One of my favorite places to study, aside from at my desk, is at the library, because the focused energy and atmosphere in the library motivate me to study. Over the summer of 2021, I made a website– IMissMyLibrary.com – to simulate this atmosphere. Read on to learn more about it!

What Is I Miss My Library?

IMissMyLibrary is an interactive webpage with various sound effects to imitate the noises in a library. It also has a functional to-do list on the side. Here’s what it looks like:

The website itself is inspired by IMissMyCafe, IMissMyBar, and IMissTheOffice. These are all wonderful websites that each simulate a café, a bar, and an office respectively; check them out if you’d like to try a new study environment!

Why I Made It

During the restrictions put into place in 2020 and 2021, I – like most others – was confined to my home. During this time, ambience websites like IMissMyCafe and LifeAt became popular. I used them often and loved the way they worked and sounded.

However, though I also love to study at cafés, libraries hold a special place in my heart. And once I realized that I couldn’t find a website that simulated the sounds of a library, I decided to create one myself.

How I Made It

Over the summer of 2021, I spent around a month researching and learning how to code a webpage like this. Though I had some experience with Java (an object oriented programming language), I wasn’t as familiar with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (web development languages). So I referenced other websites, read free courses, and took to trial-and-error.

Each week, I spent hours of nonstop research and coding. Eventually, I was able to create a complete and functional version of the website on my local computer. At this point, I reached out to a friend (who studies art) to help me create a piece of art for the website. Once everything was ready, I put the website online.

Since I already manage this blog, I knew how complicated hosting was. Therefore, I decided to go with the simplest route– hosting on Github Pages. And that’s how you see the website today!

How To Use It

Using IMissMyLibrary is super simple, but here’s a quick run through of its two main functions:

To-Do List

On the left side of the page, there is a to-do list. Here, simply add all the tasks you’d like to complete in your study session– type it in and press enter. Each one will appear under Not Completed.

Once you’ve finished a task, click the checkmark, and it will appear in Completed. If you no longer need or want to continue a task, you can delete it by clicking the trash can icon.

Sound Effects

On the right side of the page, there are adjustable sound effects:

• Rainy Weather
• Sunny Weather
• Turning Pages
• Writing On iPad
• Fireplace Crackling
• Typing On Keyboard

For each one, you can play/pause the audio and adjust the volume as you wish. If you’re playing multiple sound effects at once and would like to pause them at the same time, simply check the Pause All box.

Conclusion

And that’s it for this introduction to IMissMyLibrary! I hope you find this website useful as you’re studying, working, reading, or relaxing. Check it out here.

Before you go, here are some of my recent posts I think you’d like:

• 15 Student Desk Essentials For The Best Study Space
• How To Study For Long Hours In 8 Super Simple Steps
• Student Notion Setup For 2022 (NEW Template)

The post I Miss My Library: An Immersive Website To Help You Be Productive appeared first on Sincerely Students.

For online students, staying focused and motivated during school can be a challenge. Students often find themselves getting distracted during class, and procrastinating big time after class.

In this post, you’ll learn what steps you need to take to prevent these from happening. By preparing for your online classes properly, you’ll be ready to crush your online classes with ease.

Write down your schedule

In online school, there’s no one to remind you of when class begins and ends. You are responsible for your own time, and there’s no better way to remember your schedule than to write it down and stick it somewhere visible.

You can time block each class on a calendar (like the image below), set alarms on your phone for each class, or simply write the times on a sticky note and place it somewhere on your desk.

I also find it helpful to put the links for each Zoom class next to each calendar event (if it’s online). This gives me easy access to the links and makes it much easier to find my way to each class.

Over time, you’ll be able to memorize this schedule, and everything will run much more smoothly. Right now, let’s see how to ensure a productive class time!

Set up and organize your desk

As an online student, I spend at least 7 hours a day at my desk, in front of my computer. Because of this, I like to keep my desk super organized and comfy, so that I won’t get too tired of sitting at the same place for hours on end.

You can find a detailed guide on how to properly organize your desk here:

• How To Organize Your Desk To Maximize Productivity

Meanwhile, I’ll mention some of the most important tips. First, if your desk is extremely cluttered, get a few desk organizers and throw away any useless items. If you simply have too many things, consider getting an extra shelf or rolling cart to store them.

In addition, make it a habit to organize your desk routinely. Every 2 weeks or so, throw out the papers that are building up and clean all the dusty corners. This will help you maintain a clean mind as well as a clean study space!

Make sure your tech works

Arguably one of the most important steps, before online classes start, is to make sure your basic tech supplies are functioning and strong enough to last you the entire school year.

Here are some basic items you probably need to have:

• A working laptop, desktop, or tablet
• A stable WIFI connection or really strong data
• Zoom (or another platform) installed and working
• Access to a working printer and/or scanner

If you’re missing one of multiple of the above, check with your school and district to see if they offer any help or alternatives. In addition, if you feel like your teachers are likely to need more class-specific supplies, be sure to check with them directly before school starts.

