Monthly Archives: November 2020

Studying Online Efficiently (My Style)

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By Azizan Anas (Student Blogger: BSc Hons Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics and Economics)

The rapid progression of technology can be beneficial, while also be disastrous depending on how you use it. As a result of the current Covid-19 Pandemic that’s happening worldwide, it can be seen that technology has played a huge role in students’ learning. More and more schools, institutions and universities are offering online-based materials which are accessible from the comfort of our home. However, this serves as a challenge for some students as being at home means that they are more susceptible to nearby distractions thus maybe more susceptible to distractions. I would like to share my ways of studying online effectively that I have been doing for the past few months.

Building Up Momentum

When you’re in the zone (of momentum), you will find it much easier to focus on the task you’re doing. This means you are able to do you tasks while being ‘in the flow’. From what I’ve noticed to achieve this state its better to do simple tasks such as making your bed or cleaning up and removing any possible sources of distraction before engaging in any online learning.

Preparing A Dedicated Workspace

By having our own dedicated workspace area to do our tasks, we can be far more productive (assuming that you’re not distracted). So, whenever you are in your workspace, your brain will recognize and remember that you will be doing work turning on your ‘working’ mode. This is much better than doing our work in different parts of the house where there could be other distractions such as people watching TV or talking with each other.

Have A Rest

It is essential to give yourself some rest, for both your body and your brain. The reason is that if we go on for a 2hours straight studying, our brain may feel overwhelmed and may not process some of the information while our body may feel tired and our eyes may struggle due to looking to the screen to watch lectures for 2 hours straight. I would suggest giving yourself a 4-5minutes break for every 40-45mins, where you can stretch your body or make yourself a cup of tea!

Why studying from home is actually decent…

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By Safiya (Student blogger: BA English Literature)

‘Studying from home’ initially seemed so off-putting: from connectivity issues to lack of motivation due to being in your environment of leisure, virtual learning was not at all appealing. But sometimes you don’t need to think positively about something in order to enjoy it – you just need to experience it. And, after several weeks of studying online, I think many of us can say that this is actually not that bad.

 

Why studying from home is actually decent:

  1. There’s so much more time!

If anyone is a (now former) commuting student, you’ll have quickly realised how much time we now have! Balancing work and play was madness, and winging it was all I really did. But due to the lack of extra stress and super early get ups that often came with travelling, studying has never been more enjoyable.

  1. You can attend lectures/seminars from the comfort of your bed

Although it is advised to have a dedicated space for studying, especially whilst being at home, it wouldn’t be terrible to watch a lecture or two from your bed once in a while. You’re comfy, and you’re learning. Win-win.

  1. You can plan (most) of your studying around your own schedule

While seminars may have an allocated time, you can access the recorded lectures and reading materials at your own convenience. Early bird? Night owl? Schedule the lectures for whenever you want! If you want to minimise the number of ‘uni days’ you have, watch the lectures on the same day that you have the corresponding seminar. In this way, not only will the information remain fresh for discussion, but you will have more ‘free’ days for which you can dedicate other things! (P.S – if you’re in a hurry, you can speed your lectures up!)

  1. I’m…getting the reading done?!

Still can’t believe it. But, like aforementioned, due to the lack of travelling and extra stress, there is so much more time for work.

  1. Sleep schedule is now actually a schedule

Again, still can’t believe it. I used to be able to relate to every lack-of-sleep meme there was, but now they all seem like a distant memory.

Although online learning may still seem inconvenient and strange to some, it’s important to remember that this is new for almost everyone! And access to education, especially during a global pandemic, is definitely something we should truly appreciate.

Is 24/7 the new norm?

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By Will (Student Blogger: BSc Hons Entrepreneurship and Management)

Wow, what a last few month’s hey? Feels like it’s been years, and that’s the problem for many of us. Time is molding into one undistinctive thing and our work lives are becoming ever interlinked with our personal space and activities. Our workspace is now our leisure space for most of the time, though this may seem efficient to some it presents a problem for many of us that it’s hard to differentiate when we should and shouldn’t be working. One of the great things about Lancaster University is the breadth of study spaces it has, from Cartmel study rooms on one side of campus to the health innovation campus on the other. In normal circumstances many of us relish the opportunity to rotate around campus and study under these different locations, constantly keeping the brain refreshed and environment exciting. However, circumstances are anything but normal now unfortunately, and for many of us these spaces are not longer accessible with our bedroom’s and houses the only places we can take refuge to both study and unwind. This is unfortunately not going to change for the foreseeable future, so how do we ensure we can still instigate a clear separation between our down time and work commitments?

