HOW ARE YOU?  

How is your online learning experience? Do you find any difficulties in your e-learning journey? As we are transitioning back to in-person learning, it is understandable if you feel a little bit overwhelmed. Continue reading if you face any obstacles at all. 

This article contains many excellent tips for you to manage your time effectively in order to balance study and work, both online and offline! 

Let us walk you through a list of great strategies that can help improve your learning experience.

1. Prioritize education

For the duration of your course (or online program), make the course your priority. That means making sure you complete all the reading assignments,  discussions, and homework on time. If you can't make online learning a priority, consider taking the course at another time when you can spend more time on it.

2. Study with a friend or colleague

Remote learning, solitary time to complete homework, has been described as "a lonely experience." You can overcome this and increase your chances of completing the course by inviting your friends or colleagues to study with you. Collaborative learning can be an excellent source of motivation for online learners!

• Hint: You can find study buddies online too! Search “study with me” on Youtube for more information.

3.  Use Calendar 

(Recommended app: Google Calendar)

Making a detailed schedule is a great idea for you to stay disciplined. 

• Plan by week: As you progress through the school year, there will be weeks that are busier than others. Identify the weeks with hectic schedules and plan to complete your online studies ahead of time. Mark it on your calendar with different color codes if needed to visualize easier. 

• Plan by day: Treat at least 1 hour a day as your study time and don't let anything  interfere with this time frame. If you don't have an hour to spare, you can also divide about 15 minutes into four times a day. In addition, you can refer to the Pomodoro technique, a time management method to increase learners' concentration and creativity. It's quite simple to do. You spend 25 minutes of intense focus studying and take a 5-minute break. Each 25-minute interval is called a "Pomodoro."  After 4 “Pomodoros” have passed, that means you have studied for 100 minutes with a break of only 15 minutes.

• Plan with peers: if you have a study partner or group, decide on the days you will meet with them to read the course materials and participate in online discussions together.

• Hint for math lovers: You can track your progress by plotting your study time out. Use  Clockify to do this! You can export your daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly study reports. 

4. Eliminate distractions

Numerous ways you can do this: Closing the door to the room to prevent family members from entering, turning off cell phones, avoiding sitting near the bed, television, or refrigerator. Find out what distracts you from your online learning and remove it as you work on your course. 

• Hint: Use Forest to stay focused and plant the trees! The app limits your access to social media or any apps of your choice in a limited amount of time. No more phone addiction!

5. Set goals and find people to motivate you

Encourage yourself or have someone cheer you on each time you complete a set goal or assignment within a certain amount of time. Reward yourself when you've completed a module or a discussion (but don't reward yourself until you've finished!).

6. Share the work with your partner

(If you have a research partner), decide with your partner who will do what to reduce the workload. Maybe your partner reads chapter 1 while you read chapter 2. Then, use pair thinking, or some other knowledge exchange method, to share information. This not only makes you remember the knowledge more deeply, but also makes online learning more interesting.

7. Discover ways to multitask without cognitive overload

Multitasking means doing many things at the same time. You can download the e-lecture files to your mobile phone or MP3 player, and then listen to them while jogging. You can also access the course on your tablet and do the reading while you are on the bus to work. However, in multitasking, it's important to avoid cognitive conflicts (e.g. reading while watching TV isn't really helpful) or cognitive overload (reading while on Skype calls, for example).

8. Be mindful

It is totally acceptable to have blue time. Set aside your self-care time to relax or just simply to take a deep breath!As you embark on an online course, focus on what you're doing and eliminate any distractions. Focusing on your course will help you do well. Set yourself timelines to complete a task.

Hint: Add Momentum to your Chrome extension for daily inspirational quotes!

9. Ask for help or take an extra online class to support school course

If you're having a hard time studying or feel lost, always ask for help — from your partner, classmate, online instructor, or study advisor. With the advancement of contemporary technology and the internet, finding extra-curricular classes to supplement and increase knowledge for the school's core courses has never been easier.

The pandemic poses challenges for all of us. We hope this article will be a great source of help and inspires you on your path towards a balanced lifestyle. 

Comment below if you have any better tips on managing your time effectively. We’d love to hear from you!There are many other resources where you can find additional support in regards to e-learning. 

Check the Public Schools Branch for more details.

Written by:  Lily Vuong,          

                     Sarah Le 

Edit by: Charlotte Yu

Reviewed by: Mrs.Milton

                         Charlotte Yu