Have the right tools

Other than the essential technology you need for online classes, there are also various tools and supplies that make life easier. Here is a large list of things you may need (none of these are required, but personally, I find them very helpful to have):

• High-quality headphones or earbuds (with a working microphone). 
• Ergonomic laptop stand that elevates the screen to eye level.
• Blue-light glasses that protect your eyes from the screen.
• A phone stand that I place right next to my laptop stand.
• A pen organizer to keep all my most-used pens near.
• Flashcards and sticky notes on hand to jot down quick notes.
• A smart clock to use as a clock, stopwatch, and Pomodoro timer.
• A bookstand to read books comfortably while at your desk.
• An extra-long charging cord to charge your phone from anywhere.
• A desk vacuum to get rid of all the eraser shavings.

YOU’LL LOVE THIS POST: 87 Practical Gifts For College Students

Preview each class

Just like you should in in-person school, you should research a little about each class before school starts to get an idea of what it will be like. Ideally, you should’ve done some research before you signed up for it, specifically into the following:

• The teacher and his/her teaching style and personality
• The amount of homework in the class
• The average grade students get in the class
• Number of large projects or papers
• How it will help you get closer to your academic or career goals

But as the semester approaches, you should also search for some outside resources that can help you succeed in the class. For example, if you heard that the biology class you’re taking is really difficult, find some websites, YouTube channels, and apps that could help.

Lastly, if you want to go the extra mile, preview your course materials to get an idea of what you’ll be learning over the course of the semester. This is optional and not expected, but if you’d like to, there’s nothing stopping you!

Have a planning system

Staying organized and accountable for yourself is extra difficult in online school, and that’s where having a reliable and effective planning system comes into play. 

A planning system is highly beneficial because it helps you keep track of important dates and tasks, plan for and achieve goals, minimize unnecessary stress, and maintain structure in your life.

But what does an effective planning system consist of? Here are the basic essentials:

• Long-term, yearly planning. This is usually a calendar where you can mark important dates, such as holidays, birthdays, project due dates…
• Goal-setting page. Here, you should list some of your most important goals and break them down into actionable steps.
• Monthly planning. This is where you mark all the relatively important dates in the month, such as appointments, assignment due dates… You can also set short-term goals, set up habit trackers, etc.
• Weekly/daily planning. In my system, these two are the same and interchangeable. This is where I write to-do lists (on my physical planner) and time-block (on my digital calendar) for each day.

If you’d like more details on a planning system for students, you can check out the post below. In it, I included multiple recommendations for the best planners and journals for students, as well as how to set them up:

• How To Set Up Your Planner For Maximum Productivity

Stay in touch with friends

Online school lacks the interactions that in-person school offers, and this can turn serious without you even realizing it. Social interaction is important for everyone, especially teenagers, so you need to make a conscious effort to maintain it.

This may sound obvious, but you should try to talk to your friends often. Give them a call every once in a while (calling is often more intimate and comforting than texting), or video call sometimes.

If FaceTiming your friends out of the blue sounds awkward, try hosting virtual study sessions or movie nights! These could be opportunities for you to bond and have fun together, even when it’s online.

Conclusion

I hope this post was helpful and was able to fully prepare you for your online school semester! Leave a comment with what you’re most nervous or excited about this semester!

If you’re looking for more posts like this one, check out these related posts:

• 9 Powerful Daily Habits For Productivity
• 5 Stupid Simple Lists Every Student Should Be Making
• The Ultimate Guide To Studying From Home

The post How To Effectively Prepare For An Online School Semester appeared first on Sincerely Students.

Luckily, there are a few apps out there that can help. In fact, whatever you need help with, there’s probably an app for it. In this post, I’ve listed 9 of my most-used and completely free apps during online learning.

So get out your phone, and let’s dive into the post!

Quizlet

Quizlet is completely free (though it has a moderate amount of ads) and a great way to create and practice flashcards. There is a paid version with extra features and no ads, but it’s not necessary.

On Quizlet, you can make flashcards on whatever you want and organize them with folders. Your teacher can also make them and share them with your class.

You also have 5 options to practice each “set” of flashcards: Learn, Flashcards, Write, Match, and Test. The last 2 are games, and the first 3 are exercises that help you remember your terms. 

Quizlet is extremely easy to use and great for language and science classes, so if you’re taking a course that requires a lot of memorization of vocabulary terms, I highly recommend Quizlet.

Duolingo

Duolingo is also completely free but contains some ads. It’s one of the most intuitive and interactive language-learning apps, and it teaches a lot of things.

There are 30+ languages available on Duolingo, and you can learn each in “bite-size lessons”. Each lesson progresses by difficulty, and has plenty of practice for reading, writing, vocabulary, etc. The program itself also has rewards, a streak system, and ranking.

However, note that (as of the date this post was written) the Duolingo app doesn’t have grammar explanations that go with the practice. You can find them (they’re called Tips) on the Duolingo website, and they’re super helpful in understanding why something works the way it does.

Grammarly

If you don’t use Grammarly when writing your essays, you’re either a grammar genius or missing out! You may have guessed it already, but Grammarly is an app and Chrome extension that checks your grammar; it works on many platforms, including Google Docs, Gmail, and more.

There is a paid version of Grammarly that offers in-depth and professional grammar corrections, but the free version works great for the basics! I use it for all my essays and blog posts, including the one you’re reading right now!

