So, here we are. My fourth year of university (yayyyy!!!) and my fourth semester as a student during a pandemic (booooo). Coming into this school year, I had hoped all of my classes would be in-person and that things would be back to normal. Unfortunately, that thought was far too optimistic. With the rising Covid case count in New Brunswick lately, 4/5 of my classes are completely online. Now I wouldn’t consider myself an online school pro or anything, but I have definitely learned a thing or two about how to make this unique learning experience as productive and beneficial as possible. So without further ado, here are a few ways that I manage to survive and thrive as an online student...

USE A PLANNER/CALENDAR 

My planner is a necessity during a normal school year, but as an online student, it’s my lifeline. When you’re not physically going to class and seeing your professors everyday, your academic responsibilities can seem a bit distant and it can be easy to adopt an “out of sight, out of mind” attitude. Writing down all of your course materials in a planner or calendar makes organization a piece of cake, and forgetting deadlines nearly impossible. 

GET OUT 

Staying inside all day, everyday is extremely depressing. I know this because it’s exactly what I did throughout my entire third year. I watched all of my lectures at home, and then when those were done for the day, I did all of my homework at home too. I promised I would never do that to myself again, because it was utterly miserable. This year, I have forced myself to switch up my learning environments. Whether that be going to the library, a café, the Student Centre, or my boyfriend’s house, having a change of scenery while doing work is extremely refreshing and much more stimulating than being inside my apartment 24/7. 

GET DRESSED 

As tempting as it is to stay in pajamas all day long, I am most productive when I get up and get dressed. Even if I am just changing out of my pajamas and into something only slightly less pajama-y, like a comfy sweat suit, I still feel much more put together and ready to tackle my tasks for the day. 

COMMIT TO A SCHEDULE 

Two of my online classes are live meetings via Zoom; however, the other two are ‘asynchronous’ and can be done at my own pace. The devil on my shoulder tells me to procrastinate these asynchronous classes and do them whenever I can get around to them, but the angel on my other shoulder says that I need to commit to a schedule. So, I listen to her because I know she’s right. If I treat my unscheduled classes as if they are weekly meetings set at a certain time, then I know they will always get done. Procrastinating and not staying on top of your online lectures is a recipe for disaster (and a lot of all-nighters at the end of the semester). 

GIVE YOUR EYES A BREAK 

Something that I have definitely learned is that the human eye is not meant to be staring at a screen for 12 hours straight everyday. Taking breaks from your computer is imperative, but I’m not talking about a break to scroll on Instagram or TikTok. That’s just going from one screen to an even smaller screen. I mean you have to take proper, screenless breaks. A few of my favourite ways to do so are, going for a walk, making a snack, going to the gym, chatting with a friend, taking a warm shower, or grabbing a coffee. 

I know these five tips seem like they are obvious and straightforward, but trust me when I say implementing these practices into your life as an online student and actually taking them seriously will be a complete game changer for your overall well being and academic success. 

Fingers crossed we can get back into the classroom soon enough… 

Good luck everyone!