How to Be Productive: Remote Learning Edition

Now that we’re all adjusting to Zoom University, one of the things we miss most (besides Science Center Hall B, of course) are the endless study spaces on campus. With parents and siblings running around the living areas, it can be hard to mimic that trademark Widener silence and get your work done. Check out these tips below if a virtual Lamont Zoom background just isn’t cutting it for you.

Set aside separate workspaces

Every single person says this, and while it may be overused, it’s all too true. While it may be tempting to log onto Zoom while in bed, you’ll only get more distracted. Set up a separate room or table to work at and while you are working there, try to avoid social media (warning: especially TikTok!) and replicate the workspace association that Widener commands. If you want to procrastinate, relocate to another place but make sure to keep your work and phone separate.

Take deserved breaks

There’s nothing you miss more than your 9 a.m. walk from Mather to Northwest Labs, and with a bit of social distancing, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy the same mental break at home (during a more reasonable hour, of course). Got an extra 15 minutes to kill before your next class? Luckily for you, Spring weather is finally beginning to arrive. A breath of fresh air will leave you refreshed before your next class and ready to face yet another day of technical difficulties.

Put your best foot forward… literally.

As much as rolling out of bed and watching lectures without pants on is enjoyable – let’s be honest, it’s terrible for productivity. To start a productive day off right, put on the clothes you would normally wear to class and make sure to put on your shoes! The feeling of wearing shoes strangely snaps you into work mode instead of lounge-in-my-house-and-binge-Netflix mode.

Go to office hours

The worst thing is when you look up from your phone and that pset that could have been done five hours ago hasn’t even gotten started. Meanwhile, you’ve watched all of Charli D’Amelio’s TikToks three times over. Go to office hours to not only implement some structure in your day, but also to force yourself to dedicate a certain amount of time to a class, even if you don’t have questions.

We don’t know about you, but these days, productivity can be a real issue. Hopefully these tips inject some productivity into all of our days. And hey, if these tips don’t end up working out, hopefully a universal pass/fail will save us all.