College students & COVID-19: Tips for success in your online classes

Are you a current college student finding yourself struggling to succeed in your online classes? You are not alone. As COVID-19 took over our lives in March 2020, many students found themselves scrambling to figure out life with online learning. 

Tip #1: Be Accountable to Yourself

In order to be successful, the most important factor is to hold yourself accountable. The acknowledgement that these classes won’t get completed without you doing the work is key for your mindset. There are many ways you can hold yourself accountable with online learning but a few good ideas are using a planner to create deadlines for yourself, going to the library on campus with a friend to boost each other's motivation, and realizing when you need to take a break from the school work after a long day. Another important factor in this is also setting aside some “me-time” for yourself. Practicing self care is just as vital as completing your classes. Setting aside just 2 hours a week for self care can be your reward for completing the school work you had planned for that week. 

Tip #2: Plan for Self Care

Some very simple ideas for self care are taking a long bath or shower, watching your favorite show on Netflix or even just taking 10 minutes to rest your eyes, lay in silence and completely unplug yourself from the world. Some more complex ideas for self care that take a bit more planning are getting onto a regular sleep schedule, taking as little as 30 minutes out of your day to exercise, and starting a journal, even if you just write a few sentences about your day, that is a great place to start. 

Tip #3: Make a Schedule

Another very helpful way to stay on track is creating a schedule and sticking to it. As most students have seen, not every online class is held synchronically. For your classes that do not have a set meeting time on zoom, you should block out a certain time each week to work on that class. For example, that could be as easy as watching the recorded lectures on Mondays, doing the homework on Tuesdays and completing the weekly quiz on Wednesday. And just like that, you are finished for the week with that specific class. By creating a routine for yourself, you will know what you need to complete each week, and can plan other non-school related things around your schedule accordingly.  

Tip #4: Eliminate Distractions

Time management is also something that comes along with scheduling. In order to practice proper time management, you will need to eliminate distractions. A great way to set yourself up for success here is designating a specific study space for you to complete your school work. This study space can be private, like in your dorm room, or if you choose to go to the student center or library on your campus, identify a space where you will be able to comfortably work on your studies, with minimal distractions. 

Tip #5: Organize You Calendar

While all of these tips sound like a great way to succeed with online learning, they will likely be even more effective if you are organized. It can be difficult to organize all of your classes with just a laptop, but a good way to start is by getting a monthly calendar. This way you can overlook the entire month and semester and plan accordingly. If you see that you have a big exam during the third week of the month, you can start planning ahead and studying a little bit each day instead of cramming all of the information in just 1 night before the test. 

Still Struggling? We offer support to college students in Missouri

While these tips are a great place to start, the truth is that navigating online classes in the midst of everything else you have going on can be stressful. If you find that you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, adjusting to this odd time we’re living or just under a lot of stress, therapy might be helpful. Our therapists are here to help and work with college students all over the state of Missouri. We offer counseling in person in Columbia, MO or can meet with you online if you live in another part of the state.