You can download Grammarly as a Google extension or use the web browser app; both work in the same fashion and are super simple to set up.

YOU’LL LOVE THIS POST: How To Organize Your Digital Files In 6 Easy Steps

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is a completely free online learning resource for students. From 5th grade math to AP Computer Science, biology to SAT prep, Khan Academy has almost every subject I can think of.

Every subject and lesson includes a series of practice problems, explanation videos, and even full mock tests. I highly suggest referencing Khan Academy videos for math and science explanations, as they’re simple and easy to understand.

Khan Academy is a website and an app, and I suggest saving/downloading both so you can easily visit it whenever you need to. 

Gmail

As an online student, you’ll frequently get important emails from your teachers or school with updates. But unless you have desktop notifications on for Gmail (which many students don’t), you could miss them.

I have the Gmail app on my phone and leave notifications on for all my accounts; this ensures that I never miss an email, and even if I get one in my sleep, I’ll be able to see it immediately once I wake up.

If you’ve missed important emails before and do not yet have the app, download it now! It’s going to be super useful for studying from home.

Minimalist

If you like to be organized and create to-do lists without using a bunch of planners, journals, tags, and colors, Minimalist is a great app for you.

Once you open the app, your to-do list appears. It’s quite literally a plain screen with your tasks listed on it. Just swipe down to add a task and swipe left on a task to delete it.

Unfortunately, the free version of Minimalist only lets you create 1 list (and not different categories like School, Groceries, etc). But if you don’t mind writing all your homework and miscellaneous tasks on 1 list, you could definitely give Minimalist a try.

Flora

You may have heard of Forest, the app that lets you plant trees to stay focused. However, it costs $1.99; thankfully, there’s a free alternative on the market.

Flora is extremely similar to Forest, but free. Plant a tree on the app then go focus on your task. If you become distracted and leave the app for something else, the tree is killed. It may sound a little silly, but it’s a super fun way to motivate yourself to stay productive.

CamScanner

Many teachers require students to scan their work to send as a PDF. This could be quite a hassle if you use old-fashioned printers/scanners. Instead, download an app to scan right from your phone.

If you use an iPhone, the Notes app can scan documents easily. Simply click the camera icon then Scan Documents, and you’ll be able to scan files right into Notes. Then, you’ll just need to AirDrop it to your computer to upload or send it right from your phone.

However, if you don’t have an iPhone, CamScanner works great as well. It works in a similar fashion as any other mobile scanner: just use your camera to scan a document and save it!

CopyClip

CopyClip is a desktop app, and I use it almost every day! Basically, it “remembers” up to a certain number (over 70) things you copied, and stores them in the app so you can access them in case you accidentally copy something else before pasting the first one.

This comes in incredibly useful if you’re writing a paper. Save all the research quotes and sources into the clipboard and paste whichever you want when you’re ready to. And of course, it saves you the hassle of going back and forth, trying to find the thing you had copied.

Once you download the app, it’s readily accessible right at the top of your computer display. Here’s a screenshot from my desktop:

Conclusion

I hope this post was helpful to you! I know that online learning can be a struggle for many students, but these tools can make it easier! Leave a comment below with what app you use the most during online school!

And if you’re looking for more posts like this, here are a few related posts:

• Complete Organization System For Online Students
• 7 Terrible Study Habits To Quit Immediately
• The Ultimate Guide To Studying From Home

The post 9 Free Apps Every Online Student Needs appeared first on Sincerely Students.

In this post, I’ll be going over my organization system that I’ve developed with my experience from online learning. It includes organization of your physical space, your materials, your digital files, and your time.

If you’re ready to get organizing and become a successful online student, let’s jump right into the post. 

Desk Organization

If you have your own study space and your own desk, it’s incredibly important to keep your space organized; though a clean space may not necessarily guarantee a clean mind, it sure can help.

Desk Essentials

Depending on your desk’s shape and sturdiness, you can use it to hide a lot of the random items that are crowding the surface. I suggest keeping some essentials near you (either on the surface or within reach), like:

• Tissues
• A water bottle
• Your laptop
• Stationery
• Earbuds/headphones
• Sticky notes 
• Notebooks you use often
• Textbooks you use often

I like to keep the larger items (like notebooks, textbooks, and headphones) in a drawer of a desk while keeping the stationery, tissues, and of course my laptop on the surface.

How To Use Space

You can also make use of the space around your desk, such as the walls or windows. My desk is put in the corner of my room, so I decided to make use of the walls around me and put a large whiteboard sticker on one side and hanging shelves on the other. 

If you’re getting a new desk, keep in mind the available space, how it fits in your space, the items you like to keep within reach (they’ll have to fit in your desk), and its quality. Here are a few extra tips/recommendations:

L-shaped desks are popular (I personally prefer these even though I have a regular rectangular one), and they’re the best choice for students with multiple monitors and a lot of space.

However, regular desks have their advantages as well, as they save space and can contribute to a clean and minimalistic look in your office. 

Notebook Organization

Although I am currently an online student (taking all my classes online), I still have my fair share of physical materials – like notebooks, textbooks, workbooks, and stationery – and I like to keep them organized.

