Creating a Good Study Environment
Online learning is likely to be a big part of this year's studying routine. As well as this, when it comes to revising for your exams, that will also probably mainly be done at home so it's important that you create an environment to study where you can concentrate and be as productive as possible. Here are some basic tips on how to study efficiently at home:
One great tip for studying at home is to have somewhere where there are minimal distractions around you. Maybe this will be your bedroom if you’re the only one in there and there aren’t things that will easily get your attention for long periods of time. When you’re actually studying, find somewhere to keep your phone - that way you know it's close but it’s also out of sight so you’re less tempted to check it.
Staying focused at home is not easy - so before you start studying at home try and make sure you’re as comfortable as possible - this might mean getting an extra cushion for your chair or putting on different clothes. However, don’t get so comfortable that you begin to fall asleep! This means it's probably not a good idea to study on your bed or under a blanket, but wear something warm if you’re cold and try to keep a good posture - it will help you with your concentration and stop you from getting any back pains!
Sticking to a good schedule can be great for motivation and productivity. We are used to regular schedules, so studying at the same time you would have school everyday or even doing the same subjects at the same times you would in school can help us get used to studying at home if we aren’t already!
Organisation is key - studying in a messy room is incredibly difficult. Make sure that you plan your sessions and have everything you need on hand like textbooks, calculators or notes. This means there will be less disruptions to your workflow to get up and get things that are missing.
Find somewhere with good lighting, preferably natural lighting. Sunlight has a way of waking us up and simply puts you in a better mood! Living in London in the winter means we get about 6 hours of not great sunlight, but make the most of it. Otherwise, ensure your workspace is well lit - too dark and you’ll feel sleepy!
Take breaks - I cannot stress this enough. There is no point working if you are exhausted, nothing will stick in your head. If you are tired, take a break and do something that is grounding or uses a different part of your brain like cooking, baking, reading, doing exercise, chatting to a friend or any other hobbies you have.
This year has undoubtedly been hard for everyone, especially students. It is difficult to motivate yourself to do things like revising for a weekly spelling test that may seem incredibly arbitrary in today’s situation, but sticking to this normalcy of school and work is important to maintain your skills and just keep you grounded.
If you find yourself continuing to lose interest and focus, even when you’re studying in a comfortable place with no distractions, think of your long term goals and the reason why you’re studying. All this hard work you’re putting in now is bound to pay off soon - you’ve just got to keep going and you can do it! Keeping this in mind will hopefully help you stay motivated to keep studying - but remember if you’re too tired, take breaks!
Hopefully this has helped and you’ll find studying at home a bit easier this year, good luck!