So you’re a university student. Stop and think about that for a moment. To get this far you will have put in a lot of hard work and hours, and you’ll also have developed some excellent study skills. You will have had to manage your time, motivate yourself, organise your notes, plan essays, write clearly, read critically and lots more.
But studying at university isn’t easy. In fact, it’s designed to challenge you, so that you have to adapt, grow and take your skills to the next level. On top of that, the current global crisis means that ways of teaching, learning and assessment are changing rapidly. You might be taking online classes, having online meetings with your supervisor and be preparing for online exams, all while being isolated from other students and the physical university environment.
While change can be unsettling, this is a great time to try out new things and take charge of your learning.
We’d like to invite you to join the discussion.
- What works for you? Do you have any top tips for studying while social distancing? What great strategies or fantastic tools/ apps would you recommend?
- What isn’t working? What are you finding hard about online learning? Where are you stuck? Do you have a question that other students might be able to answer?
Write a short (1-2 sentences) comment below. Feel free to pose questions and to respond to other comments. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others’ viewpoints (see house rules).
I’ve been social distancing in my room for more than a week as I came back from international travel. Thus far, I’m happy to say that my studies are going along well and the isolation is not affecting me as badly.
I think what works for me is that I study consistently everyday for around 4-8 hours while making sure I do other stuff as well so I do not get bored or burnt out. As a personal example, I do yoga every morning/evening, watch my favourite series during meal times, chat with friends on breaks and also engage in my hobbies for a good 1-2 hours a day. I think the variety of activities really helps with adjusting to being contained in a room and makes studying less tedious!
Honestly I think I’ve been exercising more in isolation than I would normally! I personally can’t study for that long, I tend to work in really short and sharp bursts, but I’m glad it works for you – the pomodoro technique is also a good one to try out if anyone else works in a similar way to me 🙂