What To Keep Near

The organization of my physical materials plays in part with my desk organization– I store a lot of notebooks and textbooks inside my desk. However, I only keep the most frequently used ones (some classes have online textbooks while others never even use books of any sort) near me.

I temporarily put all other textbooks and notebooks away to save space and to minimize confusion when I need to grab something I need. 

How To Organize

If you don’t already organize your books, I suggest doing so now. First, organize by type. Keep your textbooks in one pile/one shelf, notebooks in another, and other miscellaneous workbooks and worksheets in another.

Then, organize by class. I keep all the textbooks together (since there are usually only 1-2 for each class), but I like to organize my miscellaneous papers by class. If you have a large number of loose worksheets and papers that you don’t often use, I suggest organizing them with an accordion folder.

You can also place and organize them on a tray paper organizer to put on your desk or on your side; this will keep them within reach while also not in 1 giant stack.

Lastly, and this is completely based on personal preference, organize everything by size. Order your books and papers by size so it’s easier to go through them and easier on the eyes.

Digital Organization

As an online student, organizing your digital files is just as important (if not even more important) than keeping your papers and textbooks organized.

My experience with online learning has consisted of many Zoom links, digital calendars, folders within folders, and the constant desire to go on YouTube. I will address all of these in this post.

Google Keep

Google Keep is a free platform anyone with a Google account/Gmail can use.

I have a different Zoom meeting link for each of my different online courses, club meetings, and other miscellaneous meetings. I save all of these in Google Keep as separate “Notes”, titling them with the class name and time and giving each class a different color.

You can also pin a note in Google Keep to keep them at the top of your dashboard; I like to pin urgent/important notes or one-time meetings so I can easily spot them.

An example of a Google Keep dashboard would look like this:

Bookmarks & Folders

If you’re not already using digital bookmarks regularly, you need to start as soon as possible. You can bookmark websites, links, files, and just about anything, and doing so saves so much time.

I’ve created multiple folders for my Google Chrome, and I often have folders within those folders to organize further. My current bookmarks consist of:

• YouTube
• Gmail
• School (folder)
  • School’s website
  • School Gmail
  • Grade tracker
  • A folder for each class that consists of important links like the professor’s website, the homework calendar, and online textbook links.
• Learning (folder)
  • Duolingo (language-learning tool)
  • Links to online courses I’m taking
  • Other miscellaneous resources
• Google (folder)
  • Google Drive
  • Google Docs
  • Google Slides
  • Google Sheets
• Work (folder)
  • Important links for my part-time job
• Miscellaneous (folder)
  • Miscellaneous links and files

I find this format super useful, so feel free to reference it!

Tab Organization

On Google Chrome, you can create Tab Groups to organize and collapse/expand groups of open tabs. This could come in useful when you’re doing a research paper or project, or when you’re multitasking.

No matter how you use it, the feature is super handy for any computer user. Here’s how it works:

As you can see, I have many tabs open. To create a tab group, simply right click on a tab and select Add Tab to New Group. 

You’ll then be able to name your tab group and choose a color for it.

Here, you can see that I’ve grouped my tabs in 3 groups. I can then choose to collapse/expand each group as I wish (simply click on the name of the group), hiding and showing the tabs accordingly. Here’s what the groups look like when collapsed:

Distractions

Lastly, a way to manage distractions. With your laptop right in front of you and no one to stop you from going on a different website, it can be tempting to open YouTube or Netflix and “multitask” during a lecture.

The easiest and most straightforward way to prevent this is to download a Chrome extension like BlockSite or Forest.

These extensions will allow you to “blacklist” certain websites (like YouTube, Instagram, and Netflix…) and will stop you from accessing them when you are focusing. It’s a simple yet effective way to prevent distractions.

However, it’s also important to tackle the root of your problem, which is learning how to stay focused and productive in all environments. Blocking distractions will not always work, which is why you need to start building good habits to truly become productive.

YOU’LL LOVE THIS POST: 23 Habits To Skyrocket Your Productivity

Planning System

Last but not least, I have a specific planning system that I use to plan and organize my time. If you’re a student who struggles with procrastination and time management, try using a planner system!

I like to plan using both digital and physical materials. I time block every day with the calendar on my laptop and write to-do lists and other notes on my physical planner.

Time Blocking

Every evening, I take a few minutes to plan out the next day. Although I may not follow this schedule perfectly, it gives me a structure to my day, which helps me stay productive and not procrastinate.

Here’s an example of what my time-blocked week looks like (different categories are in different colors):

As you can see, there are blocks of time where I have nothing planned. This is to give myself flexibility in my time, as some tasks may take longer than expected, or I may feel the need to take a long break.

Timeblocking is a great way to plan ahead, stay accountable and get the most done. You can do this with any digital calendar (I like Apple Calendar or Google Calendar). 

Planner

I also love using a physical planner, as it’s personally a great stress reliever. I’ve tried bullet journaling, and although it was fun, I found that it took too much commitment. Therefore, I’ve resorted to using a simple, daily planner.

In my daily planner, I create to-do lists for every important task I need to do (like homework, projects, work, blog maintenance, practice…), as well as mark important dates and appointments. I also tend to jot down notes about the day’s events if I feel that they were significant.

