Tips for digital learning

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• Balance studies and leisure
• Create routines to stay focused
• Study together with others online

Balance studies and leisure

• Decide beforehand when you are going to study and when you are going to be free. Don’t study all day. Instead, study effectively during certain parts of the day which you have decided on beforehand.
• Prepare for your day as if you were going to the library or to a lecture. Have breakfast, get dressed in the clothes you would normally wear to school. Perhaps go for a walk or a bike ride as if you were actually going to school.
• Clear away all things related to your studies when you are done for the day – don’t let everything get muddled up just because you don’t physically move between different places.

Create routines to stay focused

Make a weekly schedule and a to-do list

Create a weekly schedule and a to-do list for each day. Break down your tasks into several smaller goals so that you can check things off your list regularly. Every time you reach a goal, your brain gets positive feedback which propels you forward to the next task on the list. To make it easier to get started, make sure your first goal is always small and simple.

Remember to do one thing at a time – do not try to 'multitask'.

Clear away all distractions

First of all, put away your phone.

If you live with other people, divide your space so that you get your own workplace. Decide beforehand when you will take a break and when you will avoid disturbing each other.

Use tools to avoid distractions. For example, use a website blocker and a time tracker (there are many such tools available out there). 

Examples of website blockers:

• Freedom
• SelfControl
• Cold Turkey

Examples of time tracker:

• Focus booster
• Forest

Keep a study journal

Keep a study journal where you can collect these tools and routines and keep track of your knowledge development.

The study journal sets the boundaries for your working day and helps you structure your time as well as the content of your studies. It lets you keep everything in the same place. 

A study journal can for example contain: 

• Warm-up: What will you do today? Create subgoals.
• When a problem arises: Describe the problem. How could you solve it?
• To-do list: Write down new tasks and subgoals continuously.
• Summary: What have you accomplished? How will you continue?

Study together with others online

• Stay in touch with your classmates online – for example through video calls. You need colleagues even when you are studying from home. 
• Study together without interacting with each other. Turn the webcam on and let your classmates see that you are studying.
• You can also discuss the content of the lectures and the course literature or give each other feedback on your texts.

Build structured study groups

Build a study group to revise coursework, teach each other, give each other feedback or formulate study questions together. To make this work, keep in mind to: 

• Decide on a time for a session.
• Describe your goals for each session. 
• Take breaks together.
• Ask each other how things are going. 
• Describe your problems to each other. 
• Describe what you've learned and how.