I’m sure we can all agree that the last eight months have been somewhat challenging and confusing for everyone, especially us students, and if like me you don’t adapt particularly well with change then this blog post is for you!
Many students since March have had so many questions of uncertainty, Will my exams still go ahead? Will I get my maintenance loan? Will everything be ok in September? In July things were looking up, pubs re-opened (wooo!) and things were looking good for the first week of uni. Not so much now, we are once again presented with unprecedented times having started uni again (silently cries, goodbye social life, ha!) and now a large proportion of University is online.
So how does one, who has paid over £9000 to attend university, adjust to life learning online… at home? Well here are my top 5 tips to make studying at home easier for you.
1. MORNING ROUTINE!
Personally, having a morning routine is crucial to my day! I feel a lot more productive and less tired if I follow these few simple steps before starting my day…
Firsts things first, MAKE YOUR BED! Getting out of bed and making it straight away will instantly set the tone for the day. Did you know that you spend roughly a third of your life in your bedroom and the appearance of your room greatly impacts your mood, so keeping it tidy is key to starting your day off right.
Get Dressed!
From experience it is so tempting to stay in your pyjamas and do work from bed, right? Well that may seem all well and good, but this will have a negative impact on both your mental health and productivity and creating a shift between your personal and work life will help you achieve better results from your studies, trust me, shower and get dressed!
Eat Breakfast!
Having a healthy balanced breakfast before your lectures will improve your concentration and energy levels, ultimately improving your performance and grades. Here is a link to 10 quick healthy breakfast recipes https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.society19.com/uk/10-quick-healthy-breakfast-ideas-busy-uni-students/amp/ or of course you can never go wrong with cereal or toast!
2. Create the perfect study space!
Keep your study space as just that! This will allow you to, as best you can, feel like you are separating your work space from your personal space, so get rid of any distractions e.g. games console and have everything ready you will need before you start your work e.g. laptop, pens, notebook, snacks/drinks (thanks Mccomb for the mini fridge). Top tip: creating a to do list/study schedule will help you organise your time more appropriately and keep you on track!
Lighting is also so important so studying near to a window would probably be best.
3. GET OFF SOCIAL MEDIA!
Guilty as charged! I am terrible for procrastinating and just scrolling through Instagram and then half an hour later realising ive missed half a lecture, anyone else? Ive found turning my phone onto aeroplane mode or off completely helps me concentrate so much more. Try having music quiet music on in the background if you cannot deal being in complete silence, Spotify have great study playlists.
4. TAKE BREAKS!
Taking breaks every 30-60 minutes is essential when studying, not only does it boost your productivity, but it stops your mental health dipping as a result of stress. I would recommend using your time to go on a nice walk, having lunch and maybe a cheeky scroll on Instagram.
5. STAY CONNECTED!
Just because you are now at home a lot of the time does not mean you can no longer stay connected with friends, classmates, and tutors. Edge hill provide a lot of facilities to help you stay connected with the university which can be found on blackboard or even recommending to your friends a study zoom call could be ideal in helping motivate each other to work better.
This doesn’t have to be a lonely time and there are so many people out there who you can speak to if your mental health has taken a toll due to online studying; flatmates, the university, McComb or even websites such as Samaritans are amazing for students!
