Studying from home: Top Tips

Studying from home is going to be different from going to school, college or university, there's no doubt about that. It might sound like the dream at first, however, for most people the novelty will wear off within the first few days. That's why we've put our heads together and come up with some of our top tips to help you be productive while you're at home.

Set yourself a structure

Although you're at home, it can be really useful to give yourself a structure to follow. What this looks like will depend on you and the way that you work as there are different ways to do this. You may be someone that has a big to-do list of what you need to do and that's all you need. If this is the case, you could set yourself times to start and finish and give yourself set times to take breaks. If you're someone that needs a little more structure than that, you could give yourself an actual timetable to study towards different subjects or units throughout the day. A bit like a timetable you would have got when you were at school. This can help you keep on top of all of your subjects and make sure that you don't just do the ones you like the most!

As you are studying from home you can plan this based on what you know you're like. If you're someone who gets up at the crack of dawn, start working earlier in the day. However, if you're a night owl, try and focus most of your studying towards the evening. As you're not employed, it's unlikely that teachers are going to expect you to work the same hour as when you got to school, college or university. However, it is worth checking if your school or college wants you to log in to record when you've been studying – not all places will do this, but some might.

Avoid late nights

We know we sound like someone's Mum saying that, but it's really important. Try your best to save the late nights binging box sets until the weekend because you'll just be really tired when you're trying to study if you do it through the week. You might even find you get more tired studying by yourself because you're going to be concentrating a lot more without friends there to distract you.

Ask friends what they're doing

Speaking of friends, ask your friends what they're doing. You could set up a time during the week where you study certain subjects together or just take the time to moan at all the work that you have to do! Although you're at home and potentially self-isolating, it's important to know that you're not isolated and you can still socialise.

Look at your school/college or university website

Most schools, colleges and universities have added lesson structures, resources and work to their websites to make sure that you're on track to study the right curriculum. Make sure that you have a look at it to see if there are pieces of work you have to complete or if there are certain times you can ask your teachers or lecturers questions about different subjects.

Don't be afraid to ask for help

It might feel a bit embarrassing asking someone for help, but don't be because it's not! Most teachers and lecturers are still working, and they will want to hear from you. A lot of schools, colleges and universities have set up online functionality like chat facilities so you can talk to teachers. If you have a school email address you should be able to find the address book so you can send your teacher or lecturer an email.

If you can't get in touch with your teacher or lecturer, talk to your friends and see if they can help. They might even know a different way to get in touch with teachers that you don't know about!

Create a studying space

It will be really tempting to spend all of your time in bed or lying on the sofa while studying. As tempting as it is, try your best not to do it. Find somewhere in the house that you can set up space where you can study, it could be a desk in your room, the kitchen table or the breakfast bar! Not only is it nice to have a change of scenery but it will also help you get into 'study' mode.

Drink lots of water & eat snacks

While you're studying, drink lots of water as it will help you avoid getting headaches. As you're studying for a long time, it's also a good idea to give yourself snacks. Snacks can also be used as the perfect reward when you've done a big chunk of work or studied your least favourite subject or unit.

We hope all of these top tips help you - good luck with your studying!