It can be challenging to stay motivated and studious while taking online courses. After all, there are many distractions, and it can be hard to retain essential concepts through a computer screen. If this sounds familiar, we highly recommend sifting through some of our tips for how to stay productive while studying remotely. They might just save your grade.
Set Aside a Designated Workspace
One excellent method for how to stay productive while studying remotely is setting aside a designated area for your studies. Whether you’re in a dorm or have the luxury of an entire home office, having even a tiny, clean workspace can make a huge difference.
This is because it gives you a place to house all of your schoolwork and appropriate home office supplies, which can significantly impact your productivity while also helping you mitigate some of the distraction that comes from working on your coursework from home. Plus, having a specified studying area can help keep you motivated and organized, so you get the most out of each online course.
Minimize Distractions
Of course, the trouble with studying online is the increased risk of becoming distracted and inherently much less productive. You don’t have anyone looking over your shoulder to ensure you’re not surfing the web during an important lecture. And there certainly isn’t anyone stopping you from muting your mic, turning off your camera, and pressing play on that show you’ve been binging for the last four nights.
For this reason, if you expect to learn anything substantial from your online courses, you must do what you can to minimize distractions as much as possible. And yes, unfortunately, this means silencing your phone, putting notifications on do not disturb, or even turning electronics off completely.
It could also mean purchasing a pair of noise-canceling headphones for when it’s time to crack the books or waiting until the very end of your school day to get on social media. Whichever route you choose, setting boundaries with your technology and interactions with others while you study is one of the best ways to stay productive during online courses.
Take Lots of Notes
It can be challenging to retain crucial information during an online lecture. Of course, this can make it much more challenging to complete your work once it’s time to study independently. This is why it’s so imperative for you to find alternative ways of absorbing the concepts being taught, so you can continue to be as productive as possible.
You can do this the old-fashioned way by taking lots of notes in a journal or on index cards. Or you can choose to go in a more modern direction and record the lectures for your review later on when you need them. Either way, taking notes on the crucial components of the subject you’re studying will help you better understand the curriculum so that you can get the most out of your remote studies.
If you find yourself struggling through your online coursework, know you’re not alone. It might benefit you to remember that remote studying isn’t the easiest way to learn. So give yourself some grace and refer to this guide when you need a little help staying motivated and productive.
