Back to (Online) School: Tips on how to get work done now that the rest of the school year is online

Now that Spring Break is officially over and the 30 days of carryout and staying six feet away are just beginning, it’s time to get back to work. Although our days of waking up at 6:45 and eating a bagel on the way to East are over for the rest of the year, the school work isn’t stopping. Considering we’re a couple weeks into quarantine, your daily schedule has likely become nonexistent. Here are some tips to keep you on top of your online school work once it starts back up again on March 30.

Set alarms! 

It can be tempting to stay up until the time you used to wake up and sleep until 2 p.m.  when it seems like there’s no schedule in place, but setting alarms in the morning and sticking to a normal sleep schedule can make getting back into your routine much easier. Even though you no longer need to wake up at a time that begins with six, try getting up more than five minutes before your 11 a.m. Zoom call. 

According to sleep.org, sticking to a sleep schedule keeps you more productive by giving you more usable time in the day — you’re much more likely to finish your biology worksheet when the sun is still shining than at 2 a.m. when the rest of your house is asleep. With online classes a weekend away, now is the time to start getting eight hours in at a reasonable time, even though you don’t have to wake up before the sun anymore. 

Get out of your bed. You’ll thank yourself once you’re up. 

Although your room might seem like the best option to avoid talking to your family who you’ve been stuck with for the last two weeks, leaving the comfort of your covers is the best way to get productive work done — and chances are you’ve already spent more than enough time in bed. Working in your room reduces focus and productivity, according to the American College of Healthcare Sciences. Even if you’re not in your bed, your room is filled with distractions that make you more likely to fit in a nap than finish your argumentative essay. 

Switch up the scenery when it’s time for school work — try to find a quiet place inside your house free of distractions. Whether it’s at the dining room table or in your backyard, working somewhere else will make you more productive and mixing it up can save you from quarantine boredom (which is probably already setting in). 

Put your phone down. 

Although staying connected to the outside world may feel like the only thing keeping you sane during your time on house arrest, TikTok and Snapchat can wait. Getting work done at home is all about removing distractions — and nothing holds more than your phone. According to a study by UT Austin, having your phone in the room reduces your cognitive capacity even when it’s off. 

Since screentime has probably already been on an upward climb lately, put your phone away when it’s time for “class”. Putting down your phone will let you fully focus on whatever work you have to do — whether it’s taking for precalc or a DBQ for APUSH.