2020 saw a rise in parents teaching their kids from home. For some, it came naturally, and for others, it left the kids feeling more confused and grateful for their teachers than ever. Thankfully, due to technological development, kids were able to stay in touch with their teachers and classmates through videoconferencing software that helped them to stay on track.
For some parents, seeing their kids able to grasp complicated ideas via video inspired them to look for opportunities to study various courses from home. Whether that was to help them to progress in their careers or simply wanting to learn more about an interest or hobby, there are countless opportunities to learn from home.
Thanks to technology, trying to focus on books and paper materials are slowly becoming a thing of the past when it comes to taking courses. Even medical course students have access to unique AI powered UCAT revision software which assesses their mental abilities, characteristics, attitudes and professional behaviour. The UCAT test is used in the selection process for some medical schools to make sure that an applicant is suitable for studying medicine.
Regardless of whether you’re looking to study medicine or cake decorating, there is a certain amount of discipline and dedication needed to be successful in your remote learning. In this post, you’ll read some top tips on how to be a successful home learner.
Have a Dedicated Space
When you’re learning from home, it can be tempting to spend your entire day working from the couch or your bed. However, if you start studying from places that are usually associated with your leisure time, it may impact your ability to relax and sleep. A bad night’s sleep means you’re likely less productive in the day.
Working from your bed or couch means that it is also much easier to take a nap while you’re supposed to be being productive, which, in turn, will also severely disrupt your sleeping patterns.
In the same way, continuously sitting on the couch is terrible for your overall health and posture. It also means that the line between working and relaxing will become blurred. You need relaxation time to unwind at the end of the day, and not having the opportunity to do so will make you stressed.
Try to create a space that is solely dedicated to your study. Of course, not everybody can take an entire room for the purpose of studying, but there are plenty of streamlined desks available that can be used as a space-saving study solution in the corner of another room. But for those people who don’t have access to a dedicated space, even working on a kitchen counter or dining room table is better than using the space you would usually relax in–just make sure to tody away all of your study materials before trying to cook or eat in the space.
Now that the weather is improving, you could also use your study as an excuse to go and sit outside. Getting a decent amount of fresh air and that all-important, vitamin D is necessary for staying productive while you study.
Stick to a Routine and Limit Distractions
Trying to study outside of the formal classroom can be complicated–particularly if you have difficulties regulating your focus. Classrooms provide routine that should be replicated at home. Try to work to a specific schedule where you block out chunks of time to make the bigger tasks seem more manageable.
This kind of schedule will make you a lot more accountable, too. Doing this, you’re less likely to spend your time procrastinating by scrolling through social media or browsing clothing sites. Smaller, tighter mini-deadlines help you fo get more things done.
Additionally, it can be difficult to get back on track once you’ve been interrupted from your flow. Stay motivated by trying to limit the number of distractions and interruptions that may lead you to stray off the path.
If necessary, place your phone face down so you’re not distracted by notifications, or better yet, put it on a sleep setting so that notifications don’t pop up at all for the time you set it to.
Challenge Youself
Little challenges can help to keep you motivated. For example, you can use timers and stop watches to read a certain amount of pages within a small timeframe. Use these challenges to learn new things about yourself and your work patterns. Maybe you can focus on a task better when you’ve set yourself up in a particular spot, or are ar your most productive when you’ve just eaten or had a coffee. The only way you can truly understand how and where you can do your best studying is by trying different things and finding your magic formula. Being more aware of your time can help you to use it more wisely, and challenging yourself is a great incentive to stop procrastination in its tracks.
Give yourself a treat
Rewards can be a great motivator and knowing there is a treat waiting for you at the end may help you to work more efficiently. It can be thinking of being able to sink into the sofa when you’re done studying at the end of the day, or simply knowing that when you’ve done a certain task you can have a drink or snack. These kind of motivations will help you to keep going. Having an incentive will go a long way in helping you to get your work done much more efficiently.
However, treats shouldn’t just be comfort or food related. Taking care of your physical needs is a good way of making sure that you’re on top form. If you’re effectively fuelling yourself on fumes/sugar/caffeine, then you can’t expect to be very productive. You need to make sure you can meet your physical, emotional, and social needs while you’re learning from home so that you’re not burned out at the end of the day. It’s important to be able to take the time to evaluate how to take care of yourself to limit the potential for stress to take over.
So get out of bed, take a shower to wash off the stress of the previous say and get dressed to get your day started on the right track. Make sure to eat a good breakfast and drink plenty of water, too.
Stop putting things off
It’s often the case that we tend to put off the tasks that make us most uncomfortable. That could be putting off going to the dentist, or speaking with your bank about finances. With regards to home learning, it could be challenging yourself to speak with a tutor about something you don’t understand.
However, the more you put things off, the more anxious they’re likely to make us.
The more challenging circumstances can lead you to do anything else possible instead opf that important item on your ‘to do’ list.
When you study from home, you can always find a reason to do something other than that really important piece of work. So while you may manage to clean your kitchen from top to bottom, or wash, dry, fold, and put away the laundry, you still won’t have got your important work done.
However, if finding ways to stay motivated and productive is always particularly challenging for you, it may be worth speaking to your GP about having an assessment for issues syuuch as ADHD or anxiety which can make it harder to regulate your focus on a task.
Luciana joined our team as a mum blogger in 2020. A dedicated mum to a lively daughter and a dog, Luna, Luciana brings authenticity and passion to every post. Her expertise in parenting and lifestyle topics offers practical, relatable advice for real-life situations.
This is a great post! I agree with the points that you have stated here. I got enrolled in Oxford Learning College, which is one of the world’s leading distance education providers.