How to make the most of your studies when studying at home?

by Samantha Kad-Bay (Student Digital adviser on the Student community at City)

That is a question that many of us, as students, have been wondering about in the past weeks, or maybe for the past year since university started. 

The truth is, there are many ways to make the most out of online studying, it is a matter of applying what bests suits your routine and lifestyle.  In the first Episode “ Our uni experience during the pandemic ” on the Digital Podcast we talked about ways we reduce stress and better manage our time with online studying.   

We wanted to summarise these so you can apply them anywhere, anytime. Allowing you to organise your time while having fun in the process! 

Keep an active routine 

Planning your day the night before or early in the morning allows you to space out academic and leisure activities and avoid stress. In setting up a daily routine, make sure you wake up/go to bed at the same time every day, this will keep you more active during the day and unconsciously will signal your brain the time to get some rest. Let us say – wrap up work or any other activity by 7pm as 9pm is bedtime.  

Time to get your study plan sorted 

Once you have spaced out your activities, allow yourself and take time to make a study plan with the topics that need to be covered or any assignment to get done. This will give you more clarity on your academic progress and, even though it can cause some anxiety seeing the amount of workload, it will also have a relief effect knowing when and how to get things done. So don’t panic! 

Don’t forget about your hobbies 

Productivity is often dependent on what you do with your time for the rest of the day. Having some “me time” will allow you to zone out from study to then get back at it with more energy and perhaps a better attitude!  

Are you passionate about writing? Then take a couple of hours to journal or write that nice piece of work. The same goes if you are more into sports, music, singing or dancing.  The key is to take time in your day to do the things that entertain/relax you. This will boost energy levels will make your study plan way more productive and fun.  

Get on with new habits  

Yes, setting up a routine is important, but so is acknowledging there are other activities throughout the day we can engage with to reduce our stress/anxiety levels, especially when we have deadlines coming up.  

Once you have planned your work, take some time to think on study methods and activities you have not tried before. It could go from creating your own daily planner, doing some craftwork to cooking a new recipe. Learning comes when we allow ourselves to be flexible throughout our day, also the best things come from unexpected plans so get creative! 

 Practice Mindfulness  

We often find ourselves caught up in unproductiveness, having a hard time focusing on any activity during the day because we feel stressed, overwhelmed, and tired. This is completely normal. In fact, mindfulness can help you to feel grounded in many ways.  

Taking 10-20 minutes to meditate and connect with your inner self can help you find that peace of mind we often chase to feel more productive. Mindfulness is not only about meditation and breathing exercises, but also about living in the present. We often find ourselves worried about meeting a deadline or stressed by not completing an assignment, however when we practice the ability to pay attention to our daily tasks like finishing that research or cooking that nice dinner, we are being mindful to live in the present moment and, in turn, making the most out of it.  

Join the Student digital community this Friday the 26th March at 2pm for a Student debate on ‘Cameras off or Cameras on’

Listen to our first student Digital Podcast Episode