Hey guys! My name is Sara Hawe. A little background on me, I am a sophomore in Mechanical Engineering here at Purdue and I am in the Eta Class at Kappa Delta’s Theta Nu Chapter. Because of COVID-19 a lot of colleges and schools are now doing classes through online mediums. I have some tips on how to stay on top of schoolwork while at home because I know for me it has been challenging with new distractions and new class formats.
One of my tips is to stay organized for the week. I would recommend using a planner or what I have been doing is setting up sticky notes for each day of the week on my desk. On each sticky note, I have what needs to be done that day like “take physics lecture notes”, “do the first 3 problems of thermodynamics homework”, etc. It is important to write down things that you can physically check off once you complete them. These goals for each day need to be tangible and should be specific enough to know whether or not you completed the task. For example, instead of making it a goal to “study for math”, put in your planner or sticky note “do 5 practice problems for math”. You either did do it or didn’t so this allows you to keep up with how productive you are being for the day.
Another tip I have is to set a designated spot (or two) in your house to do your schoolwork. Try to find a place where you won’t be too distracted. I like to use the desk in my room or my formal dining room table. These are two spots I can do my work where I know I can focus. It is important that you don’t do your homework in your bed because your brain is trained to relax when it is in your bed since you sleep there. So when you do homework on your bed, your brain will begin to go into relaxation mode which will prevent you from being as productive as you can be.
Overall, online classes have been a weird change but we can all make it through. Don’t hesitate to email teachers and TA’s if you ever feel like you are struggling because they want to help you as much as they can especially now that there is no more face to face office hours. Give yourself a break now and then too! Listen to a few songs after you finish some of your homework or take a walk (while social distancing of course) before you continue the rest of your assignments for the day.
Hope everyone stays happy and healthy during this pandemic and don’t forget, you got this :)
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