How to study like a pro at home

The time spent at home should be seen as a chance to boost your knowledge, improve your current skills, and discover new ones. Take studying from the comfort of your home as an advantage to learn whatever you kept postponing for lack of time or motivation. Whether we talk about a new language, address a new topic from your school manual, or still insist on the one taught in class, it never hurts to know more about something. After all, your educational goals will later determine your future profession, so there’s nothing wrong with choosing to transform your free time into a personal development opportunity.

Bad habits like opening the resources just before an exam or test must be forgotten because better grades don’t come that easy. Consider doing research, work on your assignments, and learn something new every day to increase your chances of success.

Here are some recommendations on how to study at home effectively and free from worries:

Be organized

Before taking a seat at your desk, make sure your work environment is pleasant and organized. More often than not, stuff scattered around can distract you from being productive. Working with many documents or school resources can be challenging, especially if you forget where to take them from. That’s why we recommend keeping track of your stuff by putting them in a well-organized place, be it on the shelf or in a drawer. All that matters is knowing where to get them when needing them. 

You can also personalize your study method by using colors to highlight valuable information or taking notes. Ensure that you keep your notes in a safe place, and sort them by colors or topics to find them easier when necessary.

Enroll in online tutoring

Studying at home may sometimes be stressful and overwhelming, especially if you have a lot to catch up with. But don’t despair – an excellent online tutor is a click away. Online tuition is a great way to begin your learning process, as your chosen instructor will first evaluate your knowledge and skills, establish your current level, and then work with you starting from that level. This way, you don’t have to revise all the school materials and figure out where to start from. Online tutors also specialize in all domains, so you don’t have to panic when not mastering a specific subject. If you can’t keep up in chemistry class, for instance, consider finding an online chemistry tutor who will certainly explain to you the most incomprehensible chemistry formulas.

Be consistent

The temptation to do everything other than learn at home is stronger than ever, especially with students with a busy school schedule. Who would arrive home and open another book? Right, no one. But you don’t have to study without interruption; make sure you have a well-structured program to respect instead. Consider reading or doing extra research one or two hours a day and keep that rhythm. And don’t worry, motivation comes after starting. If you find a fascinating subject that makes you want to learn more about it, you’ll never feel time passing.

Moreover, if you’re planning to learn a new language, find out that consistency is crucial in this case. Otherwise, you’ll lose contact with that language and have to start over. You know the saying, practice makes perfect, so don’t get lazy.

Put your phone aside

An important step to follow before starting studying at home is to turn off your phone; otherwise, you’ll be tempted to check on new messages and coming calls. We know it’s not easy, as smartphones have become part of our everyday life, but try to stay focused in the time allotted to study. After all, no one else will benefit from its advantages but you.

You probably think that messages and calls are not hard to avoid, but how about Facebook or Instagram? Social media is one of the most common distractions for many other things, not just studying. But stop and think – instead of scrolling on these apps for hours, wouldn’t it be better to use that time to hone your skills and develop new ones? Social media can wait, but your education is not. 

Keep on track with your assignments

Having more than one assignment that’s due on the same day can be challenging, and starting them the night before is in no way a solution. Instead of procrastinating, consider working on them for maybe 15 minutes a day not to find yourself stressed out the day before. You can start with the most challenging one because it takes more time. If you have a complicated assignment like an urgent project or paper, which requires more research, and other manageable tasks that’re due later, don’t make the mistake of starting with the easiest ones, as most people would probably do. Not only will you feel relieved, but you’ll undoubtedly do a better job – working under pressure can be stressful, and it affects concentration ability for some people.

If you feel overwhelmed by the several assignments you receive, you can also consider getting a monthly planner. It can help you stay focused and keep the tasks up while working on them. Keep in mind that a monthly planner is different from a regular one, as you write down assignments when they’re due, not when they’re assigned.

Learn to relieve anxiety

It’s perfectly normal to feel stressed when starting something new. You may think that you don’t go anywhere or that your free time is over, but these thoughts are just the result of your excessive concern. We recommend starting by taking easy steps, like studying for a couple of minutes a day and progressively getting to one or two hours. Listening to calming music while studying can also help you get rid of those negative thoughts, promoting a learning-friendly environment.

Bottom line

Studying at home can be challenging, especially when not doing it regularly. We know how frustrating and annoying it is to have no idea where to start from. That’s why we provided the above recommendations and hope to find them helpful.