So, I graduated in 2019 – when times were so much simpler.

I had my final exams, I had my graduation, and everything that comes with finishing school pertaining to the normal young adult experience. The fact that the bittersweet memories of my last moments in high school are still so vivid is the reason why I feel so bad for current students. They have to navigate these precious and challenging moments all while getting through the public health and economic crisis that is COVID-19.

The coronavirus has changed the face of education for who knows how long.

Online learning means the bedroom or living room as now replaced the classroom for many students, meaning that your home-study game needs to be on point. Whether it’s high school, university or another form of education – studying at home is an art.

1. Take up journaling

Journaling is an umbrella term – it is whatever you make it. It can be anything from a stress reliever, to a personal diary, to a study tool.

There was a time in my last two years of high school when I got so overwhelmed that I genuinely contemplated dropping out and herding sheep or something (seriously).

I’m not lying when I say that journaling saved my academic life – for me it was bullet journaling. It was a sight for my sore artist’s eyes when I could see my entire month, schedule and assignments laid out in a satisfying way – and I think many of you might relate.

Even if you don’t consider yourself the creative type, having a place to record everything and represent it visually is magical. That’s why we’re developing My Book of Life really – to share this power with the world.

Journaling has made me far less stressed and made it so much easier to organise myself.

2. Set the environment

Learning environment is everything!!

What you’re surrounded with is what you draw your energy from –

However, if you’re in a dull room with fifty other people, no personal attention – chances are you’re not feeling very comfortable. That, unfortunately, is the reality with most online learning environments. You’re often just one Zoom box on a screen filled with Zoom boxes. It’s a cold, impersonal environment.

Luckily, when it comes to home-study, you have the advantage of being able to create the best personal study environment for yourself.
For example, I study best when I light some candles (be careful not to burn down your room like I almost did). I turn on my fairy lights, make a cup of tea, and play some chill music – and it makes all the difference.

You don’t want anything outside of your work to be putting extra strain on your brain, and you definitely don’t want your room to remind you of how stressed you are.

3. Take breaks strategically

160,000 UC undergraduates were asked what prevented them from being academically successful. Aside from stress, work, etc., the main reason they gave was lack of a study technique.

And gosh, I could definitely relate.

The typical student goes through the vicious cycle of procrastinating on work they don’t want to do, then realising it, panicking, starting a total cram-fest, getting burned out on the work, and procrastinating again.

The trick to breaking this endless cycle is to take breaks not when you’re tired of the work, but to prevent getting burned out on it in the first place!

I achieved this with a simple, and quite popular, 45/15 rule – study hard for 45 minutes without distractions, and then allow yourself to be lazy and relax for 15 mins. Then repeat.

You’ll find you can do almost anything for 45 minutes when you know you have a 15 minute break coming up!

6. Good hygiene

A bit of an odd one to put in a list of things to help you study at home, but hear me out.
Something that I’ve found is that every time I shower, I feel very motivated to be productive afterwards. It has to do with the feeling of being clean.

Being dirty, smelling bad, feeling icky in general – it can be a huge distraction, and it can contribute largely to putting you, or keeping you, in a lazy mood.

7. Distractions

Perhaps one of the biggest pieces of advice that everyone gives to students is to eliminate distractions.

Now, I know how difficult this is. I was once deep into around three shows on Netflix during a critical exam season, finding myself watching ‘just one more episode’ on my phone instead of studying.

For most of us, the only way to eliminate distractions is to get them out of the room in which you’re working.

It’s surprising how fast we can forget about our phones when they are in another room. And, you can always go check your notifications during the 15 minute breaks I talked about in tip #3, above!

8. Reminders all day, every day!

This one comes from observing my sister studying at home during lockdown.

The amount of times she simply forgot to get on her class call, or got distracted – honestly amazed me.

Setting reminders on her phone’s calendar is what eventually saved her, and it helped me out too when I got extra busy.

Under stress, the brain can get quite foggy, so giving it just a bit of help can make all the difference.

9. Early bird gets the worm!

This one is probably the most annoying, but one of the most powerful.

Something that transformed my home-study and work-from-home experience was forcing myself to get up earlier (and going to bed earlier as well).

I used to get out of bed and start my day around 12, and before I knew it, the day had slipped through my fingers.

Today, however, I get over 4 hours of work done before I sit down for lunch – it has absolutely transformed my productivity and it’s what’s giving me the strength to now start my own business!

10. Be forgiving to yourself!

I want to leave you with what I think is the most important thought to have.

The brain is unpredictable, and our lives are even less so.

As long as you try your hardest to follow the tips above, never beat yourself up for having a rough morning, not sleeping enough, or needing a bit more time to relax. Being kind to yourself is just as important as staying productive.

Stay hopeful and stay positive!

It’s a hard journey for all students, getting through this new norm of education. On the other hand, this is also a new opportunity to build lasting habits which you will be grateful for forever!