Brianna, one of our student ambassadors, who has returned to her home in New York discusses how she stays motivated and productive while learning from home! Read her blog to gain some tips for yourself.

Online Class: How to stay Productive
So because of the coronavirus, classes have now moved online. If you’re anything like me you procrastinate which is not the best when classes are online. Here are some of my tips to thrive during this crazy time!

1. Write down all of the due dates of each assignment
You can write down your assignments in a list of what is due first to last and check them off after you have submitted them. Or what I like to do is print out a monthly calendar and write down the assignments that way. I am more of a visual person so I like seeing how many days I have left to finish that assignment. This is what my April calendar looks like with all of my assignments that are due. It’s a great visual and a great reminder to get stuff done.

2. Set at least 5 hours each day to class time
You are so used to going to class, the library, back to class and then home. Most people start school at 9 or 10am and finish at 4 or 5pm. That’s around 6- 8 hours each day that you are in school mode and accomplishing class and classwork. I recommend setting aside at least 5 hours each day Monday- Friday to keep up with the normal routine. This will insure that your assignments wont pile up because there is no one reminding you in class that it’s due.
This is one of my unique classes, my Bodhrán tutorial. It takes place at 12 on
Wednesdays and it is the start of my work day. It’s also the most fun!

3. Create a routine specific to you
Also it doesn’t have to be 5 hours straight, create a routine that best suits you. If you work better at night you can start later in the day. The purpose is to just keep a sense of normalcy so you don’t get overwhelmed during this crazy time. My routine varies day by day. For example, on Monday I have a class that starts at 5am Eastern time because I’m back in the USA. I wake up for that class and go back to bed because that’s just way too early for me to be up. But later on in the day I still set aside time to do work. My routine usually follows the same agenda. I eat breakfast, workout, shower, do school work/ class, eat lunch, do more school work, then do whatever I want, have dinner, and enjoy the rest of the night! I work better in the
morning which is why I usually finish most of what I want to accomplish before lunch but that’s my routine. Yours will look different or slightly similar. So figure out what works best for you and create a flexible agenda to follow Monday- Friday. And don’t forget to take breaks and enjoy time off.
This is me at 5 am in my design visualization class. I am laying in bed because I just fall asleep right after this! (It’s just too early for me)

4. Set a specific place to do work
This is so important! If you do not have a specific place to do your work your brain will not go into work mode. Studies have shown that people who do work in their bed have trouble falling asleep because their brain cannot decipher the difference between sleeping and doing work. So choose a location that is quiet with little distractions and get some work done! (Also don’t be afraid to do work outside when it’s nice out that way you’re not stuck inside most of the day.)

This is my desk in my room and it is my current classroom. I do all of my work here (sometimes I do work outside on a good day) You can use a desk like me, a counter, table, any place can work as long as it’s in a quiet place and you can rest your computer on it.

I hope you can take some tips from this post anyway! Thanks for reading

~ Brianna