3 Tips for Staying Awake During Distance Learning
Whether you are a university student attending your daily lecture, or an employee attending a really long conference call, there is one major thing you’re going to need, which is a great attention span.
To maintain one’s level of attention is not going to be easy. Distance learning adds another level of challenge for many people, especially as our attention spans weaken in response to collective trauma.
The drastic shift towards online schooling and teleconferencing means that different people are at different levels of preparedness and learning. Others will have no issue with distance learning, as they can simply pause and rewind to their heart’s content. Other programs may not have this option, and you’re simply watching a live stream, praying that you don’t lose your internet connection.
On the other hand, some programs and organizations have pressured people to spend even more time online to make up for the lack of in-person time. Instead of relaxing at the end of the day, you’re spending practically the entirety of your day online, whether it is for school, work, or even socialization.
Even under the best of circumstances, our attention spans aren’t perfect and there’s an underlying worry that we might miss something. We are human, after all.
1. Participate & Vocalize
Whether you an employee or a student, just engaging with others in an interactive discussion might make it easier for the components of the lecture or meeting to resonate with your mind. If you do it more frequently, it might be easier to understand or subconsciously memorize an idea from the lecture, as you were exposed to it twice. Once, through the lecturer themselves and second, through your own vocalizations on the same topic. At least you added some kind of variety into your routine, piquing your attention span.
2. Keep it Simple & Plan Ahead
Sometimes, it’s easier to conceptualize a larger lecture, by breaking down the elements of the lecture ahead of time, if you can. For example, if you know there’s going to be a three-hour lecture, where hour 1 is focussed on a specific topic but will veer towards another topic by hour 3, you can do some light research ahead of time.
Whether it is a cursory search online, that spans a few minutes, or through a vigorous search through your textbook or workbook, you can skim through its contents. You don’t necessarily need to memorize anything. That way, during the lecture, when you hear the same topic or words being used again, your interest is piqued subconsciously, while also adding variety into your routine.
3. Give Yourself Breaks
It’s tempting to power through the entirety of a 3-hour lecture, and not take any breaks. However, you are human, and it is easier to take in information in doses. Breaking up one’s information and delivering it in shorter increments should be something your lecturer is doing. If they are not, you may have to type out what you can and do the shorter increments thing for yourself once the session is done.
If needed, you can rely on a study buddy, or perhaps work on a collaborative Google document with that person, in real-time. That way, if you miss something, the other partner has your back.
Finally, while it’s hard to keep your attention span to the same level as you did at the start of the hour, hopefully, you can take a variety of measures before, during and after such sessions to keep yourself invigorated. For example, even a few minutes of listening to some good music, chewing gum, or doodling, can keep your drowsiness at bay.
If allowed, you can have snacks and water on standby. If you’re not allowed, try to do these things before and after the session, but generally, people don’t mind water, as we don’t want anyone to faint. As well, plan a quick fun activity to do after the meeting or lecture. That way, you can keep going, and work on other important duties, even if there’s a lot happening at once.
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