Hello, lovelies. I’m sorry that this is up a day late, but online classes are in full swing. Quarantine has been a super busy time for me because I feel like professors are giving us more work than we did when classes were in session! The first week was the roughest since everyone was figuring everything else, but now that I’m a few weeks into it, I feel like I can give you some solid tips about how I’ve been keeping up with everything. I hope this helps!
//Write Out All Your Weekly Assignments And Due Dates In One Place
All five of my classes are self-study. There were a few Zoom lectures the first week, but all of my professors expect us to study through the textbook instead. The majority of my classes were discussion based anyway, so I’ve mainly been reading articles and writing responses that are basically essays.
Because all of my courses are self-study, there isn’t a specific schedule I need to follow each day. I could procrastinate all week and cram everything the day before they’re due, but that would be incredibly stressful. Instead, I start by writing out everything I have due for the week. My professors have been great about posting our weekly schedules early, which makes things much easier. Here’s a photo of how I listed every assignment I have this week:
(My Human Sexuality course has some very interesting assignment titles)
//Create A System For Each Course
By the second week of online classes, I had created a system for each of my classes after dividing the assignments throughout the week. Some of my classes were easier to complete all at once, while others needed to be spread out. This is what I’ve been doing for each of them.
Human Sexuality – I took this class for fun and I’m kind of sad that this class is self-study now. The professor was great, but at least I don’t have to wake up early for a 9 AM Zoom lecture. This class definitely accounts for a chunk of all my assignments. I have two papers due at the end of the semester (one due next week and one due the week after). We get assigned two textbook chapters each week. There are about 15-20 questions embedded in the online textbook and we have to answer all of them correctly in order to get participation credit. We have 2-3 assignments after that, and sometimes she posts mini-lecture videos. We can finish these assignments whenever we want throughout the week. We have to turn in each week’s work by 9 AM every Monday. Since there are so many assignments to this class, I divide it up so that I have one or two assignments to complete each day. We’re recommended to do it all in order. I follow the order for the most part, unless I want to pair two shorter assignments together and do it in one day.
Spanish – I took American Sign Language to fulfill my three language requirements, but it doesn’t count as a multicultural credit. I originally had all of my multicultural credits fulfilled, but some of them got transferred to my minor. I only had one left and the rest of the classes didn’t interest me, so I decided to take Spanish again as an easy A. I’m glad that I’ve taken it before because self-study would have been very difficult with this course. There are two main due dates each week: Wednesday and Sunday. We have a discussion prompt due every Wednesday and a reply due on Sundays. We also have a recordable video-chat due every Sunday. We chose our partners the first week of online classes. Basically, we are assigned a prompt and we have to record ourselves having a conversation via video-chat. My partner and I do this every Friday. We also have online homework assignments due throughout the week. I usually finish them the day before and take notes from the textbook based on the homework.
Multicultural Perspectives on Women in the U.S. – I took this class for fun. It’s basically a women’s studies class about women of color. This is another class I’m sad about ending because it was a discussion based class, and we’d have really interesting conversations about racism and feminism. It’s not the same writing responses. This class doesn’t have too much online work. We have to read 2 articles per week based on that week’s topic (This week was LGBTQ+ women, last week was Muslim American women, etc.) We then have to write a main discussion response analyzing the articles, including quotes and outside sources, which is due on Wednesday. We then have to respond to at least two other posts by Saturday. My system for this is to do both readings and the discussion response on Tuesday. I originally divided them up into two days, but I found that I prefer having the articles fresh in my mind when I write responses. I post the two replies on any future day throughout the week based on how busy I am.
Music – I had no idea what we were going to do for this class since all we did was rehearse for the next concert, and we’re not having a concert anymore. Thankfully, there isn’t a lot of online work. We just have two responses due. One was due last Friday and the next one is due next Friday. I’ve just been working on the responses when I have time.
Water Worlds – This course is for my anthropology minor. The professor divided our last two units into two weeks increments and they’re completely self-study. Each 2-week period includes six forms of media (Usually four articles, one lecture video, and a podcast) with guided reading questions. I’ve been doing three of the articles per week. We need to write discussion responses and two replies by Sunday each week. At the end of each two week period, we have a quiz and a case study due. The first unit finished a few days ago. On Sunday, I took a quiz and wrote up my case study. This week, I’m only going to read two articles, watch the video, answer their questions, and submit my discussion responses. I will take the quiz and write my last case study next weekend, after I’ve read all the articles.
//Divide All The Assignments Up Over The Course Of Five Days
After making my list of assignments, I divide up all the assignments from Monday through Friday. This is a tentative schedule. I almost never finish everything on my daily to-do list and push things forward. The reason I don’t divide everything up by seven days is that it would make me do the bare minimum each day and I wouldn’t have time to catch up. I prefer not having a major to-do list for weekends and using that time to finish the few assignments I didn’t complete during the week. I usually have one day each week where I don’t have work to do.
Here’s a picture of how I divided up my assignments this week:
I didn’t schedule a lot of assignments for Monday because I had two exams. I wanted to spend that time studying.
//Alternate between different courses
I did this a lot when I was studying for the GRE. Because I have to do a lot of readings for my assignments, I would break them up by doing math practice questions for the GRE in between. Doing math gave my reading brain a break. The same has been working for my other courses. When I feel burned out on one subject, I’ll switch to another for an hour. When I’m tired of writing a long response, I’ll do a quick Spanish assignment to give me a break. This is a way for me to limit my frequent breaks by doing something productive in the meantime.
I add video calls and blog tasks to my journal later on in the week when I know what time we’re meeting.
