Maintaining Motivation - studying online

2020 is proving to be a difficult year for everyone and education is one industry that has been severely impacted across the world. Most university students will be completing this semester from their home and online. Studying or working from home can be difficult due to the amount of distractions.

This blog will share a few tips on how you can keep yourself motivated and focused from the comforts of your personal study space.

#1 - Write out 5 weekly goals you want to achieve in your personal study

These goals can be relating to what subject content you want to study in order to stay up-to-date, or how many lectures and tutorials you need to attend. You might want to be ambitious and set goals for how many topic/chapter summaries you want to create.

#2 - Set a timetable and stick to it

Most universities will be conducting tutorials online and/or discussion forums on their respective online learning systems. It is important that you participate across the available forums. Try and set a timetable with allocations for all your subjects, but in order to be effective, you need to stick to that timetable.

#3 - Take regular breaks (avoid overloading)

One way to keep yourself motivated is to take regular breaks so you avoid the feeling of getting bogged down. if you have a backyard, go outside and soak up some sunlight.

#4 - Eat well

Motivation and energy levels are closely linked to what you are consuming on a daily basis. Use this time to eat well and look after your wellbeing. Fresh is best (if you can go to shops). Try and avoid junk food as it can make you feel lethargic (based on the fact junk food contains less nutrients). For more healthy eating habits please head to our page 'Food Ideas' located within Study Space. You can also check out Food Matters.

#5 - Productive study spaces

Firstly, avoid studying in your bed. Keep your personal study space clean and organised. Change up your study space a couple of times a day. For example, utilise your dining timetable, desk and backyard. Head to our previous blog on 'Study Spaces' for more tips.

#6 - Indoor exercise

Motivation and energy levels can also be boosted when exercise is undertaken. If it is permitted within your community, go for short walks (practicing social distancing). If you are not permitted beyond the boundaries of your property get creative indoors. Sit-ups, push-ups and squats for example can be easily done at home (check out Kayla Itsines for more indoor exercise ideas).

#7 - Limit distractions

Although it is very important to reward yourself, limit ongoing distractions as much as you can. This means limiting texting and social phone calls as well as limiting your view time of Netflix and access to Facebook and other social media platforms not being directly used for study purposes.

#8 - Reward yourself

To maintain motivation, you must reward yourself with Netflix, comfort food (in moderation) or social media time! At the moment we cannot go to the movies or cafes and cannot socialise with friends. Rewarding yourself needs to be done from home.

Hoping some of those motivation tips help over the next few weeks as we all adjust to a new lifestyle. Please share, like and comment below.