By ‘Ain Nabihah
After a long good semester break, finally we are facing the reality of being students – with a difference. From waking up early in the morning, walking to classes to attend face-to-face learning to fully being at home 24/7 sitting in front of a computer for hours.
It can be really demotivating when you have difficulties to have a focus on new way of learning.
Some of us might struggle a lot to keep ourselves on track because this is the new norm we have to face. However, don’t worry my friends, I have your back. We are going to do this together and try to excel. I have a few tips to share.
- Finding your study place
As a student we would usually go to the library or a cafe to look for moods. Since we have been stranded at home for quite some time most of us now feel very lazy and dawdle which make it hard to concentrate on our classes and learning.
Finding a study place is a one step forward for the students to achieve their goals. You can try by making a study section in your bedroom where you can easily find the vibes and motivation. If you already have it, try to spice it up with some colourful decorations such as sticking printed inspiration quotes, cute stationary holder and put indoor plant.
You can also store a jar of snack such as candies, biscuits so you can munch and always have a bottle of water that will keep you hydrate after a long process of learning. So, you will not be wasting your time by walking down to your kitchen.
Link to printable inspiration quotes: https://www.pinterest.com/ainasrulnizam/m-o-t-i-v-a-t-i-o-n-w-a-l-l/
- Do some light exercise and stretches
When our body become uncomfortable and strained, it is a sign where it has reached the limit of working. This will cause headache, shoulder and back pain due to fatigue. So, the best way for us to lessen this problem is by doing some light exercises and stretches just to make sure that our body can work properly again.
It will only take a few minutes and doable even when you are sitting on your study chair. If you want it to be a little bit more relax, you can always have a quick brisk walk in the evening. This will help to circulate the fresh air in your body and enjoy the green in your neighbourhood. Why green? This is because most study on psychology have shown green makes us feel calm and refreshing.
- Manage time well
Being at home, we usually tend to waste more time and overlook the thing that we want to do during the day. At the end of it, we feel rather disappointed for being unproductive because we didn’t plan properly. This happened as a result of being easily distracted such as wanting to take 5-minute break but ending up procrastinating when we started scrolling through social media or playing video games for hours. So, preparing time schedule for the day would help you to complete more important things that you want to achieve.
But first, you need to list down the work, assignments and due dates so you can clearly see and organise yourself properly. Then, you can always plan by using either traditional way where you stick a post-it note and print printable planner or by downloading an app such as ClassUp or Timetable which will pop up on your notification sections as a reminder. Sitting at home, our brain tends to process slower and we become dull because the situation is not the same as when we are busy studying and completing assignments at the university campus. This method will be helpful for those who have difficulties in keeping track of their time with their studies.
- Make study enjoyable
When students hear the word “study”, many might feel bored and lazy to do it. This is because we haven’t found the right way yet and we feel the burden of finishing the assignment that needed to be submitted. So, how to make it fun and enjoyable? Starting it with something that reminds us about happiness and fun. You can always blast some mellow music or your favourite playlists. This can help you beat stress and anxiety because it is soothing and relaxing. A study has also shown that by listening to music will increase your memorisation. It is likely by creating positive mood which indirectly boost your memory formation.
- Reward yourself
After a long day of pressuring ourselves to maintain focus on study, rewarding yourself is the best way to call it a day. It can be as simple as eating your favourite home cook meal prepared by your mum to spending some money online on something that you like. However, you have to make sure that your achievements are comparable with the reward so that you won’t take advantage of it. This will allow you to do more and better in the future. It is because your brain develop positive vibes which lead to realisation that your effort results in good reward. By doing this on a continuous basis, your brain will begin to connect pleasure with fulfilling the task or objective and move towards it in future.
So, there you go. Five useful tips that can help you boost up your motivation and preparing for online classes. I hope this will also give you some ideas to upgrade you study technique. All the best and good luck! ***