Study at home, how I do it!

I’ve been a big advocate to home studies for a long time, and this is where I tell you; what I have done to be successful at studying from home.

No, I am not homeschooled. What you are trying to figure out today, in the middle of COVID-19, is what I have been doing since age 8. Today I thought I should share with you my tips and tricks for home studies, to make your quarantined lives a little more manageable! 

I began studying from home at an early age, and I’ve varied from anything between 10% and 95% of home studies throughout the years. 

The reason being my mental health. I was deeply depressed from heavy bullying at school, and I couldn’t attend classes due to it. All of my mental energy went to being hypervigilant, and the fact that my material was several grades too easy for me did not make it easier. 

Instead, I began studying from home. This was the first step towards flourishing through gifted education. 

(The whole story with gifted education and my school years are coming up in another post!) 

Now, after almost ten years of part-time home studies – I have a bunch of tips for you guys! 

The first thing I do is to try and think of it as an office, not my home. 

1. Set your alarm. I can’t sit here and tell you that I wake up at 06 am on days where I study at home but set your alarm at 08 am so that your sleep rhythm doesn’t get twisted. It’s crazy how much more productive you are if you wake up around 8-ish instead of 11-ish!
2. Wash your face, take a shower or brush your teeth. Basic human hygiene is not to be forgotten, and it helps you to wake up! 
3. Put on decent clothes. You’ll get more work done in jeans and a t-shirt than you will in a bathrobe. This is simple psychological facts; your body will respond by being more awake and alert. 
4. Speed cleaning. I start every home study day with a 5-minute cleanup. Studying in a messy room, to me, is like trying to study in the middle of a kindergarten – impossible. I make my bed, tidy up my floor and make sure my desk is clutter-free. I also light a scented candle. 
5. Do NOT study (solely) in your bed! It’s bad for your body, your sleep rhythm and it decreases productivity by making you drowsy! Go, find a chair and a desk and remember to keep your posture because you do not want to throw your back out, studying. 
6. Stay hydrated! I make sure to drink at least 1,5 bottles of water in between meals (+1 glass of water, minimum, with every big meal). My water bottle holds roughly 1l of water (about 34 fl.oz/0.2 gallons). I usually treat myself with a caffeinated drink (I like celsius: a vegan, sugar-free, carbonated energy drink) as well as I drink around 1-3 cups of coffee a day …I might drink way too much caffeine, haha. 
7. Study in sections. It won’t be long before you know what type of study-person you are. I need 20-minute breaks every 1,5 hours or so but, when I find my flow, I might sit with it for two and a half hours, non-stop. At the same time, some people need 2-minute breaks every 15 minutes, so this is ultimately up to you to discover, but I recommend taking 20-minute study sections with 5-minute breaks at the beginning to get a feel of what type of study-person you are. 
8. Make lists! I’m not sure I can make it clear enough for you guys how important lists are to me! Start every week off by making a to-do-list, categorize them from 1 to whatever number by how important it is to get them done. Choose three of these and make a priority list (this is what you absolutely will get done, by this weekend). Also, make sure to track your productivity by taking notes in your calendar. What did you get done and on what day? Maybe you’ll find a pattern that shows you’re very tired on Wednesdays. This allows you to create a work strategy with your energy level in mind! 
9. Organize! Why are lists and organize different things? Because organizing is all about study-structure wherein lists are a part of the structure. Organizing is all about writing down a strategy for how you’re going to proceed with your studies. I write down what I have to do to finish an essay, directions fro me teachers. You build a structure for your assignment. Example: ”read chapter 6”, ”write down thoughts”, ”read analysis”, ”rewrite from another perspective”. As you go through the point-plan, check the to-do’s off and watch your progress grow!
10. Keep asking your teachers! Email, text, school-platform, whatever you guys have as a communication tool with your teachers – use them! They’re there for a reason and especially now when we don’t know if we’ll meet them face to face anytime soon it’s important to keep the conversation going. Remember that your grade also is based on interactions with the teacher (even if it’s via skype). 
11. Snack. I make sure to eat at least two snacks between breakfast, lunch and dinner to keep energy levels and concentration at a maximum. This, too, is simple psychological facts; your mind sharpens up when you chew! (That’s why gum is a lifesaver during tests – pro tip!)
12.  Don’t cause distractions that’ll ruin your flow. This means that, whatever your Achilles’ heel is, chase it away. If you’re incapable of letting your phone be – put it in ”do not disturb” mode and let it charge in another room. If you can’t concentrate with noise around you, don’t let Netflix or YouTube run in the background. We all have that little something that we just can’t let be – but we have to. 

I hope you guys have learned something from this and that I could help you a little in the times of home studies. Please comment down below with your best tip or if you have questions! ❤