5 Genius Tips for Studying at Home

I don’t know about you, but I typically hate studying at home! And during quarantine, it only gets tougher. I have 3 siblings, a dog, and parents who are constantly barging into my room to see what I am up to. Not just that, but being by yourself in a room when you have to complete homework can be intimidating on it’s own.

Do you ever go on social media planning to look at your feed for maybe 5 minutes and it turns into half an hour?! Or tell yourself, “one YouTube video and then I will start homework” and get sucked down the rabbit hole of recommended videos, wasting hours of your day? I’ve been there. I know how hard it can be to stay on task especially when you are still adjusting to life at home.

I have gotten waaaaay better at studying at home when I took summer classes during this quarantine time. So I compiled the 5 top tips that helped me ACE all of my classes and maximize my experience studying at home during the quarantine.

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1. Put ALL of your assignments and due dates in your calendar/planner (or myHomework app)

My FAVORITE app during the semester is called “myHomework”. There is a free version (that I have used for a couple of years) and a premium version ($4.99/year) that I just upgraded to. Premium comes with a couple of upgrades (more themes, external calendar access, and more additions).

Rather than cluttering my planner with my homework due dates, this app allows me to import all of my assignments for the semester by class. It gives reminders (that you must set) before your work is due and gives an option to show how important the assignment is. Using this app has helped me avoid turning in late work and it is the most reliable homework app I have come across.

(Compatible on most devices.)

2. Create a strict schedule 

This is the most important tip that kept me on task with multiple assignments and Zoom classes that I needed to attend. Make a loose to-do list (that may be subject to change) every Sunday with things you ~want~ to get done during the week. You can do this in your planner.

Then, every morning (mon.-fri.) I looked at my to-do list and created an hour-by-hour schedule of what I would do. You can plan your day til a certain time. Or, do like I did (pictured below), plan your whole day to guarantee productivity for the whole day. This ensures that I am getting everything on my to-do list checked off. It also allows me to stay disciplined while at home where there are many distractions going on. This is a very important one of my 5 tips for studying at home.

(This is an example of what your daily schedule can look like. I made this using Google Sheets which is FREE!)

3. Tell your family/roommates your class schedule 

The worst thing to happen is when you’re on zoom presenting a project or just sitting with your camera on in class and your parent or sibling storm into your room asking you a question or just seeing what you’re doing.

So, send a group text, print out a one-sheet schedule with your classes or just give them a heads up “Hey, you guys I have a class in ten minutes. I’ll let you know when I’m done”. Super simple but very important to give that heads up.

4. Study with NO distractions

No library. No study bubble in the business college. Just you and your room. It can be challenging to focus. I can pay attention in class most of the time but studying in my room, a place that is supposed to be my comfort zone is a setup!

So, I put my phone in another room or on the other side of my room where I would have to get up to get it.

Another solution that I have been using for the past two years is an app called “Forest”.

Read my full review on the Forest app here!

This app is not free ($1.99 one payment or free on android) but it works perfectly for me! It allows me to set whatever time I want to study and while my timer is going on, I am planting a virtual tree. A really cool benefit is that it is planting real trees across the world while you study. You should check it out! There is also a desktop app.

(Courtesy of the Apple Store)

5. Be realistic 

None of these tips will help you if you aren’t realistic about how much work and effort you plan to put into this. You can plan and make to-do lists all you want, but if you don’t put action behind these goals – you WILL fall short. These 5 tips for studying at home have helped me perform well and I know they can help you too! Stay determined, disciplined, and work hard to make it happen! You can do this!

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Get more tips and tricks for studying by pressing my college tab!