If you want to go the extra mile, the Ultimate 3-in-1 Student Planner might fit your taste. This planner, made by yours truly, consists of over 40 pages of unique layouts that are perfect for students.

It includes academic planners, goal planners, daily/weekly/monthly planners, productivity and self-care planners, and everything you need to get your student life together. Check it out below!

Conclusion

And that concludes this guide about my organization system as an online student! I hope this look into my system was able to give you a feel of how to get your life together during online learning.

Leave a comment with the one thing you struggle the most with during online learning, and I’ll try to help you solve it! Meanwhile, if you’re looking for more posts like this, check these out:

• The Ultimate Guide To Studying From Home
• 10 Brilliant Habits To Organize Your Entire Life
• Ultimate 5 Day Guide To Become Insanely Productive

The post Complete Organization System For Online Students appeared first on Sincerely Students.

I am also a student, and I’ve had to actively adjust to the online learning process. If you’re finding yourself struggling to keep up in class, stay productive and organized, or maintain health, you’re in the right place.

This post will be the most extensive, complete, and ultimate guide to studying from home, and you’ll learn how to effectively survive and thrive in online learning. Let’s get straight into it!

Supplies You Need

There are many tools out there that can help you survive online classes. Some of them, I consider essential, while others are simply a bonus. 

Essential

• Stable wifi connection

To successfully attend your online classes, you need a stable wifi connection. However, WIFI issues are very common and you shouldn’t fret too much if your connection is not ideal.

• Working computer

Like stable wifi, a working computer is also something you cannot attend your classes without. If your computer is old, slow, glitchy, etc, consider getting a new one. The HP Chromebook is relatively inexpensive and a popular choice among students.

• Google Keep

Google Keep is a great way to organize important links, dates, and lists, and it’s free to use if you have a Gmail account (also free to create). I use it to keep track of all the Zoom links for my courses.

• Calendar

Whether you use a digital or physical one, a calendar is essential to help you keep track of important dates. I recommend putting a calendar on your desk in addition to using a digital one like Google Calendar.

• Planner

In my experience, physical planners are the best way to stay organized, keep track of important dates, write to-do lists, set goals, and make plans (all in one!). I love the iFocus Productivity Notebook, as it is made specifically for productivity!

• Stationery

Although school is online, traditional stationery still comes in incredibly helpful. Especially when taking notes or making plans, I find that color-coding with my Mildliner highlighters is very useful.

• Blue-light glasses

I’ve been relying on my blue light-blocking glasses every single day during online classes, and I’m so glad I do. They prevent migraines and protect your eyes from the constant harmful radiation of your computer, and are what I consider essentials for online students.

Helpful

• Water bottle

It’s very important to stay healthy while stuck at home, and hydration is a big part of that. Get a reusable water bottle now and stay hydrated at home!

• Wall whiteboard

A hanging wall whiteboard is a great place to write down quick reminders, to-do lists, and keep track of papers (you can stick them on with a magnet). I use mine very often and find it helpful to track my daily progress.

• Noise-canceling headphones

If your home environment is busy and loud, you won’t be able to focus as easily on your schoolwork. Instead of driving everyone out of your house, however, I recommend investing in some durable noise-canceling headphones. These will last you well into the future and will come in handy in many cases (trust me). 

• Laptop stand

I often found myself sitting like a shrimp in front of my laptop, so I decided to get a laptop stand. It rises my computer so that it’s at eye level, which is definitely better and more comfortable for my back! 

Maintaining Good Grades

If you find it difficult to maintain good grades during online classes, whether it’s because of personal reasons or else, here are some tips that will help you out.

Do not give up

When you’re not forced to physically walk to classrooms anymore, it’s easy to just “give up” and not even try to stay accountable for your learning and your time.

But going to class is the only way to stay connected with your friends and get to know your teacher, and– more importantly– interact with them. Interaction is crucial, especially during times of isolation. Not to mention that your professors are there to help you, and are likely more helpful than a plain textbook!

Similarly, if you have recorded lectures instead of real-time classes, watch them and pay attention! Everything you learn is for your own benefit, so take advantage of what you have!

Take notes

Taking notes is one of the most effective ways to learn and retain information. Whether you’re attending a Zoom class, watching a recorded lecture, or reading the textbook, make sure to take some notes!

But there are right and wrong ways to take notes. You should always have a plan before taking notes, and you must keep that plan in mind while taking notes. You can formulate this plan by following your syllabus or previewing your textbook to find the key sections you’ll be learning as well as important terms you should define.

With practice, you’ll be able to pick out only the relevant information and form connections quickly on your paper. If you’d like to learn the exact note-taking process I swear by, check out this post:

• How To Take Notes You’ll Actually Use

Ask questions

Just as you would ask questions in a real classroom, you should actively engage and ask questions in an online environment!

Asking questions is one of the most powerful ways to learn all the details of a certain subject, and I highly suggest taking advantage of your ability to ask questions when you’re in a live class.

There are many people you can go to with your questions:

• Your classmates
• Your teacher/professors
• Your friends
• Google/the Internet

So don’t be shy, ask your questions!

Use outside resources

Your professor and your textbook are not the only resources you’re allowed to use. Do not limit yourself, as there is so much information out there (on the Internet) that will help you expand your knowledge and understanding of almost any subject.

