My Online School Survival Guide

I know the news of classes being held online for the rest of the semester has a lot of us feeling upset, overwhelmed and uncertain. My hope in this post is to give you tips to make this transition a little bit smoother. So, here we go!

USE A PLANNER!!!!!

I can not stress this enough. I was not one to use planners, but once I got to college a planner was necessary. I praise the people who actually write in planners everyday and keep up with them. I could never. For people like me, I highly recommend Google Calendars, or any type of electronic planner. NOTIFICATIONS SAVE MY LIFE. Take 30 minutes to put every due date, from tests and quizzes to homework and discussion posts, it will save you so much trouble! A lot of us are on our phone most of the day, seeing a notification on our phones is much more convenient than having to look up every due date on canvas.

** Also, TURN ON CANVAS NOTIFICATIONS!!!!

BLOCK OUT TIME

With the corona virus being in effect, most of us don’t have anything to do all day. Block out a certain period of time everyday to do work. I prefer to do my work in the mornings just to get it out of the way and to avoid the 11:59 stress. If you have trouble focusing, work for 25-30 minutes, then get up and do something else for a bit. Do the Macarena. Do jumping jacks. Go outside for a walk. Get the blood flowing in your brain again!

CHOOSE YOUR PLACE WISELY

I definitely do not recommend doing work in your bed. Your brain associates your bed with comfort and sleep. Doing work in bed will only slow down your productivity. A desk, outside on your deck, in your basement. Find a quiet place in your house with limited distractions.

THE PHONE CAN WAIT

Sis, put the phone down. Instagram and Twitter can wait. Your best friend can wait. I promise. When I was younger, my mom would always make me turn my phone off and put it in another room so I wasn’t tempted. I still do this now. With class being online, It is so much easier to get distracted and that mainly includes technology. IPhones, IPads, T.V.’s. All of it. Turn them off.

TALK TO YOUR PROFESSORS

Do NOT be afraid to email your professors. Whether it’s to clarify the material, you’re having trouble with technology, or you need help with an assignment. On the other side, do NOT wait 30 minutes before an assignment is due to email your professor with a question. Classes being online means most professors are checking their email frequently and will get back to you pretty quickly.

KEEP UP WITH STUDENTS IN YOUR CLASS

If your teacher placed your class in groups get each others e-mails, numbers, snapchats, or set up a GroupMe. If you need help with an assignment or have any questions your group members may be able to help, and they may respond faster than your professor. Communicating with people in your class allows you to not feel alone in this.

GET IT DONE AHEAD OF TIME

If your class allows you to work ahead DO IT. If you’re able to get work out of the way now, it alleviates stress you have at the end of the semester for finals. Take advantage of this!

Now, do I do all of these things? No, as I write this blog post in my bed. But following at least some of these tips, I hope you find online classes and this time to become a little less stressful. Best of luck the rest of the semester!