Get the Most out of Learning from Home
The current public health crisis has put you all into this interesting position when it comes to your studies, and whether you’re hot or cold about learning from home, your academic goals shouldn’t change:
- You may be finding that you miss your old routine, or the structure that going to and from class offered.
- You might even notice your productivity has dropped a bit, or you don’t complete work as efficiently as you used to.
If this sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. It’s a challenging time for all of us – but there are strategies backed by science that can help you thrive.
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at what you can do to get the most out of learning from home.
Identify Your Distractions:
In order to really get the most out of learning from home from the productivity perspective, you have to set boundaries with your potential distractions. Most often these distractions will come in a technological form (phone, computer, TV) but could also involve siblings, pets and so on. When you are fully engaged in learning activities, it’s best to set these distractions aside completely and not let them intermittently interrupt your work.
Take Small Breaks:
Once you’ve identified your distractions, it’s quite reasonable to arrange breaks every so often where you do allow yourself to check your phone, grab a snack and so on. Studies show that concentration decreases over time and small breaks may be beneficial to help renew your focus. You aren’t a robot after all!
Space Out Your Learning:
Learning from home may provide you with a level of control over your schedule that you didn’t have previously. You can use this to your advantage. Some of you may have been in classes that ran 3 hours once a week, and you now have the option to space out that learning over several days – which studies show to be more effective for retention.
Use Food and Drink to Your Advantage:
As a student on the run, it can be harder to make good nutrition a priority, but you have the ability to do a better job of that at home. A well-nourished body is a well-nourished mind, and there are a number of tools you have at your disposal that improve your productivity and focus.
Drinking multiple cups of water throughout the day, planning for healthy and filling snacks (it’s hard to focus when you are hungry!), and using caffeinated beverages like coffee and tea that can enhance your concentration, especially when you’re tired.
For most people, it just takes a 75mg serving of caffeine (2 cups of black tea, 250 ml can of energy drink like Red Bull or 1 shot of espresso at Starbucks) to experience these benefits. We all have our preferences when it comes to our favourite foods, drinks and caffeine sources but don’t forget to be smart about your portions of each throughout the day.
For caffeinated beverages, keeping them to 250 ml portions is a smart way to practice moderation! For more nutrition advice check out my blog "Nutrition Tips to Keep You Energized and Focused.
About the Author: Andy DeSantis, MPH, RD is a private practice Dietitian and published author in Toronto. Find him on IG @andytheRD or via his website andytherd.com
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