10 Tips to Crush Online School

Here's the scoop: I will never, ever, ever complain about English class again. You don't appreciate what you've got until it's unceremoniously snatched away from you.  A cliche as old as time, yes, but there's a reason cliches are cliche: they're true.
This week was my first navigating the uncharted waters of mass public online school. And boy oh boy, was it a... time. I only worked for two-ish hours a day, three days out of the week. That was nice. Plenty of leftover time for walks, books, and YouTube video essays. Procrastination was an avid friend, I drank ten times the amount of tea I normally would, and I have listened to too many British romance audio books. Though online school itself was relatively okay, I really, really miss seeing people. I miss my choir friends and my math group; I miss the people I don't know and the miscellaneous faces in the hallways. Phone calls don't quite do the trick. The best thing we can do for one another right now is reach out, and breathe through all of the mess. It'll be okay.

Here are some tips for online school... which I sincerely plead you to keep up with, despite the fact that grades are no longer a factor (in my district, anyway). It'll keep the flies and fluff out of your head.

- Create a schedule for yourself. I've decided that a major reason I miss physical school is because of the built-in routine that comes with the package. There's structure in school. You've got the bells. You've got the attendance, and the lines, and passing periods. It's literally organized the same as the prison system. That mildly gruesome thought aside, structure is really important in staying productive and maintaining mental health. Figure out a time to wake up each day. Decide lunch times, breakfast times, dinner times. Plan out breaks, study sessions, and work hours. Be sure to leave yourself enough time for fun, though. Can't be all work, no play now, can we?

- Rely on the audio books. In theatre class, we're currently reading The Importance of Being Earnest. And when you're reading it yourself, at home, in silence... it's about as interesting as watching grass grow. In English, we're reading Macbeth. Shakespeare in particular was meant to be performed and experienced, not just read. Download a free audio book from your online library, if that's an option for you. It'll keep you interested in the work you're doing, make you laugh, and also provide a bit of structure (audio books are pre-read, see; they don't let you stop reading to day dream).

- Get ready for the day. I tried doing a chemistry lab in my Christmas pajama pants and 1776: The Musical t-shirt. I ended up on the couch with my dogs, sipping coconut water, and reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Acting productive and being a lazy potato don't really go together. Get ready for the day as if you're actually going to school; you know the deal. Shower. Get dressed in real clothes. Brush your hair. The like. You'll get a lot more done, trust me. There's something about un-comfy clothes that pushes you to work faster.

- Write down your due dates. Hopefully you do this in actual school, too, but it's extra crucial when you're working from home. You don't have a physical person to nag you about upcoming assignments or tests. If you're lucky, you'll maybe get an email or two. Because of this, you need to stay on top of what to turn in, on what day, at what time. I'm bad at that last part. To maintain a bit of a normalcy, a lot of my teachers have assignments due at 3:30 on Friday. I keep forgetting that. Thus, all of my assignments last week were in by... I don't know... 5:00 on Friday?

- Drink water. Keeps your brain going, keeps you feeling refreshed. Just drink the water. Less sluggish = more productive.

- Take effective breaks. I'm talking jumping jacks, walks around the block, reading a chapter of a book. It's best to engage in breaks that will give your mind a rest from the task at hand, but will keep your brain active. I'd suggest you don't let your home life bleed into your work life during breaks. Case in point: don't do laundry as a break from Macbeth. It'll just side track you, and it'll likely be harder to get back to those brilliant soliloquys.

- Get yourself a dedicated work space (preferably not your bed). Though it's extremely tempting to stay comfy cozy while you're working, you'll probably be more productive if you have a work space set aside. Additionally, you might have a harder time sleeping if you work from bed. Best to keep your sleep space and trigonometry space apart. If you can, I suggest setting up camp in front of a window; that way, you won't have to stare at a blank wall for hours on end, and you'll get a healthy dose of vitamin D.

- Don't forget to sleep. Although you may not have to get up at the crack of dawn to catch the bus, you should still try your best-est to keep a regular sleep schedule. It'll help your mental health; it'll make ya more productive; it's just never a bad thing to get enough sleep. Try to go to bed at the same time each day. It helps, I swear.

- Put your phone in another room. Distractions are an even bigger deal when there are no teachers or phone hotels to keep you in check. When I'm working, I turn on sleep mode on my phone. That way, I can listen to tunes without receiving texts, calls, or notifications. Some days, though, the allure of the phone can be too much. If that ever happens to you... put it away!

- Set goals your yourself. There are technically forty-seven days until school ends; however, due to the coronavirus, grades can no longer be lowered. Thus, a big motivating factor for a lot of people has been stripped away. Why suffer through math if it won't affect your grade? I asked myself the same question. But at the end of the day, school is about learning, not grades. And I truly do enjoy learning. Because of this, I've made sure to set personal and academic goals for myself. May as well get the most out of this weird experience as I can!

That's all for today, everyone. I hope online school/ work is going okay for you, and my heart goes out to those without a job at the moment. It'll all work out; we just have to be kind to one another, follow guidelines, and practice empathy. 

Until next time!

- Maya

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Photo by Joshua Hill on Unsplash, Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash,

Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash, Photo by Alice Donovan Rouse on Unsplash