Following guidance from local and national public health agencies, UIC has implemented the policy of migrating courses to an online platform for the rest of the spring semester. For some students, studying from home might be quite challenging. It may be difficult for you to regulate your own studying and utilize online lectures to the full potential, however, there are some ways that you can do so. Here are some tips to help you learn successfully from online lectures.

• Create a designated study area
  • Either your kitchen table or a desk in your room, create an area that designated for your study. Leave your bed for sleeping. Also, keep your study area clean and organized so you can put more time into studying.
• Speak with your friends, family, or partners
  • This is essential for your study that let the people around you know that you need the time and space and try not to distract you, even though you may look like you are free to chat. It’s best to set up boundaries and to let them know not to contact you during your study time.
• Get your chores out of the way
  • Take care of your daily chores before or after your study time to avoid distraction. Also, put your cellphone away. To be honest, it’s a huge temptation. Switch your phone to airplane mode or put it on mute. Unless it’s an emergency, phone calls and messages can wait. If you are not able to refuse the temptation, put it away from your sight.
• Engage in your study
  • The same way you would do when you go to classes, taking notes, and paying your full attention. Try not to watch videos, do online shopping, or listening to anything that would distract you from listening to the lectures.
• Manage your time
  • Effective time management is crucial for your success in college or even your future career. Create a timetable, plan how much time you want to spend on studying, set up realistic deadlines for yourself, make sure you attend all online lectures on time, block certain time period for each course or activity, etc.
• Keep in touch with your peers and professors
  • Check your university email frequently. You may not be able to see your peers and professors for a while, but stay in touch with them and communicate in a timely manner with any questions you may have during your study.
• Eat properly, take breaks, and get some good sleep
  • Last but not the least, take care of yourself. Taking regular breaks, feeding your body the right food, and getting a full night’s sleep to keep your brain refreshed and ready to process all the knowledge you learned during the day.

Stay safe, stay healthy. I wish you have a productive and focused study time at home.