When you have an informational question, the first place you should go to is Google (or any other search engine). Most of the time, you will find an answer online.

When you want to learn something entirely new or find some study guides on a subject (aka when you don’t have a specific question in mind), try giving it a search. There are many online programs and websites that have entire curriculums available for free, and they’re all just a Google search away.

Here are some of my favorite online resources:

• YouTube (great science and math explanations)
• Wikipedia (very detailed historical/current events)
• Britannica (online encyclopedia, great for historical events/people)
• Questia (very large collection of titles)
• Stack Overflow (online community for coding)

Don’t procrastinate

As simple as this sounds, many have trouble doing this while studying from home. Procrastination will only lead to the piling up of more work, which will inevitably mean lower quality of work as you struggle to complete them on time.

To avoid this, you must tackle the problem from its root and learn to manage your time and build habits to become productive. These next tips will help you with exactly that.

Being Productive

Plan ahead

Just as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, 23 Easy Habits That Will Skyrocket Your Productivity, planning ahead is crucial to a productive day, week, study session, you name it.

Every night (or at least every weekend), take at least 20 minutes to create a plan for the following day or week. Make sure to be detailed enough so you know what you should be doing at most times according to your plan.

I suggest using a dedicated planner to plan out your days, weeks, and months. I always find it most effective to physically write down and list out my plans, and you should try it out!

This Ultimate 3-in-1 Student Planner is made by yours truly, and it includes many planning spreads, as well as multiple trackers and templates to keep yourself organized and productive.

Create lists

The most obvious list you should create is a to-do list. Every day, I write out a to-do list that includes my homework, steps to complete projects, daily tasks, habits I’m trying to build, etc. This helps me stay organized and make sure that I don’t forget to do something important.

However, there’s another type of list you should try: a not-to-do list. This list is exactly as it sounds: list out things you must not do throughout the day or while you’re focusing on an important task.

A not-to-do list will help you avoid distractions while studying from home, as well as break bad habits that are preventing productivity. Try it out!

Keep a distraction list

I recently discovered what a distraction list and how it works, and it works wonders!

Whenever you plan on focusing for a long period of time (over 1 hour), keep a notebook or a piece of paper handy. This will become your distraction list while you work.

Whenever you have a fleeting thought or sudden memory of something relatively important but not urgent (like the fact that you need to email back a certain teacher), quickly jot it down on the notebook then get back to work.

Instead of breaking your concentration to go off that tangent (even if it’s important), you can focus on your task until it’s completed, and then go back to the thing that came up. This ensures maximum efficiency of the task at hand while also making sure you don’t overlook anything.

Build habits

Building habits and routines (and sticking with them) is one of the hardest things to do when you’re trying to become productive. Consistency can be a struggle for many students, as distractions and laziness just seem to be unbeatable (trust me, I feel you!).

But there is a process you can follow to ensure successful habit-building. I provide the detailed 8-step process in my Complete Habit-Building Workbook (made by yours truly), as well as habit tracker templates and habit ideas.

The most important takeaway that I’ve learned whilst building habits is that it takes time and energy. Oftentimes, you have to force yourself to do something before it starts becoming natural, and that’s what you have to keep doing until it becomes a habit.

Of course, an organized system, rewards, trackers, and others’ help can definitely make the process easier. Learn more by checking out my Workbook!

Set goals

Setting goals is an extremely crucial step in organizing your life and becoming productive. They give you a sense of purpose (even if it’s temporary) and help you identify steps to take in your life. Here’s an example of a smart goal:

• At the end of senior year of high school, I will have at least a 3.7 GPA. I will achieve this by receiving an A in at least 18 of my classes.

This is a smart goal because it has a deadline (end of high school), a quantitative goal (3.7 GPA), and a method (getting an A in 18 classes). I can specify this goal even further by including short-term goals (certain grades by a certain semester) and specific methods of studying I will perform.

Get off your phone

A smartphone is one of the most distracting items a student can have while studying from home. Luckily, you don’t need to get rid of it completely to become focused and productive.

Breaking your phone addiction will increase your productivity and ability to focus during online classes. But how exactly do you do that? Follow this 5-step process:

1. Avoid what doesn’t work. There is no need to set a confusing password or delete all your social media.
2. Identify and delete toxic apps. Just like some relationships, some apps will make you feel down along with making you unproductive.
3. Identify and archive useless apps. No need to delete these apps, but you can hide it to avoid the urge to visit it every once in a while.
4. Turn off notifications. Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok… turn those social media notifications off!
5. Download helpful apps like Forest or Flora, Todoist, and Notion.

You can read more and learn the exact details to this process in this post: 5 Simple Steps To Break Your Phone Addiction. 

Becoming Organized

As a student, organization is yet another essential skill to boost productivity and ensure success while studying from home. Here are a few tips to help you instantly become more organized!

Dedicate time

Many people feel sudden “bursts” of motivation and use that energy to have a sudden organization spree. While that works sometimes, it’s not the best way to use your time and doesn’t guarantee the best results.

Instead, dedicate blocks of time you’ll use to organize, whether it’s organizing your physical space or organizing your future plans. For example, I like to spend at least 20 minutes every Sunday to make a plan for the following week. Try it out!

