School from home: staying productive

Not all of us are naturally cut out for working from home, but in this day and age, we’re all learning to be more flexible. As lockdowns continue, schooling from home is becoming a far more common occurrence and we wanted to share some tips for making it work for you. 

With holidays coming to an end soon, you’ll have some time to get some of these things organised begore school holidays come to an end. Whether you’re attending virtual classes or studying work you’ve already learnt at the beginning of the year, these are the kinds of things that will help you stay productive during this time. 

Set up your workspace

This one is really important. Whether you have space for a desk in your room or you’re sharing with other people, it is super helpful to have a dedicated space where you can work. This also helps create some separation between your home-space and your school-space.

Whether you’re sharing a workspace with your siblings and family, or you have your own separate desk, you can still make this a space that inspires and motivates you. Clear away the clutter, gather the things you will need to be able to do your tasks or even set up space in your garden where you can work in a place that is peaceful and motivating for you.

Clear the clutter

No, I’m not talking about procrastinating your work by cleaning! You’ll need to make sure that your space is as distraction-free as possible. Try to face a wall or a window so that you’re not focused on other things inside the room you’re working in. This will help you to minimise your focus on things that will start to make your mind focus on other things. Take other items off the table you’re working on, try to stick to having only what you’ll need in front of you. This should help you to hone in on the task you’re supposed to be completing. Put your phone on do not disturb mode and out of sight, this is your biggest distraction!

Nail your school-from-home routine

We’re all creatures of habit, even if you are more flexible than the person next to you. Setting up a designated workspace and clearing the clutter both play a role in developing a routine that works for you. Do yourself a favour and make breakfast a part of this routine. When you skip breakfast, you’re not doing your brain any favours. Feeding your brain will go a long way in making you more productive!

It may help to set up a schedule and break up your day into set times, not everyone is the same, but I’ve learnt that blocking out my day to complete tasks really helps me to stay on track. Find something that works for you. Keep an eye out for my next blog where I’ll be trying out and reviewing some of the most common ways to schedule your time.

Get dressed

I know no one is going to see you, but this is more of a mental shift than anything else. Change into something comfortable and do your hear. You could even get completely dressed up like you’re going to school (not necessarily in your school uniform but you know what I mean).

Sometimes it is the simple things that will get you into your productive headspace. If you can keep yourself motivated, it’s far easier to accomplish the things you have on your to-do list.

Concentration technique

There are a couple of different techniques you can use to keep yourself focused and accountable for how much time you’re putting into your work. When I was in high school, I used to split up my study time into 45 minutes dedicated to work and 15 minutes of a break.

Here’s how it would work for me, I would start my 45-minute timer and begin the tasks I decided to do in that timeframe. If I got distracted by a message going off on my phone, or I felt like I wanted to check Instagram, I would make that my reward during my 15 minute break time. That would help me to bring my focus back onto my task and stay productive.

Now, this isn’t the only concentration technique, you could also try something similar called the Pomodoro technique, which splits up your time into 25 minutes of work time and 5 minutes of a break. This technique gives you a slightly shorter break but you’re able to have them often enough that you’re motivated to work hard during your 25 minutes of work time.

Priorities and task lists

Anyone who knows me knows that I really am not an exercise kind of person, but it’s so important to stay active when we can’t leave our homes. You don’t need to do anything too strenuous but go some light exercising that will get your heart rate up a bit. You’ll find that doing this will go a long way in helping you fight cabin fever. 

If you have access to data, you can download a couple of exercise routines that work for you. There are many different YouTube channels that you could go to for this kind of thing and if you download them, you’ll only need to use your data once.

Now that you’re equipped with some helpful tips, I’m sure you’ll be really productive as you start to work from home. If you try some of these things out, or if you have your own tips, share them with me on our Instagram account @advantagelearnofficial or on our Facebook page.