About motivation and concentration (a.k.a. working from home)
Difficult to concentrate well when you have to do everything from home? That’s how this page came about, but it also has info on concentrating in general.
The trick is to bring ‘rhythm’ into your day on a work-at-home day that will help you maintain your motivation. That includes getting up and going to bed at normal times, putting on clothes, eating at “normal” times. Exercise is also part of it, and also make sure you don’t sit in a chair all day! You may have the ability to set up your workplace so that you can occasionally stand for a while while working.
Assumptions
- We assume that every student is online from 9:00 am. Digital classes will begin at 9am.
- If you are not there due to special circumstances, cannot log in, or something else is going on, always report this to your instructor for the day.
- There will be a feedpulse moment each day during the afternoon.
how can you best learn and work online?
- Make a daily schedule. What do you want to accomplish today?
- Be disciplined. This sounds logical; after all, you need discipline for almost everything you do in life. But when it comes to online learning and work, that applies squarely. In short: be disciplined, stick to the daily schedule you set.
- Communicate clearly with each other or teammates! Because you “see” each other less, ambiguity and frustration can arise. Therefore, communication is key. Clear communication can be as simple as keeping your calendar well up to date so that it is clear where you are and what you are working on. Keep appointments and deadlines.
- You can also call this “the duty of transparency. You can wait until someone asks you to give a project update, or indicate why you prioritize certain things over others, or what your expectation and deadlines are. But you can also do all this proactively.
- Eliminate distractions. Mute your smartphone and put Windows in silent mode when you get started. You really can’t learn and work and read all your notifications at the same time.
- Take plenty of breaks. Eat, drink and exercise during these breaks.
What are characteristics of a good home office?
- Tailored: Being able to sit comfortably is requirement number one. So a properly adjusted desk, a chair you can adjust and an ergonomic keyboard and mouse are the foundation of your home office.
- Light: It has been proven that you become more productive if you work in daylight because it maintains your biorhythms.
- Temperature: A study by the University of Helsinki shows that we become less productive when the temperature is below 15 degrees. If the temperature rises above 25 degrees, we become drowsy. “The best temperature is about 21 degrees,” said Karin Verkuijlen, occupational hygienist at Arbo Unie (arbounie.nl).
- Connection: Make sure you have a good Internet connection and can connect your laptop to the power network in a timely manner.
Dealing with each other in this situation
Are you finding it difficult to cope in this situation or having trouble focusing on your studies? Then contact your semester coach. He has a listening ear for your situation.
Or find contact through the social medium
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