Being Productive While Virtual Learning

Greetings once again.

I hope this post finds you well. Today I would like to talk about how I am staying organized while virtual learning.

The truth is that it has been hard to stay on task. Many nights I have found myself crashing and then spending my weekends making up for it.

There was one night where I slept on the floor because I knew that if I went to bed, I would oversleep. I do not recommend that, but it was out of desperation and it worked.

It is amazing what you can do when you push through it, but I would not recommend making a habit out of it.

During this virtual learning experience, I learnt that I had to give myself space and time to figure things out.

I also had to listen to my body and change my strategies.

So let’s get into it:

Balance

Finding balance among school, time with God, time with family, and time with self can be hard with virtual learning as there are no physical boundaries.

I am still learning to balance this, but I try to have designated study/work spots and designated relaxing spots.

Planner

I have multiple planners. I always cringed at the idea of multiple planners but here I am practicing the same habit. Each planner has its purpose.

My main planner is used to jot down my to do’s for my day along with any important dates.

I used Microsoft power point to plan out my school tasks and my blog ideas.

I use Microsoft to do list to brain dump various ideas and goals.

I use paper or OneNote to plan out my assignments.

Finally, I use google calendar to map out the days and times of events.

I have tried calendar blocking, but it gets overwhelming for me. What works is placing down a time to complete major tasks like classes or events and then right before doing a task like studying, I will put in how long I plan to study for.

Study Tips

I realize that I work best with 1. A study person and 2. Forest app.

I have spoken about these on various occasions and those work best for me.

I tend to prefer longer study periods in the mornings. For example, I may do a 3-5-hour study period, with 40-50 minutes sessions, and 7-10-minute breaks.

In the late evening I prefer 2-hour study periods, with 25-minute sessions, and 5 minutes breaks. However, I do mix it up from time to time as it depends on what tasks I have to complete.

I have my favourite people who I like to study with, but I have been branching out lately because different persons study in different ways and it is nice to change things up every now and then.

Self-Discipline and Being Realistic

I did mention that I had to make a few changes. I know that I am more productive in the mornings, so I aim to get majority of my work done then.

I am also learning to be more realistic with my time. I aim to have 4-6 priorities per day, but I do not always stick to that.

However, if I get my priorities done for the day, then it was a productive day and if I got less done, then there is always tomorrow all being well.

It is important to be kind to self.

Tomorrow, you will wish you had started TODAY.

**BONUS

I thought about making a freebie for this post. I at first thought about a checklist but decided against it. However, if you would like me to make one, let me know.

In the end, I decided on desktop/iPad wallpapers. A new season is coming within a few days and I hope this inspires you to be productive and make good choices. (Can you tell that I come from a family of teachers?)