Time Management While Distance Learning

Over the course of time I have had this blog, I have learned new ways to be productive, and I hope my suggestions and findings have been helpful for those that have tried them. From trying various ways of staying motivated and organized to finding new ways to be motivated and stay on track (though I have definitely struggled). One thing I have to say and remind others that feel like they are not doing as best as they think they should be - it's okay to mess up. Let me tell you about the ways I have become inspired and motivated during these tough times. 

Staying Productive in Quarantine: Products and Suggestions Words cannot describe the number of times I have wanted to study and do my work in a coffee shop or in my university's library just for a change of scenery. Working from home in my room at my desk for the last year has been far from ideal, and I have tried my best to make it comfortable and designated for work so that my room that once was only meant for relaxation and sleep. Because I miss the comradery of working with other students and around other people, I have made some more changes to encourage myself to feel motivated and productive while working from home. What Have I Done to Boost Productivity? I have struggled to stay motivated working from home. My at-home workspace was far from ideal, so I often would go to a local coffee shop or go to my university's library before the pandemic hit. When I was in those environments, I felt like I had a designated work area and very little distraction, which is what I did n...

 I have talked about a few productivity and focus apps on this blog and I have found that although I did enjoy using each of them, none of them really worked for me. Flora is fun for those that have the money to donate and enjoy the incentives of keeping your tree alive, but I am a broke college student and can't use the app in a way that I would like. I enjoy Study Bunny, but I found I am not completely focused on my tasks when using it because of everything going on, it is a bit distracting for me. So, I went on a search for bare-bones productivity/Pomodoro/focus apps that would be nice to look at and are user-friendly.

Hello everyone, my name is Celia! I am a Study Bunny and my job is to motivate you to stay on task for a chosen period of time. Let me tell you all about my app.

In my previous post, I wrote about the Pomodoro Technique and the ways that it can be helpful for those that have issues staying on task. The premise of the technique is that you work on a designated task for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break, then repeat 4 times to allow yourself a 20-minute break. The technique definitely piqued my interest, especially when I found that there were apps made for the technique, many with thousands of positive reviews (on the Apple App Store). So, I decided it would be fun to try all the apps I could find that was related to timers and/or the Pomodoro Technique and relay what I found interesting about each app here. Since we are focused on Time Management here, I hope that these various time management and focus apps will be helpful to you. So to begin my review, let's start with Flora.

Too Many Suggestions I know that I have given a lot of suggestions for productivity and time management aids, but using all the suggestions I have given may be overwhelming. For me, the combination of things I use work, and because I am not a creative person, I have had trouble using other forms that I have read and heard are very helpful for students and working professionals. Let me introduce you to Notion.

  Not Enough Time In my last post, I talked about getting a timer and using that as a means of keeping a goal to work on a selected task. When thinking of that technique and that people often use goals to complete tasks, I realize that it can be difficult for some people to focus for a long period of time. I have found that working in my own classes sometimes, especially when the class times are longer, I have trouble staying focused for the whole class period. So, I did some research for those of us that may have trouble staying focused for a long period of time.

Productivity Is Down In Quarantine   I have been wanting to increase my productivity lately, and as I am sure you are aware, being productive during this time working at home is hard to do. We are working in our homes and in our bedrooms that are normally meant to be the places where we can relax. In one of my psychology classes I have taken, I learned you are not meant to send children to their room as a punishment because they will begin to correlate their rooms with punishment and no longer a place of peace and comfort. We can take that same concept and apply it to our current situations working and learning from home. So, how can we make the most of our time working and learning from home when it is already so difficult to do?

  Working and Going to School From My Room So, I know I am not the only one trying to navigate working, going to classes, and spending time with family. If you are like me and are lucky enough to have not had to keep away from your family during the duration of this pandemic, then you also know that keeping your time working/going to class and spending time with family (or alone) can be quite difficult. I am living with my mom, dad, and sister, and three of us are working and/or distance learning. My mom, sister, and I all work in our own rooms luckily, but that does not stop us from walking around the house to each other's rooms just to get away from the computer screen. Though things have been working out okay, I have needed to make some changes to keep time and distance myself from distractions with others also working and/or learning from home.

 Another thing I have found that helps keep me keep my time better is to use to-do lists outside of the ones I have in my planner. Like I said in my last post, my planner has a section on each day for "To-Do", and I use that as a place to mark what is due that day. If you want to use that for daily to-do lists, then, by all means, go for it!  For me, I have found other means that work for me. Last semester towards the end was getting hectic and I struggled to keep track of all the things I had due down to the last week. So, I used my iPad and phone to make to-do lists on Microsoft To-Do. That actually worked out great and it lets you set reminders and specific dates and times things were due without a distracting calendar or interface. It is very simply laid out and it just shows you what your to-dos are in order of what is due first based on the things you entered. It also has a very satisfying sound it makes when you check something off.  Here is a picture of one of my ...

 One of the things that I have consistently turned to keep time is a planner. Planners are great for a few reasons:  1. They are great for people that need visuals to make sense of their days 2. They can help you look ahead in your week 3. They come in so many styles, you can most definitely find one that fits your needs I have found myself using 2 planners for my use. One I use for planning and keeping track of things that need to be done for school, and the other I use for work.  The one I use for work can be found here . The reason this specific planner works well for me is that in the daily sections, there is a half of them that is sectioned off for "to-do"s. I use that to keep track of what is due for that day. For time management, that helps me be aware of what I need to have done so I can plan accordingly.  My work planner is much simpler, which I got from Amazon. I work in mental health and I use that planner to keep track of the meetings I have with my clien...

 In my last post, I talked about normal stress and how it can have an effect on time management. We know that stress is a normal part of life and it definitely can be expected given the current state of the world. It is not surprising that we may feel now that our productivity has diminished or our ability to focus has suffered due to the pandemic and all of the hardships it has presented. One thing that I want to address though is how different kinds of stress could also be the reason for the things we are feeling. I will begin by saying that I am not giving anyone medical advice and I am in no way a medical professional. I can only give advice from what I know.  Another quite common kind of stress we may experience in our lives is traumatic stress. This is the kind of stress that can happen after a traumatic event, like a death or an accident. This kind of stress is more intense than regular/routine stress. The last kind of stress you may experience is long-term stress, whic...

  Covid Changed The Way I Work I thought I had my school routine all figured out when I started my Spring 2020 Semester. I had my school planner and my work planner all set up, my google calendar with my class times and work schedule all synced with my devices, and I had my routine altogether and it worked well for me. I knew when I needed to leave my house for class and about how long it would take me to drive to work from campus and I knew about what time I would be home each day to begin my homework. Since covid happened, I have had to change the way that I learn and the ways I keep a productive school schedule.