Now that quarantine is in place, every public school student in Hillsborough County was instructed to take their learning online, suddenly have the responsibility for when they do their work, where they do their work, and much more.

   For many students, not having a scheduled class time where work is required and not even having the school environment to work in is quite difficult. Students are feeling as if work is getting out of hand and staying organized during this time is almost impossible, but a few new habits can change that.

   First off, get in the habit of finding a dedicated place to work where there is no distraction. It could be a desk, a dining table, or even the bathroom floor, anything but bed. Your bed is associated with relaxation and sleep, working there will not help one bit. There needs to be a separation between a place for relaxation and a place for focus and work. Finding one specific place to work will help those who are really struggling with working outside of the school environment because it will provide a similar environment but at home.

   For those who feel completely unorganized and feel as if online school is getting out of hand, take a step back and evaluate all the work that is being assigned to you. Carve out some time Sunday night or Monday morning, go to Edsby, and write down every assignment for the week and their due dates. Then, make a schedule for the whole week, putting in what work is going to be done on what day and moving it around so there is not too much work on one day and none on the other. For example, scheduling yourself to do a math assignment that is actually due on Wednesday at 12 p.m., on Tuesday by 12 a.m. This will also trick you into thinking that some assignments are due before their actual due date, so you finish them early.

   Lastly, make sure there is a certain pocket of time in the day that is just dedicated to schoolwork, much like a school day. It does not have to be an eight-hour period like a school day because the work itself will take about half that time. It does not have to be early in the morning either, just whatever works best, whether it be 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sporadically spreading out work throughout the day will just cause stress since that would mean there would be different upcoming assignments to do constantly. It would feel like the whole day was dedicated to schoolwork but with very long breaks, rather than having a certain time for work and then relaxing afterwards.

   It is understandable that online learning is not for everyone but getting into these habits will make it much easier and enjoyable. Staying organized and on top of everything can lead to nothing but success and zero stress (Hey! That kind of rhymed!).