COVID-19 has forced us all to deal with a new situation, be it online learning, teaching, or even just being at home all day. We have to ask ourselves a question: What do I do with my time? It’s a lot easier to know when you’re in a school building because the administration does the scheduling and time management for you (besides homework…). However, now we are all in a virtual Wild West of schoolwork. When you’re doing online learning, it’s hard to know how to deal with your work.
There are a lot of different opinions out there about productivity, but I consider myself a proponent of schedules, to-do lists and checking boxes. That’s why with my routine, I combined all three. I have a 45-60 minute block set for each of my classes, adding up to six blocks in total. I added one creative, recreational activity that I like to do, and one physical activity, like walking around my neighborhood or doing yoga. Add a lunch break at 12 p.m, and boom! Just like that, we have a schedule.
As you can see, I mirrored my school schedule, right down to the order I have my classes. When I was homeschooled, I prided myself on waking up early and finishing school early, sometimes as early as 10 a.m.. The reason I don’t do that anymore is that it left me with nothing to do the rest of the day. I also didn’t have any breaks in my work, and I was just sitting around all of the time without any chances to stand up and move around.
There are a lot of ways you can organize all this information: spreadsheets, notebook paper, etc. What I like most is to write out what I am doing in each of my classes at the start of the day. It might be a little tedious to do each morning, but I find it helps me intentionally focus on my work. There are many reasons for choosing to have a to-do list for my work. One is that it helps me keep track of everything that I’m doing. I’m very prone to forgetfulness, and it’s nice to have a list that I can consult to see what I have left. Another is that checking boxes is genuinely fun and satisfying. It’s like a very small, inconsequential reward for my hard work.
Of course, just writing a quick spreadsheet with each of your classes on a grid pattern is just as valid; there is no one way to schedule. Scheduling is just a means to make your job as a student easier. However you choose to organize your day, remember: you are in control, not whatever system you created.
For Shay’s first column, offering advice on managing isolation, click here.
Photo by Shay Wisdom/The ECHO
