Online school is nothing new to students at CdM, but many still struggle with staying productive while learning from home. Staying focused during class and homework can be hard, but there are things that can be done to help such as developing healthy study habits and getting better at managing time. CdM junior Bridget Anderson describes what she does by saying, “To stay productive during online school, I focus on doing one task at a time, getting enough rest, and finding new things to do at home”.

One thing that can increase productivity is getting into the habit of planning ahead. Having a weekly agenda in a notebook or notes page on a phone can help keep one from getting behind. By distributing work throughout the week in a way that makes sense, e.g., having less to do on an already busy day, the workload seems more do-able.

Another habit to try and get into is prioritizing what needs to get done in a day. Creating a system of marking what tasks absolutely must be done that day versus tasks that have some wiggle room can allow a person to stay on top of things while still having room to breathe on a bad day. An example of this is in the feature photo, which shows a two-day spread with a key in the top left.

A trick that works well when motivation is nowhere to be found is the 15-minute rule. When there is a task that seems overwhelming or extremely unappealing, a person can set a 15-minute timer and make themselves work on it for just 15-minutes. Once someone gets going on a task though, they have the momentum to keep going and could continue on or start on other homework. This is a great way to jumpstart productivity when in a Netflix slump.

To each their own though, and since everyone is different, the best way for someone to improve their productivity is to learn how they learn. Those “What Type of Learner Are You?” tests were not just for fun in elementary school; they are genuine guides to how a person most effectively learns something. Since no one is just in one category though, some further exploration may be needed. Just trying different things every now and then and seeing what works can do wonders for finding a personalized system.