Part A: How to Structure Your Work Time

1. Start the semester off right by getting really organized. Spend 1-2 hours doing a deep dive into the syllabus and homepage for each course. As you do so, take stock of the following things:
   • Note the due dates for major assignments on your calendar or agenda. Set up reminders at intervals to remind you to get these things done. Break large assignments into parts, and put these parts on your calendar as separate events. For example, if a class requires a long paper, set deadlines for yourself for selecting a topic, completing a literature review, finishing a rough draft, and editing the final.
   • Also take note of the weekly tasks: put readings, forum posts, labs, practice activities, etc. on your calendar. If needed, make reminders for these deadlines as well. With asynchronous classes, these types of activities are more likely to be overlooked. Make sure you don’t accidentally fall behind by finding all the smaller deadlines built into the syllabus and webpage at the beginning of the semester and familiarizing yourself with them ahead of time.
   • Save the professor’s name and contact information somewhere where you can easily find and access it without having to log in to your course management system. That way you can reach your professor in case of a technology outage or an emergency situation.
   • Notice which activities will require external resources to complete. External resources include things such as the need to access library materials, the need to interview a professional outside the school, or even the need to work with a group. Group work entails working with other people’s schedules, so it’s best to be prepared to make the necessary adjustments in advance.
   • Once you have marked down all the important deadlines and reminders, check these against your life! Is there a week when you have a special event or a time when you know work or family will make you busy? Plan ahead to get any classwork for those times done early, and set reminders for yourself.

1. When classes get started, break down tasks into reasonable chunks for your current situation in life. Stop and assess your current situation: when will you be able to work on this class? Will you do all the work in a large block on one day? Will you spread the work out across the week at scheduled times for 30-90 minute blocks? Will you get it done in quick bursts of time that are less than half an hour each? We know that the current times are unprecedented and everyone will have different availability. This is okay! Take some time to figure out what life allows you to do with your course(s).

If your schedule allows you to work in larger chunks, like 1 hour blocks, approach that time like a class: turn off social media, minimize other tabs, and make sure you stop with 10 minutes of work time left so you can:

1. Update your notes.
2. Mark where you stopped.
3. Make a note of where to begin next time (for a speedier restart when you get back to work).

If your schedule allows you to work in small chunks (10-15 minutes at a time, for example, maybe because you are sharing your work time with new-found colleagues under the age of 18…), follow a similar schedule:

1. Spend the first 2 minutes reviewing where you left off
2. Spend the biggest chunk of time working: watching a lecture video or beginning an ‘in-class’ or ‘homework’ assignment. Where possible, pick discrete activities you can accomplish in your period of time– a particular segment of a project or a short lecture video. This may mean that your first step is to divide weekly tasks in concrete steps (a perfect 15 minute activity!) and it may mean that sometimes you do your work out of order– pick a shorter lecture further down the syllabus if you only have a short time.
3. Make sure to stop with a couple minutes left so you can update your notes, mark where you are stopping, and set yourself up to pick it up again next time.

If your schedule allows you to work in open ended blocks, try a Pomodoro timer or other timing app to help you balance work with healthy physical movement and mental breaks. For each work block, plan what work you can get done in 20-30 minutes. Use the last 5 minutes of each work block to update your materials and prepare yourself so you can start up quickly during your next work block.

• DO use your breaks between work blocks for fun– listen to music, watch a short video, or do a quick social media binge.
• DON’T use your break time to do something that takes longer than 5-10 minutes, or you will break your working groove. For example, don’t start an episode of a favorite show: it will be that much harder to return to work when the break is over if you’re in the middle of something.
• DO follow the timer– when the work block is over, STOP and take a break! When the break is up, put the distractions away and get to work!
• DO get some movement in– stand up for 5 minutes, pace in small circles while you engage in a decompressing activity, do a breathing or mindfulness technique, do jumping jacks or arm circles.

Even if you have large, multi-hour blocks to work, try NOT to do more than a couple full Pomodoro sets/work block sets at once– you need and deserve a break. At some point, you will reach saturation. Switch between classes or work tasks at planned intervals, and take longer breaks to exercise, eat, or just generally take care of yourself. Those longer breaks are the perfect time for laundry, naps, or a Netflix chill.

Part B: How to Stay Focused and Motivated

IF you struggle with motivation and focus without live help from faculty and/or TAs, here are some tips:

1. Really utilize group projects– it builds accountability to others.
2. If your mind wanders when watching taped lectures:
   1. Break long lectures into chunks. Sit and listen in 5-7 minute chunks, stopping the video every 5-7 minutes to update your notes.
   2. If it helps, alternate sitting, standing, and moving: sit for the lecture and stand while you update notes or vice versa. Treat lectures like podcasts and listen while walking.
3. Create study groups.
   1. Have a study group of people from your class or a working group of colleagues/friends who have their own work. If you make a study group with classmates, you can come together to discuss the lectures, readings, and activities in order to make sure you understand the content. If you have working groups with others, colleagues and friends can still check in with you and help keep you focused on work.
   2. AND/OR have a study group where you work on assignments together.
   3. AND/OR have a study group where you stream the recorded lectures together, the same way you might watch a streaming film or show with friends.
4. Go to any office hours provided by the professors and TAs– knowing they know you as a person strips the anonymity you might feel in an asynchronous environment, which in turn may help motivate you to production.
5. Go to any office hours provided by the professors and TAs to clarify lecture content you didn’t understand or to ask for help on assignments.
6. Look into a tutor, either one you find yourself or one the university might help pair you with, to help provide you with learning help, structure, and accountability.
7. Try a productivity gym. These programs set you up with others trying to get their work done, and sometimes with a motivation coach to help you get discrete blocks of work done.