My main recommendation is to work within clear and ‘normal’ defined hours. Most working people work between 9am and 5pm, and this is with good reason as it promotes a healthy sleep pattern and if followed through the week allows both Saturday and Sunday free for leisure. I write this blog for you now at 16:18pm on a Friday having started this morning at 9:12am, with a strict limit on myself to cease work at 17:00pm tonight and not resume until Monday 9am. This work schedule ensures I have adequate downtime at night to allow a restful sleep and early enough rising time to ensure that the workday is not wasted, and I have ample time to complete any work. Linked to this, is how it’s so easy to overlook the importance of the weekend and days off. This statement may initially seem novel, a university student that doesn’t have enough time off, is there such a thing? Well I would argue yes, however I do argue that we are poor at making our time off valuable and effective and resetting ourselves as it should be. Allowing the brain to relax, focusing on those interests we have and making time for others are all things we deserve to be doing every weekend. Whatever year or course we are studying, the amount of content is designed that we have free time, so if you feel that your weekends are too short or downtime not long enough. Ask yourself these questions; did I really start early enough today? Did I really finish early enough last night? Is my sleeping schedule that of a normal professional?

On the face of it, having a defined schedule and time limits on most aspects of our living may seem boring and frankly unnecessary. Take it from me however, this is the key to a much more successful university experience. Gone will be the days of all-nighters on assignments, hello to the time of unguilted leisure for the next 48 hours. University is a unique time when we both have the best times of our lives and experience some of the hardest work we must conquer. Allowing one’s self, the right mindset and time allocation is the best starting step we can all have to making the most of each and every day.

Managing your time and essentially your (uni) life!

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By Lucy (Student blogger: MSc Management)

As someone who finds myself more on the extraverted side of the scale in terms of my personality I was absolutely dreading the whole idea of online learning. I get my energy and motivation from the human interaction with people around me and I thought the whole process of online learning was going to be a barrier in terms of my motivation to study and ability to meet new people. The endless zoom quizzes, virtual hugs and tiny squares with familiar faces really had left me in a bit of a slump with the idea of this being the new normal for a while. So, when the first academic week rolled around and notifications for online lectures started firing up I didn’t really know where to begin.

Trying to remember all the online lectures, deadlines and reading preparation can be quite overwhelming and it can leave you thinking that you have such little time to get through the workload. Without the ‘normal’ routine of face-to-face teaching it can be easy to lose track and forget that there’s 24 hours in a day. A lovely lecturer called Poppy once gave me the best advice when it comes to managing your time, deadlines and essentially your life!

  • Using the 8/8/8 system to schedule your day – Its very easy to get overwhelmed with juggling university work, seeing friends and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. But its easy to forget that you can achieve a lot in 24 hours. The 8/8/8 system is a framework for splitting up your day into 8 hours sleep, 8 hours of work (including lectures and timetabled sessions) and 8 hours of time to relax, exercise, eat, socialise or whatever you please. Obviously it is not always achievable but it’s a good target to aim for!
  • Have some form of a planner – whether this is a diary or a calendar being able to physically see lectures, events and deadlines helps to organise your time. You can set yourself mini deadlines in relation to assessments so that everything is not last minute.
  • Make sure you have breaks from the screen – this could be going for a 5 minute walk, doing 10 squats or having a quick chat with a friend. Having little breaks away from the screen helps with your concentration and general well-being.

Whatever your opinion on the online learning situation, I feel it is always important to try and take the positives from new situations – even if it means doing lectures in your pjs!

Studying Effectively and Efficiently

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By Tsz Yan (Student blogger: MSc Business Analytics )

Study is important to our university life. However, as a university student, we always face challenges in our study. We may feel stress when we are studying a new module. We may want to relax due to fatigue after study. We may even struggle with what we need to do in a day. Therefore, I am here to share some tips and strategies for study.

Motivating yourself

Self-motivation is really an important tool for study. You should try to motivate yourself intrinsically and remain positive every day before you perform different tasks. From my own perspective, I will encourage myself by telling myself that “I can do it! I am the best!”. These kinds of motivational affirmations can help us to feel more energised so we are able to perform our work as best as possible, which is a good starting point.

As well as intrinsic motivation, you should also try to give yourself with an extrinsic motivation —something you enjoy and are interested in.  In my case, I enjoy watching movies so I allow myself to watch a movie if I successfully finish all the tasks I have set in the day. For me, this strategy is really effective and helps me to study efficiently.

Planning your time

Time management is also an essential method for effective study. For me setting a timetable really helps with my time management. I like to set the timetable per week and prioritize all the tasks I need to complete based on their importance. Then, I will specifically list out which module, chapter, coursework and/or assignments I will concentrate on and how much time I am willing to spend. I will also consider how many breaks and how long I can relax for during the day so I can ensure I don’t get too overloaded. For example, 15 minutes relaxation time between each task.

Of course, this is only my strategy for my studies. You can make any adjustment you want to produce the most suitable timetable for yourself to increase the efficiency of your study.

Studying in a suitable environment

The environment we study in is also an important issue that needs to be considered. Finding a suitable environment which is most favourable for your study is really important. “A suitable environment” is different for everyone. If you can only focus in a silent environment then your room may be the best place. Or maybe listening to music whilst you study can can help you to study more efficiently. We are all different so try to find the most appropriate environment that works for YOU.

Once you have found your own suitable environment, you should remember one important issue — keep your eye away from electronic devices. I believe that electronic devices will distract study for most of us. So, I suggest switching off or putting all of the electronic devices away when you are studying (unless there is a need to use it). This is really effective for my study.

Here are my study tips, I hope these will help you to study effectively and efficiently. Good Luck!