//Create A Tentative Routine
I don’t follow the same routine every day. It depends on my moods. Sometimes I wake up early and sometimes I wake up late. Some days I work out at night and some days in the early afternoon. I just have a general idea of how my day is going to go. I help my brother with his online school at 2:00. My friend Kat and I are watching shows together via Netflix Party, so we usually do that at 11 AM about four times a week. (We’re currently watching The Witcher.) The rest of the day isn’t really planned out. I just have a general idea of when I’m going to do things. I’m most productive at night, so I usually spend the day finishing the first half of my assignment list and hanging out with my family.
//Make A To-Do List Every Single Day
I base this to-do list off of my weekly schedule. I break down assignments into smaller tasks so that they’re not daunting and cross them off as I go. I feel so much satisfaction from crossing things off that it’s nice to do it in multiple places. It keeps me motivated. My daily to-do list also includes personal to-dos like “work out” or “outline next week’s blog post.” Non-school things that I still want to get done.
I almost never finish everything on my to-do list. I measure my productivity by week, and not by day. Some days are more productive than others. In my mind, as long as everything gets done by their due date, I don’t feel guilty. Things can be pushed to the next day. Weekends are for catch up.
//Put Your Phone At The Other Side Of The Room
My phone isn’t usually a problem because I keep all notifications off. Only texts and Facebook/Instagram messages go through. (I check my email three times a day). Even so, there have been times when I’ve gotten sucked into a conversation in the group chat, or check my YouTube subscription feed and go down the rabbit hole of watching videos for an hour. That’s why I keep my phone far away from my desk when I’m focusing on work. I also have a rule that if I start watching videos, I have to watch them while running on the elliptical downstairs, which either motivates me to get back to work or to exercise. It’s a win-win situation. Make your environment work for you.
//Study In Different Rooms
I’ve gotten used to staying in my room and getting work done at my desk, but I sometimes get the urge to do work somewhere else. During the first week, I would alternate between my room, the dining room, and my grandparents’ room downstairs (They’re in Bangladesh right now). The change of scenery helps a lot when it comes to motivation.
Related – 10 Ways I Refocus Myself During The Day
//Actually Read Your Textbook
I used to be able to get away with not reading my textbook (or just skimming through it) because I paid attention to all my lectures. Since none of my professors are giving Zoom lectures, I actually need to properly read the textbook. It would be easy to just find the answers for all the discussion questions by skimming through the book, but I want to actually learn the material. In order to do that, I can’t skim anymore. There’s no teacher to verbally teach me all the material.
My exam questions also aren’t from the textbook point-blank. I have to understand all of the concepts and facts in order to do well on the tests.
//Keep Track of Everything & Have Easy Access To What You’ve Finished This Week
I make a to-do list and keep track of everything in my notebook each day, but I also keep everything on post it notes on my desktop. The reason I do this is that I can quickly minimize my browser and see everything I’ve done for each class at the click of one button. I can also see the classes I need to put more focus on. Here’s a snip of the post-it notes on my desktop last week:
As you can see, I have easy access of everything I’ve gotten done throughout the week. It’s also a clearer view compared to when I cross things off in my bullet journal.
//Don’t Indulge In Breaks For Too Long
This has been a massive problem for me. I intend to read a book or watch T.V. for 30 minutes, then end up indulging in that break for 2-3 hours. This specifically happens after meal times with my family and when I call people on the phone. One of my friends and I have weekly phone calls, and a short chat turns into a 3 hour conversation without us noticing. Take intentional breaks, but don’t let your break turn into your entire day to the point where you’re playing catch up in the middle of the night.
Related – How To Take Intentional Breaks In College
//Make Plans To Call People
For reasons listed above, I am very intentional about not calling people on weekdays. Most of the video calls and phone calls I’ve had with my friends have lasted 2-4 hours, and I can’t afford to use up that school work time on a weekday. I have a tendency to isolate myself, which is why I regularly make plans with people. I have standing dates and times for when I call or video chat with friends so that we do it on a regular basis. I text with my friends and cousins every day, but it’s not the same as looking at their faces and hearing their voices. Regularly make plans to talk to people because it can be a huge mental break and will make you feel less isolated. I do this every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with different groups of friends.
//Remind Your Parents That You’re Still In School
My parents have been really good about this. They understand that I still have work to do, mainly because I remind them that this is the busiest time of the semester even without the quarantine. To your parents, this may seem like an extended summer break of sorts, so remember to remind them that the reason you can’t participate in family game night or watch a movie together is because you have work to do. Not because you’re avoiding them. Carve out time to spend with your family, but don’t indulge in movie nights for too long when you have work to do. Don’t let them guilt you, but also don’t make them feel bad.
//Celebrate Your Victories
When every day feels exactly the same, it can feel like you’ve done nothing. To combat this, I started writing everything I got done at the end of the day. My goal planner has a calendar that I never use. In March, I started writing in all the things I got done in each date box. Some of the boxes had productive things like “Read Women’s Studies articles” and “Turned In Spanish video,” but some days had things like “Took A Nap” and “Read a Book.” Crossing things off does feel great, but it’s fun to write down your”wins” for the day. It’s a reminder that you didn’t waste your time.
So…yeah. That’s it for now. Shubho Noboborsho! Happy Bengali New Year! This time of year usually is a retrospective time for me where I think of all the things I’ve done or accomplished so far in the new year. Unfortunately, it’s not like that this year. We couldn’t have a party and couldn’t see our cousins. It’s okay. It’s all in the name of social distancing, so stay at home kids! I’m currently on week 5 of quarantine. It’s going fine so far. I’m excited about classes ending so that I can have a few days to do absolutely nothing before applying for jobs. I’ll see ya next week.
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How have you been handling online school? What have you been doing to stay organized?