Sydney Scott is a third-year undergraduate at Southeastern Louisiana University. She shares practical advice, inspiration, and tips for high school and college students using her unique brand of candor and humor

To say “everything is weird right now” would be a vast understatement. But as I sit here trying to think of something better to say, I admittedly cannot think of something more universally accepted than saying that everything is weird right now (!). You’re bored, you miss your friends, and you’ve watched Tiger King on Netflix… twice. It doesn’t help that you are probably also stuck taking classes online that you definitely did not plan to take online (my senior corporate finance class!). But the good news is, we’re halfway done with the semester! And the even better news is, I’m about to tell you how to survive the remaining half. 

Since my freshman year of college, I’ve taken 2-3 classes online each semester in combination with my lecture classes, and I’ve also had a job that has allowed me to work from home. I had to learn the hard way how to manage to learn from home without falling behind. Right now, more than ever, it feels relevant to give you my tips for surviving online classes. These tips are appropriate for high school and college students.

So, here they are: 

Schedule Tasks, But Don’t Overschedule.  

Do you live and breathe by your routine and schedule? Or do you resist any attempt to conform to a daily schedule?  No matter how you feel about them, schedules are important. I would argue that a schedule is even more important now because it is so easy to let the day slip by when you’re doing everything from home and having to motivate yourself. Set a schedule for yourself, but don’t make it so rigid that you’ll break it. 

Tip: Most days, I write down the tasks I need to get done for the day, but don’t set specific times to do them because I like having flexibility. I just make it my task to cross everything off that list by the end of the day. If a system like that works for you, do it. If not, find something that works for you. It’s important to have goals set for the day and week, but it does not matter how you choose to get those things done. Make your time work for you!

Write Everything Down.

This is perhaps the golden rule to online classes: write everything down! Don’t try to remember all of your due dates for homework, projects, assignments, and tests. I’ve seen way too many of my friends’ grades tank because, whoops, they didn’t realize the deadline for an assignment was Monday night instead of Tuesday night. It’s even easier to slip up when you aren’t attending an in-person class because your teachers aren’t there to remind you. I know it’s annoying to write down due dates when you aren’t a “planner” type of person, but it will save you in the end. 

Tip: I like to keep a calendar of these dates, and then at the beginning of each week, write down what is due during the week ahead. This makes it easier to manage upcoming assignments without having to constantly refer back to whatever your teacher or professor is posting online. For some people, a whiteboard calendar on the wall works and for others, an old fashioned wall calendar or paper planner works better. You may be a Google Calendar or iCal type of person. Try them all out to see what works best for you.

Do the Hard Work First.

Do as I say, and not as I do by doing the hard work first. One of my worst habits when it comes to online classes is that I tend to complete the easy assignments first, and let the hard, time-consuming ones wait. I’m getting better at fixing this, and the more I make it a priority to get the hard stuff out of the way, the more I see how stress-relieving this practice is. Plus, the greatest benefit of tackling the biggest assignments first is that if you don’t understand them, you have time to learn, versus trying to tackle something you don’t grasp the concept of the night that it’s due. Trust me! Use your brainpower where you need it most.

Tip: When you know a difficult assignment is due next week, add a slot in your schedule THIS week to work on it. If you run into any difficulties, you’ll have plenty of time to contact your professor through their virtual office hours and get the help you need. Your prof will appreciate your foresight and planning.

Save Procrastination for Your Favorite Subjects.

There’s no way I can sit here as a student and tell other students that I don’t procrastinate. I do! And frankly, I always roll my eyes when people tell students not to procrastinate because it is simply unrealistic to ask young adults to master the concept of time management when we can barely wake up for an 11 AM lecture. So if (when) you procrastinate, do it with subjects that are easy to you. For example, Finance is much harder for me than English, so I make it a priority to knock my finance assignments out of the way earlier in the week. I will often wait until the day-of to complete my English assignments, but this works for me because I really like and understand English. I’m not saying you should do this all the time, but it works for me because I can produce good work fast. Case in point, if you’re gonna procrastinate, make sure it’s something that’ll be easy for you to accomplish when the time comes. 

Email Your Professor, But Avoid Going Overboard. 

Who knew you’d be sending this many emails? No more face-to-face interaction probably means your main method of communicating with your prof is email. As with any question you may have with a class, always refer to that handy dandy syllabus first -- you know, the one you didn’t read at the beginning of the semester! --  before emailing. Chances are, the answer to your question is in there somewhere. Your professor may have even released an updated syllabus to deal with the new reality of remote classes.

Is the answer to your question not to be found in the syllabus? Many professors (if not all) will have virtual office hours set up where you can just ask them questions during a certain period of time each day or a couple of days per week. Be considerate of your professors’ time, and try to get in on virtual office hours. 

Still having issues? Are you having connectivity issues or problems accessing your textbooks? Then do email your prof right away. They understand that we are working and learning under less than optimal conditions. Keep in mind that, like you, they are doing their best during this time. 

If You’re Experiencing a Challenge Adapting to the Online Learning Environment…

I highly encourage you to contact your university to determine how they are addressing this challenge. Every public college and university in Louisiana has a plan to help students who are having difficulty accessing tools needed for remote learning. I collected the COVID-19 response links for Louisiana’s public post-secondary schools below. If you are a middle or high school student, contact your school district.

Wrapping Things Up

Having to adjust so suddenly to learning remotely can be a challenge, but you can do it! As challenging as this feels now, keep in mind that this is not always how school will be. We will get back to normal soon. Hopefully, these tips make your life a little bit easier now, and help you stress less over navigating the rest of the semester. On the bright side, you may learn some new scheduling skills and become better at email communications, which will help you later in your work life.  

Hang in there, and let’s do this.

Want more? Check us out on Instagram to see what we’re up to, and to get important updates for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Download our app (more info below) to enter our student giveaway (and follow us on IG to get additional entries!). We’re choosing a winner every month!

Still need help? The Career Compass ASK ME! App is available for free in the App Store and Google Play. You can find scholarships, FAFSA and TOPS information, ACT and SAT reminders, application dates, important reminders, and more! Download here.

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay 

Comment