By Eimear Dinneen - 4 minute readCertain situations require us to stay home and try to manage our learning and studying remotely. It can be hard to navigate your education without teachers or school routines, and only using your own resources & the internet. That's why we're here to give our best tips on learning and studying from home.
Even though you may feel you study better at night, don’t fall into the trap of burning the midnight oil and then rising at 11 or 12 the following day. Your brain will focus better if you stay in school-mode by starting by 9am or so, and taking breaks when you'd have breaks in school.
Being disciplined with your study and achieving your goals is made much easier by making a plan. Organise your studying and learning by writing out your plan for the week and assigning time slots to your various tasks.
Check out our study plan template here.
It's easy to get distracted when trying to study and learn somewhere that is usually a relaxed atmosphere for you. Try to use some focus apps to keep you from looking at your phone, and be strict with yourself. You have plenty of time to be distracted on your break time, or after the exams!
Rote learning is still a big part of doing well in the exams here, which means practising the past exam questions is a really effective way of learning by yourself. Get a Studyclix Plus or Premium account, go through the past questions and then view the marking scheme to see how you would have done. Understanding what the examiner is looking for in their marking scheme can often be the difference between an A and a B.
It's essential that your study space is tidy and organised. Choose a place that is clean and well-lit if you can. If possible, try and make your study area distraction-free: no games, devices, etc. Only keep what you really need in the space around you. Your parents can help here by getting noisy brothers or sisters to keep the noise down near you.
Also, check out Gabrielle's TikTok on setting up a study space:
@studyclix.ie Follow Studyclix for more study tips and videos like this!📚 ##leavingcert ##juniorcert ##studytips
♬ original sound - Tik Toker
The human brain is not designed to stay concentrated on one task for hours on end, so this means taking breaks actually helps you study better! Try and break up your study into blocks similar to the school day and take bigger breaks around lunch and dinner time. Try doing 5-15 minute breaks every 40 minutes or so. Use this time to unwind a bit by chatting to someone or checking your phone.
It’s very common to start feeling really drowsy after a long period of study. One of the best things you can do is to get the blood flowing by doing some exercise. It's also essential for your health, especially if you're stuck inside all day otherwise. Keep your body & head happy by including a quick period of exercise into your day. You’ll also feel much less stressed afterwards.
If you’re feeling stressed, it’s definitely a good idea to talk to your friends, but try and do so only during your study breaks. While you are studying, turn your phone off and try to avoid social media. Constantly replying to messages and checking your feeds will half the amount of work you get done, and could increase stress, depending on what shows up on your newsfeed.
A good way to find out what you need to study more is to test yourself! Try doing this on Studyclix by going over past exam questions, using flashcards or try out our fun & interactive quiz feature, which gives you a result at the end to tell you how well you did. You can also learn passively by learning correct answers as you go along!
This seems obvious, but when you don't have your teacher to help explain a concept, the internet is your friend! There is an insane amount of explainer videos/websites/resources out there to help you grasp a topic if you need extra help. Studyclix's Community Page is a great place to start, but don't rule out apps like Duolingo for language learning, or YouTube for video channels on specific subjects.
Best of luck and get in touch if you have any questions!
