Advice for studying at home during the pandemic

[ubergewehr273]

Hi everyone!

Hope you all are doing well in these tough times. Currently my country is going through one of the toughest second waves of Covid and frankly seeing the news is terrifying to say the least. Being at home, I've noticed that I haven't been able to study for a significant period of time as compared to when I am on campus (which is not possible currently). Any advice on maintaining a good study schedule?

For context, I'm a 3rd year physics undergrad from India.

Thanks and stay safe you guys!

 

[hutchphd]

I would take the time to regroup. For inspiration read Feynman's Lectures (they're online). In addition choose one small chunk of physics you wonder about and try to examine it in the greatest detail. You can use physics forum for this exercise. If you examine anything in great enough detail you will cover all of physics. The "formal education" will sort itself out.
Ruthlessly and relentlessly seek vaccination for those you love. Good Luck

 

[ubergewehr273]

@hutchphd, thanks a lot! My semester is ongoing at the moment and I'm so overwhelmed with all of this. Hopefully, things will get better with time. Stay safe. :-)

 

[hutchphd]

With age I have found that getting up at a specified early time and spending a couple of quality hours planning my day and then doing some hard work is very useful discipline. The specified arousal time forces me to go to bed at a reasonable hour also.
In my younger days I don't know that I would have had the self discipline...but you asked for advice...!

 

[Choppy]

Certainly it's challenging to excel with your studies during this pandemic. You're removed from much of the social support that would otherwise normally be in place, are confined, bombarded with negative media, and are faced with much more uncertainty. Even instructors are learning to adapt as they go.

Here are a few tips...

1. As suggested above, having an established a routine really helps with productivity, and with breaking up the day. It helps to learn what time of day you're most productive and orient your most challenging tasks around that.
2. Be aware of and limit how much "doom scrolling" you do. People are spending a lot of time just mindlessly scrolling through social media, reading horrible news, absorbing a lot of negativity that they can't really do much about.
3. If possible, try to create a unique study space and environment that will cue you to focus on your studies. It's challenging to focus if you study, eat, sleep, work, socialize and relax all in the same room. I heard about one student who picked different rooms in her house for each class she had and that re-created the feeling of going to different lecture halls.
4. If you are constrained to a single space, try to come up with ways to change it or configure it (and yourself) for different activities. If you work from home, you can still dress professionally. Bring out a funky back drop when it's time to Zoom with friends. Keep your space clean and orderly, so that when you have your books and notes out for a specific subject they're all that's out and put them away when you're done.
5. Take the time so socialize when opportunities arise, even if it's only connecting online.
6. Take good care of yourself physically. Get adequate sleep. Exercise. Eat a properly balance diet. I repeat this point often when people ask for advice on improving their studies, but for good reason. These are all controllable external factors that can influence your productivity, alertness, ability to concentrate and perform executive functions.
7. Remember to make the time to read up on the things that interest you about your studies. It's easy to get caught up in assignments... all the stuff you "have to" do. Sometimes when that happens, you lose sight of the fun and interesting things that make you thing your field was cool in the first place. Taking time to read up on a cool paper, some science news, or researching an idea you have will help to keep you motivated in the long game.

 

[ubergewehr273]

@Choppy, Thanks a lot! This is very insightful. I'll try to keep these in mind. :-)