MAKING "WORK FROM HOME" WORK FOR YOU

Dr. Kelly and I are both finding that working from home can be difficult. There are a lot of distractions here - the television is on, our families (who are also working from home) are noisy, the refrigerator is close by. How do we stay focused and get things accomplished? 

You may be one of those people who can work at the dining room table with chaos going on all around you, or you may have realized from the beginning of the school year that you need a distraction-free work zone. My thinking is, even if having your own space hasn't always been a big issue for you, it may have recently become an issue if suddenly your house is full of parents and siblings who can be loud, interrupt you a lot, or just don't realize how easy it is to get sidetracked with everything going on.

So first, do some self-evaluating. How long does it take you to do your homework, and how much of that time do you think might be additional because of distractions? This is not just about your physical setting, but also about digital or technological distractions, and we're going to talk about those in a minute. Now think not just about how those distractions are increasing the amount of time it takes to complete the work, but how well you're absorbing the information. Are you learning and retaining less because what's going on around you means your head's not completely in the game? You all are smart enough to know when this is happening - if you're being honest with yourself.

Next think about your physical space. Where do you normally do your homework? In your bedroom, at the kitchen table, on the living room couch in front of the tv? What type of space do you think you need? Do you like to spread everything out? Do you like a nice tidy stack? Do you need a computer in front of you all the time, or just when you're doing your virtual class? What works for you and what doesn't? Only you can know the answers to these questions.

If you've done your evaluation and think you're getting your work done in a reasonable amount of time and absorbing the material as best you can considering everything that's going on in the world, that's great, move on. If not, what can you do to improve this situation? First, sit down with the adults in your life and talk to them about what you've discovered. Ask them to brainstorm potential solutions with you. What can you do to make improvements? There may be a limited number of places in your home that are suitable for you, and if so you might have to get creative. For instance, if you share a room with a sibling and they are in and out of that room every day, maybe you could ask if you could use your parent's room for a set number of hours. Is there a basement area that normally goes unused where you could set up a card table or makeshift desk? Consider all of your options, pick one, and try it for a week. If it doesn't work, or doesn't work as well as you like, create and try a Plan B. 

If the choices are extremely limited, or if there's no better space than what you're using and noise is an issue, earbuds or headphones may be your new best friend. Some people can listen to music they like, others find it distracting, so try different types of sounds until you find what works for you. It might be relaxing music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GnVDPD01as) it might be white noise, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzNZxM-3xuY), who knows. Again, experiment until you find what's effective. And don't subscribe to anything - there's plenty on the internet that's free.

Once you've done everything you can to make that physical space work for you, you may find that you're STILL distracted. Why? Because digital and technological distractions are a real and ever-present concern, especially at home. Everyone should think about turning off their phone or putting it in a different room while they are doing homework. Working on math problems and don't need the computer? Turn it off or work in a different location. Typing a paper and keep getting Snapchat notifications on your computer? Turn off all your notifications and/or disconnect from the WiFi. Trying to do research and keep going down all the bunny holes? See if you can keep only one browser window up at a time, or set a timer for each website. When the timer goes off, check to see if you are still using the website for a necessary purpose or if you've gone off track. If you're in the weeds, get out and move on. And remember, focus is good, but don't sit for too long. Getting up, taking short breaks, and making sure to move around will probably help your overall effectiveness.

Let us know what's working for you! Tell us about the space you've created! Tell us about your successes and failures in the distraction department, or reach out in the comments if you need help or could use suggestions from your classmates. Here's your chance to help each other out and develop some teamwork! 

And go...