Happy Monday, ladies! Or gents, as the case may be for today’s post. Some of you may or may not know already, but I am a full-time teacher right now. It’s the reason why blog posts are few and far between, despite my best efforts. Teaching is a lot of work. I don’t talk too much about it here, because it’s completely unrelated to anything I usually post. However, given the weird state of the world right now, I’ve been producing a lot of not-blog-related content, and some of it I thought would be helpful to those of you perusing the interwebs right now. Specifically, today’s post which I’ve adapted from an email to my parents about my favorite productivity/e-learning/work from home tips.
I think there’s a lot of content about e-learning right now so I debated even sharing it. But I realized that not all content resonates with me, so it may be the same for you. In that case, it may not matter if you’ve seen it before or not, maybe this context and phrasing will make the difference. Or maybe it won’t and you’ll keep looking – and that’s totally okay.
All the resources I created to share with my parents, I’ve also added here – totally for free and not behind an email block – so you can use them as well.
This post may contain affiliate links.
SPACE & DAILY LIFE
ONE. MAINTAIN A SCHEDULE
It is very helpful to maintain a schedule. Reach out to your kiddo’s teacher and see if they can provide you with a daily schedule. This will likely include recess, bathroom breaks, and other time blocks that may not translate exactly to at home, but it will get you started and feel familiar.
TWO. SET UP A SPACE
Physical environment matters. Our brain links tasks to specific spaces and doesn’t like to do wrong things in those spaces. (That’s why you often hear that you shouldn’t work in your bedroom, because your brain gets used to that being an appropriate space for work thoughts and makes it difficult to sleep).
If possible, try to set up a space at home where only (or mostly) school work will be done. Having materials nearby will also help trigger that learning-thinking.
THREE. DISTRACTIONS & BACKGROUND NOISE
Reduce distractions like tv and lyric-based music during work. Distractions can be different for each person as well (I’m distracted by a messy workspace, so I have to clean first, and then I can work). In our classroom, I either play instrumental music or nature sounds to provide that background noise for those who need it, but it’s so unobtrusive that it isn’t a distraction. YouTube has some nature sounds/music videos that are 8-10 hours long. Here is my nature and instrumental music playlist.
FOUR. GET READY
Get ready every morning. Even if you change from sleeping pajamas to not-sleeping-pajamas, getting dressed, brushing teeth, washing faces, will all help encourage increased productivity. I think of those things like little work warm ups, tasks that can be crossed off so you already feel like you are doing a great job before you’ve even gotten started!
E-LEARNING FOCUS TACTICS
FIVE. EAT THE FROG
This method involves doing the most difficult task (or most brain-power intensive, like math) first so the hard part is over with. Here is an article that explains it better than I can and includes 4 categories to help you group tasks in a way that’s best for you.
SIX. WORK, REWARD, WORK, REWARD
Especially as you get started, having a reward system for each completed task is helpful – for adults and kiddos. I used this all the time in college, usually rewarding myself with a candy or “Pet Rescue” puzzle after finishing a chapter when I had a lot of reading. You can modify the reward and timing however it works for you.
Some ideas are: 10 minutes of free tech time, 20 minutes of coloring, parents have to play a board game of kids’ choosing, walking the dog, etc. If you choose some kind of game, either pick something with a specific ending (like puzzle-based apps), or set a specific time to stop.
THE BIGGIES
SEVEN. READ THE STUFF YOU GET IN EMAILS/DIRECTIONS
When it comes to directions, read, re-read, and re-read again. Having taken many online classes I can tell you that this is the key to success. Here is a template with some tips for dissecting written directions. You can use it for video directions as well.
EIGHT. 10 MINUTES PER GRADE LEVEL OF SEAT-WORK
Only expect kiddos to be able to sit and focus on a single task for about 10 minutes per grade level. So 4th graders should be able to sit and work for 40 minutes straight. I know many kiddos have younger siblings and their attention spans will be shorter so it will be difficult to keep them both on the exact schedule.
Some options are having seat work in one room, and other activities in a separate area or outside; or, having simultaneous activities for littles be headphone-based to reduce noise distraction.
THE BIGGEST/MY FAVORITE TIME MANAGEMENT TRICK WHEN FOCUSING IS DIFFICULT
NINE. THE POMODORO METHOD
With all that being said, I am a full blown adult and struggle to focus on one thing for 40 minutes, especially at home. I’ve been using a Pomodoro timer system for years and it makes all the difference for me, so it might help for you and your kiddos. I use an app called “BeFocused” to set my timer, there are also websites which host a timer, but even a kitchen timer will work.
The way a Pomodoro timer works is:
– You set a specific amount of time to work. 20 minutes is the norm, I do the same, sometimes i can do 30.
– You set a specific amount of time for a break. 5 minutes is the norm, I use 7.
– You decide a specific amount of work intervals before taking a “long break.” Norm is 4, I use 3.
– You decide how long to take a long break. Norm is 15, I do the same.
Using an app or website makes it a lot easier to keep track of those work intervals to know when it’s time to take a long break, but you can also make a checklist or a list with tally marks. I’ve gone ahead and made a template for you if you choose to do it that way. I used a “3 work sessions before long break” interval.
Personally, I like to use the “breaks” to work on something else productive, but in a different way, like dishes or chores when I’ve been reading/writing. But on a particularly rough day or for a really challenging assignment, sometimes I just need that break to scroll through Instagram or watch some YouTube. For your kiddos it may be the same. What exactly the “break” entails is not as important as long as it allows a brain break from the “work” task and that work task is uninterrupted for its entire duration.
If you chose to use the Pomodoro method, test and experiment to figure out the best times and intervals for you.
Here’s a few other posts you might find helpful tips in for this situation:
- 3 STRESS MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR PRODUCTIVITY-ADDICTED GIRLBOSSES
- MY 2019 HABIT-BASED RESOLUTIONS
- HOW TO DEAL WITH CONTENT OVERLOAD
- 6 MONTH GOAL CHECK IN: WHEN TO PIVOT YOUR GOALS
- WHAT IS A ME-FIRST KIT + HOW TO BUILD ONE
I hope you found this post helpful! I directly adapted it from an email and tried to get it up as quickly as possible, so send me an email if you notice any issues with tense or grammar/spelling!
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