Write things down

Your memory will fail you sometimes, but a trusty pencil and a piece of paper will not. Therefore, truly organized students don’t keep everything in their heads. They use notebooks, planners, sticky notes, and more. 

And this is what I recommend you do, as well! Whenever you want to create a to-do list, write it down on a piece of paper or a planner. And of course, your weekly plans, important dates, daily schedules… they can all go in a planner or an organizer. 

Prioritize and delegate

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed when you face a large to-do list. But instead of being intimidated and avoiding it (and procrastinating until it’s way too late), learn to prioritize tasks and tackle them one by one.

My go-to method of prioritizing is by using the Eisenhower Matrix. I explained all about how it works in this post: 7 Powerful Habits Of Highly Productive Students. You can use this matrix for every task in your todo list to figure out what to do first, what to do later, and what not to do.

You can download a free copy of this matrix in my Freebie Library.

Batch and stack

You should always have a plan of action when tackling your to-do list. Other than using the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize and remove tasks, also try batching tasks! This is when you put similar tasks (ones that relate to one another or 1 topic) together and dedicate 1 chunk of time to work on them all.

You can also try stacking tasks, which is where you interconnect the things on your to-do list so that one goes into another; this method is a great way to get a lot of things done while not feeling burned out.

Organize your space

Though an organized space may not instantly clear your mind and organize your life, it sure can help! Decluttering your room and your workspace is very effective in calming your mind and making it easier to plan and execute more tasks.

Therefore, take a few hours to organize your space. I suggest starting with your desk (or wherever you focus and work the most). I have an entire post dedicated to this, and you can check it out here:

• How To Set Up Your Desk For Maximum Productivity

Digital organization

Digital organization is just as important as physical organization.

Whether it’s your digital calendar, a digital notebook full of your notes, or an online planner system, keep it organized! This will make sure you can find important things easily as well as help you clear your mind while working online.

If you’re not sure where to start in your digital organization, here are a few tips:

• Create folders for your bookmarks (you can categorize by class, by purpose, etc).
• Create folders for your digital files (or Google Drive items).
• Color-code your digital calendar and make use of repeated events.
• Keep your computer desktop simple and organize files into folders.
• Clear out your digital downloads and desktop trash once in a while.

YOU’LL LOVE THIS POST: 10 Brilliant Habits To Organize Your Entire Life

Staying Healthy

Last but not least, you can’t forget about your own health! As important as school is, your body and your health still comes on top. Here are a couple of tips to make sure you’re staying healthy while studying from home!

Maintain balance

Many students have an unhealthy balance between work and rest yet don’t realize it. I’ve noticed that this unhealthy balance can cause many problems, such as procrastination, inability to concentrate, anxiety, and much more. 

One of the easiest ways to maintain a healthy balance is to know yourself and your “peak” times. Whatever time in the day you feel most productive, use that time to work. Whenever you know you simply can’t focus, rest. Never force yourself to do work while your body refuses, as it’ll only cause burnout and frustration.

Physical health

Don’t forget your daily habits to stay fit and healthy, especially after a long day in front of your desk. Here are some healthy habits you should be building and following:

• Get up from your chair and stretch every hour or two.
• Go outside and take a walk every day.
• Drink enough water and always eat breakfast.
• Exercise 2-3 times a week.
• Get enough sleep (at least 8 hours).

Managing stress

Stress is becoming more and more prominent in the modern student population. If you’re the type of student to feel constant stress and anxiety (even when you’re not sure why), it’s time to learn how to manage your stress.

One of the most important and effective ways to prevent and manage stress is to take care of your body; exercising, eating well, and sleeping well all contribute to a healthy mind along with a healthy body.

Other ways to temporarily relieve stress include deep breathing (try the 4-7-8 breathing pattern!), taking a walk outside, talking with a friend or family member, and journaling. Always remember that it’s okay to feel stressed, but you shouldn’t ignore or suppress it. Instead, try out different ways to relieve it!

Self-care days

It is always okay to have self-care days once in a while to take care of your mind and body. Self-care days should be always part of your monthly plan.

I suggest grabbing your planner and choosing a calm Saturday or Sunday (when you’re not busy and not stressed about an upcoming exam of any kind), then making a schedule for your self-care activities.

If you’re not sure what to do during a self-care day, here are some ideas (in chronological order):

• Watch the sunrise (or sleep in!).
• Make breakfast and eat it without doing anything else.
• Take time to do something you like.
• Listen to music, dance, meditate, read…
• Make and eat lunch.
• Call and chat with a friend or family member.
• Exercise or take a walk outside.
• Take a long bath.
• Perform an elaborate skincare routine.
• Sleep early.

Conclusion

I hope this guide was helpful to you! Studying from home can be a challenge, but with these tips, I hope it becomes easier for you! What do you find most challenging about studying/working from home? Comment down below!

If you’re looking for more posts like this, check these out:

• 10 Essential Things To Bring To Every Study Session
• Ultimate 5 Day Guide To Become Insanely Productive
• 23 Easy Habits That Will Skyrocket Your Productivity

The post The Ultimate Guide To Studying From Home appeared first on Sincerely Students.

