In South Africa the Minister of Education has closed all public and private universities, colleges and institutions of post-high school learning. Similar to many countries around the world, the South African government has further announced a nation-wide shut down for 21 days starting on 26 March. This means that for the next month, everyone in South Africa, including all the students, are required to self-isolate. If you are in a similar situation, how do you make sure you use this time to get ahead with your studies, instead of falling behind? It’s so easy to fall into the too-much-Netflix trap, or to spend all your money on new Sims 4 expansion packs (like I did), when your test dates are still looming over you.
Should You Be Worried About The Coronavirus (COVID-19)?
The best you can do to keep yourself safe, and also keep everyone else safe, is to self-isolate. That means that you only leave your home when you absolutely must (for example to get medical help, to buy food or to buy medication). Think of it this way: while you may be young and healthy, the people who may get in contact with you may not be – think of your grandparents and friends- and family members with underlying health conditions. Don’t act as though you might get sick, rather act as though you are already infected and need to prevent this virus spreading from you to those most vulnerable.
A new, dry cough, and a high temperature, are signs of COVID-19. If you do think you have it, don’t go to your doctor. Go to one of the specialised testing sites in your area (South Africans may refer to the locations mentioned in this article). That is how you keep the medical staff, and other people visiting your doctor, safe. If you want to know what else you can do to protect those around you, and yourself, see this video by the World Health Organisation.
[Images from the World Health Organisation]
A Place To Study
Being on your own, and at home day after day can easily turn into a long holiday. But, trust me, you don’t want to do nothing day after day! It will be fun for about two days, and then it will get extremely boring and you will feel unfulfilled. Especially with assignments and test dates still looming over you. Remember, you still want to pass at the end of the year, taking too long of a break will certainly have a negative effect of your academic achievements.
So, the first thing you have to do, is to set up a proper area for you to do your studies.
Find a nice part of your room. Set up a table and proper chair. No easy chair or bean bag! Set up all your books and notes and writing materials, so they are all nearby when you need them. Try to avoid distractions like a television or radio. Perhaps even face a window to get some sunlight and to keep your spirits up. Keep this area clean and tidy. After each study session, make sure to pack away all your materials (even if it’s simply on a pile to the edge of your desk), so that when you return tomorrow you have a sort of blank-slate to work with. This will help you stay focused and prevent you from procrastinating by cleaning the desk and then your whole room and then the whole house… We all know how that goes when you first get into that procrastination mindset.
Also, make sure you have good lighting, whether it comes from overhead lighting or from a window. Bad lighting will tire your eyes and you will end up feeling like you’ve studied a lot longer than you actually have, essentially having a negative impact on your academics.
A Plan To Study
Right now you may not know how much time you have to prepare for tests or assignments, and it may essentially be a guessing game. This is very dependent on the school, university or college you attend. My university intends to resume classes on 30 March through an online platform, and to resume assessments from 14 April onwards. Having a sort of timeline will help you to create a daily plan for your studies. If your school, university or college has not yet communicated when classes will resume and when assessments will be scheduled, create a deadline for yourself. This will give you something to work towards and help you stay motivated each day in your studies.
Select the chapters or modules which you want to work on and create a daily study plan for yourself. You can do this day-to-day or (as I prefer) you can plan the whole week’s academics ahead of time. I repeat, setting goals in a time like this is absolutely essential. Perhaps even set rewards for yourself when you complete a goal. Rewards can be as big or small as you want, they simply need to serve the purpose of reminding you that you have worked hard and you deserve a break/ reward.
It’s also vital to leave enough time for breaks. But, don’t get carried away. Sometimes we need to be strict with ourselves. You know how much work you have to do, so you know how long you can take a break. Schedule this into your daily (or weekly) plan, and stick to it!
It’s important to try schedule as much study time as you would usually have class per day. This way you will ensure you stay up to date with your academics, but also that you don’t overwhelm yourself with it.
Daily Routine
The most valuable thing you can do, is to plan a daily routine. You need to set your alarm, wake up at the same time each morning, get dressed, eat breakfast, and start your studies. It is routine that will carry you through. And it is routine that will help you accomplish way more than you even think is possible!
Reach Out To Friends – And Make Some New Friends!
Thank goodness we live in a time where the world is so connected. Use the internet, email, Skype, WhatsApp to reach out to old friends and to make some new friends. With a friend “next to you”, in the form of a Skype conversation, will make the time pass much faster and more pleasant. If you can coordinate with someone who also wants to use this time to study, you can encourage and help each other.
Another way to connect with people while focussing on your studies if through live Study-With-Me sessions on Youtube. Simply search in Youtube and you should be able to find people from all over the world who are hosting live study sessions. I will be hosting my own sessions as well on my Youtube Channel. If you don’t catch me live, it’s also a massive study help to use pre-recorded Study-With-Me sessions, which you can find here.
Eating Properly And Staying Healthy
You need to eat regularly. And drink enough water. It might not be feasible to go out to buy food too often, but when you do buy food, try and stay away from all the high sugar stuff! It will just make you feel bad. Drink your vitamins too, if you have a deficiency. Staying healthy is super important if you want to get anything productive done.
Self-Care
Always practice self-care. Don’t be too tough on yourself. If you need a break, take a break. If you miss some of your study periods, forgive yourself and try again tomorrow.
Goodluck! And stay healthy!
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