5 Tips for Better Focus when Studying Online
Following the world’s struggling with a pandemic, millions of students had to complete their annual education from the confines of their homes. From being surrounded by friends and having a social life to being succumbed to the four walls in their rooms, students have experienced drastic changes to their lives.
However, that hasn’t stopped the force of education from impacting their lives. Schools and the majority of the other educational institutions then switched their curriculum to online and remote studying. This enables the students to acquire their education and not put a stop to their lives.
Still, it is different and often not as satisfying as in-person classes. We have lined up a few tips that can help with studying online.
- Download a VPN
The first and likely one of the most important issues with studying online is malware attacks and phishing. The last thing a student needs is to end up downloading a corrupted file or clicking on a link that ends up affecting their system, putting all the notes and papers one has written at risk.
Don’t risk any kind of cybersecurity issues. If you have a child that attends school online, the risks of an attack might be even greater. Download a VPN, a reliable one, and provide them with the security their device needs. Doing so keeps your child’s education and school data secure without the risks of external online threats.
- Take timely breaks
Like you’d originally get in school, even with online learning, students must get to breathe now and then. Doing so helps refresh their mind, consolidate what they have learned in the last lesson, and prepare space in their brain to further take in more lessons from the next teacher.
Back-to-back learning and school lessons will eventually end up taking a toll on your child’s mental well-being and make it hard for them to concentrate. So, assign designated break time between classes, stand up and walk around the house or outside to breathe in some fresh air.
- Focus on taking notes
Another way to focus on an individual online lesson is to prepare yourself for taking notes. As absurd as it sounds, when you are focused on taking notes, you are subconsciously multitasking and soaking in the information. This way, not only do you focus on the lesson the teacher is giving you, but you also have a creative way to have everything noted down in front of you.
For parents: Given that a child is learning from a system 24×7, try to switch to a notepad and pencil. This way, your child has a break out of the digital sphere and while taking notes, they have to stay focused on situations. Taking notes also helps improve one’s focus and critical thinking, which is pretty great too. Taking notes also improves your memory and helps you take in the content better.
- Make a list
While we are nearing the end of the list, this one deserves an honorary mention. When you have a to-do list and you are mentally prepared for things to happen throughout the day, it becomes a lot easier for an individual to tackle things as they come. Also, when you finish each lesson or each task on the to-do list, make sure that you tick them off. These accomplishments throughout the day can be motivating and push you to stay focused on the lesson you are learning.
- Do what makes you happy
And, by that, we don’t mean you should walk out of the online class. Instead, switch to a place in the house or outside the house that makes you feel happy and at peace. Researchers have found that being surrounded by a happy place helps improve focus and concentration in individuals. And, you can even have music softly lingering in the background to help you with your focus while doing homework.
Many people have this notion that working in complete silence is the best way to stay focused. However, that isn’t the case with every person. Some people enjoy having background noise to keep them distracted while some others enjoy complete silence. It is all about personal preferences.
When it comes to learning and focus, everyone’s opinion is subjective. Some students love cooped up in the room and working by themselves. While other students love background noise or studying in a group.
Whatever your choice is, you need to realize that every person’s abilities are different. What tips for concentration might work for someone might not work for you. That doesn’t mean that you aren’t serious about the situations or the lessons you are learning. It simply means that you need to try out some other way to garner the focus on your education. Sometimes, all you need to do is an experiment and test out situations and then move ahead with the one that deems the best to your knowledge.