Adjusting Your Study Habits

Your study habits may need to change.

While more of your coursework and teamwork have to be online and remote, here are some strategies to keep in mind:

With so many things changing in your courses, you might be reliving that first-week-of-class confusion at finals-week pace.

Here are some things you might want to keep track of for each class:

Are in-person parts of the class changing?

• What are the in-person parts of this course? (lecture, lab, etc)
• Where can you find it or how do you access it? (live-stream, lecture capture, etc)
• Is it at a specific time or can you watch it anytime?

Are assignments changing?

• Are there new due dates?
• Is how you’re submitting your assignments changing?
• Are any quizzes or exams being offered virtually?

What are resources offered should you need help?

• Is your course offering virtual office hours? When and on what platform?
• Is there an online forum for asking questions?

If you’re doing more work on your own and your time is less structured, you might be more tempted to multitask. Many people think they can do multiple things at once. But research shows us that only about 2% of the population can multitask. Even if you feel like you’re multitasking, you’re probably not… really, you’re switching between tasks very quickly (some call this “micro-tasking”).

The downsides of multitasking and microtasking:

• Assignments take longer. Each time you come back to an assignment (from Instagram for example), you have to get familiar with it, find your spot, remember what you were going to do next, etc.
• You’re more likely to make mistakes. Distractions and switching between tasks tires out the brain.
• You’ll remember less. When your brain is divided, you’re less able to commit what you’re learning to long-term memory

What to do instead

• Focus on one thing at a time.
• Take breaks between tasks.
• Consider the “pomodoro method” to help you focus for 25 or 50-minute periods and then reward yourself with 5 or 10-minute breaks.

• Stick to your instructor’s schedule as much as you can. Staying on a schedule will help you have a feeling of normalcy and prevent you from falling way behind.
• Find out how to ask questions. Is there a chat feature? Is there a discussion forum?
• Close distracting tabs and apps. Humans are not as good at multitasking as they think! (See #2.)
• Continue to take notes as you would if you were there in person.
• Watch recordings at normal speed. Faster playback speeds are worse for complex, multi-step material (which most of your lectures probably are).

As the situation unfolds, you may have fewer social commitments, group meetings, or work hours. Setting a schedule for yourself can help provide structure and keep you motivated.

• Do a little homework each day. You may feel less overwhelmed if you can keep up with your responsibilities a bit at a time and achieve small goals daily. That way, you also won’t feel the pressure of getting behind as things may change around you in unexpected ways.

Your routines may have to adjust during this time. Look for ways to adapt your usual habits or form new ones.

• If you usually study in a coffee shop or library, ask yourself what kind of environment helps you study. See if you can recreate that at home. If you feel you need background noise, consider a white noise app.
• If you always study in groups, try a virtual or even phone-based study session with your group..
• If you thrive on tight timelines, but now have a more open schedule, think about how working with others or setting up a schedule can recreate that for you. When that gets hard, see if you can even do fifteen minutes at a time.
• After studying, try to work the homework problems without aids at first. Use this as test preparation.
• In order to think a little differently, imagine you are tasked with teaching the material to someone else. This may change your perspective up a bit.
• Create your own practice exams in order to focus on the concepts you find most difficult.
• Make sure you are understanding your thought processes and not just finding a similar problem believing you can replicate results.

• Remote collaboration will look a little different, but it is definitely possible.
• Try not to procrastinate. That group project may be out-of-sight, out-of-mind if you aren’t seeing each other regularly. Make small progress and stay in touch.
• Meet regularly, especially if you usually touch base during class or lab. Consider a quick text on your group chat about progress every couple of days. Ideally, have real conversations over video any week you’re working together.
• Set a purpose for meetings and use a shared notes doc. Meetings might feel different when using video, even if your team was really good at working informally in the past. Try to set the purpose of your meeting in advance. As long as you can see whatever you need to collaborate, aim to keep the video visible on your computer screen. It’ll help you see the expressions of your teammates and stay connected to each other.
• Check on each other and ask for backup: If someone has been absent from your group meetings or chat, ask them directly if they’re still able to participate in the project. If you aren’t getting responses within a day or two, let your instructor know. Know it isn’t being petty, it’s your team’s responsibility.

Here are a few ideas:

• Schedule video calls with friends and family. Talking with loved ones is often really helpful when you’re stressed or nervous about something.
• Use Google Hangouts or another app, to connect with classmates to talk through a tough problem.
• Attend virtual office hours or study groups so that you can stay up on your coursework.

Please remember THIS WILL PASS!

If COVID has disrupted your travel plans, ended a lab experiment you were excited about, or for any reason feels like it came at the worst possible time, remember: this is temporary. You’ll find your way when it settles down.

Until then, take a deep breath, do your best, get some rest, and wash your hands.

For the latest information and updates on COVID-19, visit UofL’s COVID-19 webpage.

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