Staying on top of schoolwork while you’re at home – and assumedly in your pajamas – can be difficult. It just feels like sitting around and doing nothing productive, which can be hard for motivating yourself to actually get stuff done. However, there are some super easy things you can do to help you keep yourself motivated.

One of the most helpful things to do when at home on hybrid, is to make yourself a checklist of all the things you need to do that day. It can be super helpful to see everything laid out instead of trying to remember everything you’re supposed to do. Plus, once you finish an assignment you can check it off and feel an immediate sense of accomplishment and productivity.

You can also reorder your school day! As crazy as it sounds, you can do your classes out of order when you’re at home. If you usually have math second block but want to do it last, you can! The power to make a perfect schedule is in your hands! Changing things around can also keep your school day interesting which will help prevent procrastination. However, you should try and “pretend” like you’re at school and stick to a similar schedule so you don’t get thrown out of wack when you go back in person.

To all my procrastinators out there, I feel you, but instead of sitting around on your phone when you want to dawdle, try quick and productive tasks instead. Try refilling your water bottle, making your bed, or tidying your room for 5-10 minutes, and get that sense of productivity even when you’re procrastinating! It’s also important to remember to take breaks when you need them so you can recharge and have more energy later on.

Another way to keep yourself focused during online school is to stay hydrated. Though this may seem unrelated to school, not being hydrated can lead to quicker fatigue, confusion, and dizziness, which is not ideal for proper school functioning. Next time you sit down to study, grab yourself a big glass of water and see if you can finish it before you finish your study sesh. You can also carry around a water bottle with you (I find the ones with built-in straws help me drink more than regular screw-top bottles).

Something else that might help keep you on track is a reward system. For example, you could say for every hour and a half of studying, you get to watch one episode of your favorite TV show or play 25 minutes of your favorite video game. If you’re more food motivated, you could get a snack after you finish each class. Remembering to eat lunch is also important, so set an alarm and make sure you feed your brain!

Sometimes it feels like online school is a lot harder than regular school, and it is. It’s weird and different and can feel pointless at times. It always seems to feel like there’s a hidden assignment somewhere in Schoology, but double-checking and writing down your due dates can be a helpful way to de-stress and make your online learning experience that much easier. Plus, we’re slowly but surely getting closer to Spring Break, so you can mark it in your calendar and get excited about a nice long break with absolutely no assignments!