But from my first couple weeks of remote learning, I’ve come to realize that there are just a couple of things that I always find myself using. I don’t think I’ll be able to survive online school without them!

Below, I’ve listed them for you. These are the tools I’ve reached for every. single. day of online classes and have helped me stay organized and sane.

Google Keep

I’m sure you’ve heard of Google Keep before, along with Google Tasks. I’ve always seen them hanging out at the side of my Google Docs files, but never really took them seriously (sorry).

It wasn’t until online classes started that I actually set up my Google Keep. And let me tell you, my friend:

Google Keep has been a lifesaver. Well, it has at least kept me organized.

Because all my classes are on Zoom, I have way too many links to keep track of. Some people like to bookmark the links, which is another way to organize. However, Keep has proved itself superior (to me).

The Keep dashboard is in the form of “sticky notes” which you can customize to your own liking. You can add reminders, labels, checklists, collaborators, images…

Here’s what my Keep dashboard looks like (with some edits for privacy):

As you can tell, it’s super easy to stay organized on Google Keep.

The color-coding system (although there are only 12 basic colors to choose from) is great, adding labels and reminders are intuitive and easy to see, and you can pin important notes for ease of remembering.

If you love staying organized, I definitely recommend using Google Keep to get started.

PDFelement

Let me tell you a story (see if you can relate!).

It was the first week of online classes and everything was going alright. We had a couple introductory “assignments” that were worth virtually nothing, and I completed those easily enough.

And then, my English Language/Composition teacher assigns an 11-page essay for me to annotate. Mind you, we’re still in online school!

This means that I had 3 choices:

1. Print out the entire essay, annotate it, and then scan and upload the file.
2. Copy-paste the text into Google Docs and try to use the Comments feature.
3. Use a professional PDF annotating app that actually lets me annotate how I want.

My printer conveniently broke last semester, so you can probably guess which option I went with. That’s right, I chose PDFelement. And I’m so glad I did.

Let me show you how (one part of) that assignment turned out:

Don’t mind the horrible analysis I did (I’m not a huge language expert), but are you guys seeing this?

I can’t imagine Google Docs allowing me as much freedom and fluidity as PDFelement allowed. I was able to make so many call-out comments on individual words or phrases while also connecting them to other parts of the text.

Highlighting, underlining, drawing arrows.. everything is so much more intuitive.

YOU’LL LOVE THIS POST: 10 BEST STUDY TIPS FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS

Blue Light Glasses

Do you like migraines, sleep deprivation, and overall unhealthiness? I thought not.

Now that we’re in the online school season, you’re spending hours on end sitting in front of your computer screen. The eye strain that comes with that is absolutely horrible for your health, and can cause everything I mentioned above.

And that’s where blue-light blocking glasses come in.

For years, I wore these tiny, oval-shaped, maroon glasses. They were hideous on me. So naturally, I developed a very strong dislike for glasses! Even when I started getting headaches while working at my desk, I would stubbornly reject wearing glasses.

Yeah, that was dumb.

Luckily, I found these super-cute glasses on Amazon. Not only do they filter out harmful blue light and UV light effectively, they look amazing! But the aesthetic is just a bonus! Ever since I got them, I’ve never had trouble with eye strain and migraines. 

If you’ve already caught yourself straining your eyes in front of your computer, you absolutely need to invest in a pair of blue light glasses now.

Grammarly

I. LOVE. Grammarly.

Grammarly has saved my butt so many times in my English classes. I can’t even count the number of times I made a completely stupid grammar error in my paper and didn’t even realize.

Thankfully, Grammarly has always been there for me

If you don’t have Grammarly downloaded right now, you’re missing out. Not just on the fun, but probably on a lot of points in your English class.

It’s super simple to use and immaculate in its error-detection. And all you have to do is download the Chrome Extension (if you write on Google Docs)! 

Once it’s downloaded to Chrome, it’ll automatically go through your Google Doc and detect errors with grammar, syntax, and all that fancy stuff. Sound amazing? 

Desktop Sticky Notes

I don’t know if this exists for computers other than MacBooks, but the default Stickies app is an amazing organization tool. 

You can write anything you need on them and customize them however you want (kind of like Google Keep but as a local file). They’re stored on your Desktop, so you’ll pretty much never lose them.

See this screenshot below of how I organized my sticky notes:

As you can tell, I organized my notes into 2 categories. The blue note is for the day or week’s homework. For each class, I’ll just list out the work I have to do.

The pink note is for upcoming due dates or test dates. I don’t create separate sections for each class, though you could if you wanted to.

You can customize these notes with note color, note size, text font, text size, and text style. They’re great for the daily housekeeping things that change often (i.e. daily todo lists), or just as a note for reference.

Conclusion

I know that transitioning from real school to online school is difficult for many. There are some things we can’t change, but also some that we can. Among that, is our own sanity (I hope)!

I hope you found a helpful tool in this post. Leave a comment with the one you’re thinking of trying! And if you’re looking for more tips on online school, check these out:

• 7 Powerful Habits Of Highly Productive Students
• How To Organize Your Entire School Semester
• How To Set Up Your Desk For Maximum Productivity

The post 5 Online School Tools You Won’t Be Able To Live Without appeared first on Sincerely Students.