The COVID-19 pandemic ushered a new paradigm into our lives. People were forced to stay indoors for months on end without being allowed to go outside to work, play or study. However, staying home to study or work is not necessarily a bad thing. It affords people the opportunities to take charge of their own progress and become more responsible and productive. There are multiple steps individuals can take to improve their productivity while at home.
- Maintain regular hours
- Schedule breaks
- Exercise consistently
- Stay connected with peers and teachers
- Avoid the bed
Maintain Regular Hours
One of the most important steps to achieving higher productivity is to set a clear timetable for your tasks and activities. Consistency in your study schedule helps your brain be more active and maximize brain capacity during that period. This can help boost productivity and concentration as students will be more efficient and focused during the study session.
Regularity can be achieved by creating a simple list of activities you wish to complete during the day and assigning each task a specified amount of time so you can keep track of progress.
Schedule breaks
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” – This old saying is especially true when studying from home. Students not acclimatized to being home during school hours may tend to blur the lines between working and taking breaks, which can have adverse impacts on mental health. Students should set clear boundaries and avoid all distractions while they are doing coursework or attending lectures.
However, they should also incorporate periodic breaks where they can relax their minds by doing fun activities, listening to music, or interacting with their peers. This can help keep students focused on schoolwork and avoiding distractions.
Exercise Consistently
Exercise can be a great source of refreshment and energy, especially if done early in the morning. Exercising has a host of benefits that include increased mental acuity and agility, reduced stress and anxiety, and has also been proven to improve cardiovascular health, overall mood, and sleep.
Exercising doesn’t always mean going to the gym. There are multiple exercises that can be done at homes such as push-ups, crunches, and planks. These exercises can go a long way to boosting productivity and improving attentiveness.
Stay Connected
While working or studying from home has numerous advantages, it is important to keep yourself connected with your peers. There are multiple ways to do this from home, such as being more active in discussions, forming study groups, and speaking to friends via video chat. This can help students decompress and maintain social connections which are important to reducing stress and boosting productivity.
Avoid the bed
Creating a dedicated study area within the home is ideal, but students and working professionals should avoid working on their beds as far as possible. Beds are designed specifically to help people relax and sleep and attempting to conduct business or do schoolwork while on the bed will most likely end up as an exercise in futility. Students should sit at their desks or dining tables and avoid the ‘laziness trap’ as far as possible.
Use technology for learning new things
Make technology your best friend. Schedule an hour for learning. If you are preparing for an exam, revise a concept by rewatching the tutorial, attend live video sessions to get your doubts cleared. We are so fortunate today to have plenty of video solutions available only a click away to get the right knowledge Clearly take out a fixed hour of the day to learn and enhance your knowledge using the technological tools.
Also published on Medium.