YouAlberta
How can you find a balance when you sleep, watch Netflix, and play games in the same space that you go to lecture and write exams in? It’s not impossible! I took a full course load these past Spring and Summer semesters, all of which were online, so I have been able to develop different ways to balance my school life and my regular life. It takes some trial and error, perseverance, and consistency, but creating this balance has proven to be worth it these first few weeks into the Fall semester.
Stop! Studying! In! Bed!
I used to tell myself that it would be alright if I study on my bed because I would be very comfortable and would therefore retain the information better. In reality, it was just a way for me to sneak in “well deserved” naps every 10 minutes. Not only that, every time I would go to my bed to, you know, sleep, I would get this strange urge to open eClass and stare blankly at slides for an hour. It felt like I would never escape the sticky hands of unproductive over-productivity. Instead, set a designated space in your home where you can do the majority of your schoolwork. This will allow your brain to create the connection that a certain place is for work, and once you get settled in that spot you’re primed for productivity. You will also successfully reclaim your bed from the hands of eClass and return it to a place of relaxation.
Prepare as if you were going to campus
If you’re like me and dragging yourself out of bed five times a week just to walk a meter to your desk doesn’t sound super appealing, try mentally preparing yourself as if you were going to campus! Small things like setting your alarm in the morning to give you enough time to have breakfast and get all prettied up for your Zoom lectures can really help. I’ve even found that putting the notebooks and materials that I need into my bag the night beforehand helps. I know it sounds silly but believe me it has stopped my room from becoming an absolute mess of notes and textbooks since all my materials are in one place. I never lose my notes anymore to the notebook monster under my bed (usually)!
Turn off your phone or put it somewhere else
Definitely, 100%, absolutely, not speaking from experience, but being on your phone even in in-person lectures can be incredibly tempting. Now place that same temptation in a situation where no one can really tell you off for being on your phone, focusing on school work becomes so much harder. I find that letting my phone die or get to low battery and then charging it in a place that’s inconvenient to get to from my desk has helped my productivity tremendously; with this method, my phone has to be in that location because it needs to charge and I don’t have an excuse to have it next to me. I love my fair share of memes and all, but I usually can’t be bothered to get up from my desk to sit on the floor somewhere just to check Instagram for the hundredth time that day.
Create a Schedule
This is the only thing stopping me from losing all control on both my academic life and my personal life: creating a schedule that mimics a typical day on campus. For example, get up and get ready for school, attend lectures, stand up and stretch for 10 minutes (to mimic walking to the next class), repeat, break for lunch, repeat, close eClass for the day (go home). Set a time that you plan on “clocking out” for the day, write a reasonable to-do list for the day, and aim to get all of your work done before said time. That way, your school work doesn’t bleed into your me-time, you aren’t paranoid that you haven’t gotten enough work done for the day, and you can enjoy your evening in peace. Although every now and then I still end up doing work until midnight because of the never ending fear that I’m falling behind somehow but hey, nobody is perfect (and quite frankly I would be doing that even if there were in-person classes)! If you can take the initiative to create a schedule and try to stick to it, then that’s one step closer to creating a balanced work-at-home life.
Asynchronous lectures? Watch them at the scheduled lecture time!
Listen. I know having time without school work via putting off all of your asynchronous lectures for the week until Sunday night can be very tempting. Very. Unfortunately, as I’m sure you know if you’ve tried this method, this is a sure fire way to quickly fall behind and become overwhelmed with work. Holding yourself accountable and pushing yourself to “attend” each lecture at its scheduled time, even if it is a pre-recorded video, can be incredibly beneficial in the long run. The only time I would say it would probably be in your best interest to not do this is if you have a late afternoon/evening class but the lectures are asynchronous. Unless you have previous commitments that morning, I would definitely recommend knocking those videos out earlier in the day. You get your work done earlier and now your evening is freed up!
Studying with my friends was one of my favourite things to do when we had in-person classes. I love the camaraderie that exists between a bunch of students that are all just trying to get through the semester with just sheer willpower and a few cups of coffee. Thankfully, we can still do this! Thanks to the powers of the internet, you can still have study sessions with your pals via Zoom, Facetime, Discord, or just about any video communication platform. Combat the lurking threat of burnout by having people hold you accountable for both your work and your breaks in between. Knowing that my friends are pseudo-there with me gives me the motivation to do a chunk of my work because I know that we’re all in it together. If the pandemic has taught me one thing, it’s that we’re not as alone as we think we are. All of us are going through the wild ride that is 2020 together and there’s no need to brave it alone. So call your friends, join that study group, pull out your notes and e-kick this semester in the butt.
These are just some of my tips for creating a balanced academic and home life during this tumultuous time. Of course, they won’t work for everyone because finding that balance truly is just trial and error and choosing what works best for your lifestyle. At the end of the day, as long as you still have time to prioritize your own health and well being, I think you’re doing a swell job.
