4 Online Class Taking Tips

To Help Promote Students’ Work-Life Balance During #SafeAtHome

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Inside Information at Raynor Library

4 min readApr 8, 2020

Fred thought me WFH would mean more walks. An unfortunate assumption.

By now we’ve all had a couple weeks to process in-person courses transitioning to online. Some of us might have adapted quickly, while others may need to make a couple adjustments still — and that’s ok!

It’s natural to not have it all down perfectly while experiencing a pretty significant change, particularly when many students had to relocate.

We also have some helpful tips to consider while finishing your courses online this semester:

1. Designate A Space For Work

MU Research & Instruction Librarian Claire’s Desk originally belonged to her grandmother in the 1950's!

If you’re able to, try to designate one space in your house, apartment, or room as a “work space.” That way you know to get to work right away when you sit down! Likewise, when you make progress or finish a task, you can get up and take a break. Work in that space, but also leave work there (if you can).

The image to the left shows Research & Instruction librarian Claire’s work-from-home space. It’s pretty cute, huh?! Consider what remote work set up works for you. For example, Claire wears noise-cancelling headphones to lessen distractions, and has a window and photos to boost her morale! I, on the other hand, need to face a blank wall and have a fan on for white noise. We’re all unique with individual needs!

2. Set a Schedule

When I started WFH while also adjusting to my in-person classing moving to a remote format, I found myself going straight from my bed to the computer. Meaning, each day I moved much less and earned myself a stiff neck. Multiple actually.

Try treating your course work like a job. Be accountable to your work, but also schedule breaks to eat, move, and take care of yourself. If it helps, get a calendar where you can plot out due dates for course assignments. Estimate how much time each assignment or task will take for the week or month ahead and note that in the calendar. You’ll be able to anticipate and schedule out the next day (or week) easily.

3. When In Doubt, Reach Out to Your Instructor (!!)

If you’re having trouble understanding expectations for an online class, what you need to do to complete an assignment, or in general feel unsure about how you’re doing in a course (online or in-person) — reach out to your instructor!

It’s best to be safe and get as much information as possible, rather than guess incorrectly or continually feel uneasy. The earlier you communicate, the better. Did you feel unsure about something just before reading this — consider reaching out to your instructor now!

We are all in this together and instructors want you to succeed. While we cannot speak for your professors, feel free to reach out to a librarian too for support if you need it.