A Week in the Life: 2L COVID Edition
As a 2L in COVID-19 times, here is a week in my life! Additionally, I have also outlined a few tips for online learning. I would like to preface this with the caution that what works for me not might work for you.
Weekdays:
I am starting off with generally what I do on weekdays, there are some exceptions depending on the day, but thats later on.
My morning starts at 6:30 am. I walk the dog, have a coffee, make breakfast, and catch a bit of the news. By 8:00 am I am sitting down at my desk. I always start my school day with checking my emails and reviewing what I have going on that day. I also try and get my lectures done in the morning, while my brain is fresh.
Once I start feeling hungry, usually around 11:30 am, I head upstairs and get some lunch. Most days I give myself a 30/45 minute lunch break. In that time I eat lunch, have cup of tea, and take my dog on another walk.
Usually in the afternoons I do readings, work on assignments, and work on CAN’s. I finish up my school day around 6:30 pm when my partner gets home. When we cook dinner, I often listen to lectures in the background. I don’t take notes or anything, I just listen to them for the second or third time. I am not convinced I learn much from doing this, but it makes me feel less guilty about stopping school work at dinner time. After dinner we take the dog for a walk and just chill or work on a home project until bed.
A Work Day:
I work on Tuesdays. Working is a great guilt-free break away from school for me. I am able to get some time away from school while still feeling productive. It is totally possible to work while going to school, but it does take disipline and time-management skills. Once I am off work in the early afternoon, I head home and get started on my readings.
Time to Relax:
Thursday is yoga day. Every Thursday I make the time to go to a yoga class. Some weeks I feel like I am forcing myself to go, I often think of the other things I could be doing… BUT once I am in the class, I am so thankful I went. I would highly recommend finding a hobby that helps you relax. Taking time away for yourself is super important.
I do school work on Saturdays too, but not as much as I do during the week. I don’t usually start my school work until 9 am and finish up around 4:30/5 pm. As exams get closer, my school day gets extended longer on Saturday but I try and give myself a bit of a break.
I also work one day of the weekend, usually Sunday. My weekend work day is also my day off school. Once I get home, I spend the rest of the day catching up on house work, getting myself organized for the week ahead, or going on a hike- partaking in some form of self-care.
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So, now that you know what works for me, see what works for you! I know alot of people who spend way more time on school work than I do. But I have tried it and it does NOT work for me. I am much more effective if I treat school as if it were a full-time job, not my whole life. The time I do spend working on school is effective and I am not nearly as distracted as I am when I spend all day in school mode.
Online learning is SO different than in-person classes. When classes were on campus, I would at least walk around between classes. I often don’t stand up and walk around during the day until my back hurts. If classes were in person, I would have walked around in between every lecture. It has been an adjustment!
My Advice:
Some advice for all of my fellow online learners…
- Buy a good chair. If you are going to spend money on something, spend it on the chair you will be sitting on for hundreds of hours every month.
- Buy a monitor. I bought mine from Costco for $125, they aren’t too expensive. It has been really nice not looking down at my laptop while watching lectures. I move the lecture to my monitor and just take notes on my laptop.
- Take breaks! Try and stand up and walk around a bit before your back starts to hurt. You will be so much more effective if you are comfortable while you’re learning.
- Have a dedicated study space. School is going to be online for the foreseeable future. Don’t just use your kitchen table. Find a quiet and tidy place so you are unlikely to get as distracted.
- Mac users, turn your iMessage notifications off. Check your messages when you want to, not because you saw the message pop up. It is super easy to get distracted in a group chat!