptions to a minimum.

Organization is one of the next most important things to focus on during this time. It can be difficult to keep up with work when there is not a teacher or professor right in front of you explaining the assignments. The thing that has helped me the most is creating a calendar for the rest of the year. I wrote all of my assignments for the rest of the semester on it, color coded it for each class, and I add to it if I get more tasks. This has been a LIFESAVER because I can see a full spread of my workload & can work ahead.

Along with my calendar, I am a big supporter of to do lists. I remake my to do list almost every day

to give myself a plan. Doing this also helps me to feel accomplished throughout the day.

I also really enjoy sticking to a schedule, so I thought that I would share a little bit of my day to give you an idea of how I plan my school work...

7am: wake up & work out

8am: jump on to my first live online lecture

9am: get ready for the day & make breakfast

10am-2pm: FOCUS TIME

2pm: eat lunch & be done for the day!

Now to touch on a few of the things in my schedule. As odd as it seems to get ready for the day when we don't leave our houses & don't see anyone, it is something that I do almost every day. I shower, do my makeup, & put on a cute outfit. Maybe it is just me, but when I do that, I feel soooo much more productive throughout the day.

FOCUS TIME: I know that this looks crazy to just sit & focus for 4 hours straight. A lot of people have difficulty with this, but for me, it works really well. I start with small tasks like notes or short assignments to build up motivation & then move on to larger projects or things that are less interesting to me. For me, the best part about this four hours is that afterwards, I am simply done for the day. I do not drag it out, & it gives me time to get outside or do other things that I would rather be doing.

Everyone has different ways of staying focused & getting their work done, so I would LOVE to hear your creative ideas as well!

& last thing! Obviously this is not something that everyone can afford, but if you can allocate some money to this, I think that it is really important. I recently purchased a pair of blue light blocking glasses. Spending all day on my computer has been really putting a strain on my eyes & giving me headaches, so these glasses have been a LIFESAVER. I bought mine off of EyeBuyDirect & they have a pretty good discount for first time purchases as well as BOGO 50% right now too!!

xoxo