Stay Focused on Online Classes During a Lockdown
By: Lilith E
Tags: Education, Productivity, Lockdown, Self Improvement, Online

All along during the lockdown, a failure to concentrate has been there with us.

Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash

The live lesson has just started. You feel interested, you feel energized, you want to learn, and after 15 minutes you are not even aware of scrolling Instagram or Facebook, or just playing a game.

Time is just flying, and deadlines are on the door and there is a stack of procrastinated tasks just waiting to be finished. Is that familiar?

As an online student during the lockdown, I also struggled with concentration, I could not focus on one thing for more than 15–20 minutes.

After a lot of to-dos stacked and feeling guilty has overtaken me, I know it is time to take control. Then I suddenly realized my distractions, challenges, and created a solution plan. Here it is:

Create your own classroom

Identify a quiet and bright place in your home that’s away from noise and distraction. During the lockdown, most people stay at home with their family, and sometimes the only available place for study is a bedroom.

The human brain is good at matching things and symbolizing them. The bedroom is for sleeping and when you stay in bed during the lessons it makes it harder to learn and to focus because it is the place for studying. For that reason, your brain stays in sleep mode.

Be creative and make a few changes like lighting, ambiance, and studying on a table. These few changes can switch you from sleep mode to study mode.

Tiny but essential things in the bedroom classroom are tidiness and supplies. In a tidy space, the brain feels happier and it helps to improve your concentration.

Another essential thing is supplies. Keep coffee, soda, or water on hand to keep you awake or hydrated, as well as snacks to keep your mind fueled as you study so you don’t have to go kitchen every time you need something, save time, and do not get distracted.

Eliminate distractions

The main distractive item is your phone but turning off your phone may not be the best option because during the classes you may need it to search for something or you need it to do some calculations, maybe you are taking notes with your phone.

It’s tempting to do a “quick check” of your social feed, but it can end up costing you valuable study time. However, turning off all your notifications can eliminate a huge amount of distractions like social media, WhatsApp messages, other apps, and games notifications that can disturb you during classes.

Make a proper study plan

It is hard to manage the timing of your studies and make schedules, especially for international students who have stayed in their home countries there is also a time difference issue.

Making daily and weekly plans, setting goals at an exact time helped me a lot in this journey. You can’t believe how much time you can save for yourself by making schedules.

There are a bunch of planning apps out there. I used Trello for a year and recently switched to Notion. Both of them are very handy to use. Trello is free, and Notion offers their pro plan free for students.

Sometimes you can get behind with reaching those goals or sticking to your schedule. It is not the end of the world, take a deep breath and relax. Re-focus on your intended accomplishments. This is all normal as you adapt to new ways of doing things. Consistency is more important in the long-term. Keep going.

Study lesson materials before the lesson

This one is totally a life-saver. Most universities share lesson syllabus at the beginning of the semester. You can follow the syllabus and prepare the exact topics before that lesson. For better understanding and full concentration at the lesson, this one is extremely necessary.

Take notes during class

Taking notes during each lesson makes you connected and focused on the lesson. During exam sessions, you can also revise topics with your notes. No need to read the whole chapter or book again.

Note-taking apps are convenient to take notes and store them. Notion, the scheduling app mentioned above, is also well-designed for taking notes.

Exercise

Exercising after the first half of the day makes you energized and productive in the second half like the first.

Do what you can. If you can go outside, take a quick walk or ascend and descend the stairs. Maybe just stretch your body. I also highly recommend doing yoga for 20–25 min. It really takes away your stress and refreshes your mind.

Get a good night’s sleep

Sleep deprivation can easily disrupt concentration and other cognitive functions. Regularly failing to get a good night’s sleep can affect your mood and study performance.

Experts recommend adults 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night.

A few quick tips for good sleep:

Sleep at a cool and comfortable temperature.

Keep away digital items from bed

Wind down with a warm bath before bed

Avoid heavy workout before bed

Go to bed and get up the regularly same time

Take breaks

Take a brief mental break when you feel your attention falling. Get a fresh drink or healthy snacks, exercise, or go out and get some sunlight. Maybe you can prepare a meal or finish your laundry or draw something or play around. Anything that refreshes your mind.

You will feel more concentrated, motivated, or even productive when you come back to work. Breaks can improve your functionality.

Reward yourself

Reward yourself for following your schedule and achieving daily or weekly goals. You can have your favorite dessert or watch a movie you love or just buy small presents for yourself.

Celebrating small victories will help you to stay motivated and will be advantageous in the long-run.

Finally, create your own rules

The libraries and classrooms have their own rules to make the study more productive. Why not create your own rules?!

You are unique, and the way you study also differs from others. The tips I shared above work for me but it may not work for you. Creating your rules, creating your environment, creating your own habits and routines is exceptional. You also create your future within that.

The most important thing is don’t forget to enjoy the process. Know it’s OK to feel anxious. This situation won’t last forever. Stay focused on your end-goal.