Are you taking online classes from your bed? Here are some easy-to-follow tips to help you improve your productivity at home by making some adjustments to your home office for school. The road to an A+ starts with a conducive work space to do all your serious work!

1. Invest in a comfy chair.

Let’s get the most obvious thing out of the way. You won’t get anything done if you’re adjusting your butt all the time from sitting all day long. Fight your siblings for the most ‘comfortable-but-not-too-comfy’ chair in your house!

Ideally, it should not be hard to the touch nor something without a back rest.

Nobody wants back problems before they’ve reached the age of 25! If you can’t find a chair with cushions, get creative by placing pillows on your back and butt for a cheap DIY solution.

2. Position yourself near the wi-fi router.

Everyone knows that the worst part about Zoom is the fact that we have to deal with poor AF internet connection in the Philippines. Sometimes, we’re just nodding along with whoever’s talking even though we’re actually only hearing chopped-up bits on our end.

Perhaps the worst part of a choppy internet connection is when our video freezes and the other people on the call can take a screenshot of us at our most unflattering!

So to avoid all these mishaps, make sure you’re taking classes as near as possible to your wi-fi router. Get all dem signals!

3. Keep your notebooks on your desk.

This one is for the people who just can’t take proper notes on their computers. And even if you can, it’s difficult to do when half of your screen is being eaten up by your Zoom window.

That’s why we recommend always having your notebooks prepared on your desk. Every time you take them out for a quick review session later, make sure you return them back to your work space.

By doing this, you avoid wasting time looking for your notebook during a class because you don’t know where you had placed it!

4. Have some snacks ready.

Just like school during the good ol’ pre-COVID days, we will probably stay up too late at night and use up all the snoozes in our alarm before actually waking up. In the new normal, this means attending online lectures without washing our face nor brushing our teeth first.

And worse, a 40 to 90-minute lecture at 7AM just means that we are going to have to skip out on breakfast. That’s why you should always have a ready-to-eat snack on your desk! Whether it’s a granola bar or good ol’ Sky Flakes, it’s good to munch on something in these criminally early lectures.

Hey, that’s more reason to wake up in the morning!

If you find yourself snacking too much throughout the day, you can just place one snack on your table every night before going to bed. By doing this, you’ll be able to avoid binge-eating until your last class ends.

5. Change up your light.

Did you know the color of light that you are exposed to is correlated with your productivity levels? Whiter, cooler light helps you focus on the task at hand while warmer light invites a sense of comfort. Even being hit by sunlight alone can already improve your mood and energy!

Consider these when setting-up your home office for school like which room in the house to set-up your work area and where to position your table. You may also want to get a desk lamp where you are able to adjust the warmth of the bulb.

You can even adjust the settings of your computer screen to make sure that you’re getting hit by the right color temperature at the right time of day.

There are apps that can help you do this automatically, with f.lux being the most popular one. It’s available on Windows, Mac, iPhone & Android so make sure you install it all your devices, too!

6. Have essentials ready.

It’s almost flu season in the Philippines, which means waking up to major morning allergy. That’s why a whole roll of toilet paper on your work space is a must!

There are also other things that’s just better to have by your side all the time. A bottle of alcohol for quick hand-cleaning, a handheld mirror for teeth-checking, a cap for bad hair days, and a pitcher of water for when you need to calm your nerves when the teacher is getting angry.

7. Remove the clutter.

Always Marie Kondo your desk from time to time! Not only does a clean environment help you feel that you’re being more productive, but you also reduce the risk of getting distracted.

You might not notice it, but there are times throughout the day when you place something unnecessary on your desk. And if Chekhov’s gun taught us anything, that object is going to be a pretty huge distraction for us later on.

Personally, my number one culprit is the nailcutter that magically appears on my home office desk. When a Zoom lecture gets boring, I absentmindedly reach out for it and start chipping away at my fingernails. Before I know it, all the important things being discussed are over!

For some of us, having a home office for school is a blessing in of itself. However, we do miss the days when we stayed at the library or the coffee shop cramming all our papers.

While not the same, our work space can give us that familiar feeling of productivity again; we just need to know how to arrange it in the best way possible.

You know what’s inevitable even if school is going virtual? Group works! Read about the six types of oddly-specific groupmates here.

Never miss out on anything by following us @ZoomersCornerPH on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The post 7 Easy Tips to Make your Work Space Conducive for Online Classes appeared first on Zoomers Corner.

Hey Zoomers,

It’s been almost five months since we’ve gone into quarantine, and it seems like the government doesn’t really have a plan to contain the virus. How is it possible that the world has changed so much and so little at the same time? Everything is opening up yet cases are still rising in huge numbers.

We are trying to go back into our old lives without really going back if that makes sense. The Department of Education even played around with the idea of resuming physical classes, not knowing how it’s a kid apocalypse waiting to happen. But the reality for most of us Filipino students is that we are entering uncharted waters as we enter a new school year.

What’s new this school year?

Some already got a taste of what online classes were like when schools didn’t realize how heavily the pandemic weighed on students’ minds and pockets. This time though, schools are more prepared for the battle ahead.

But with every battle comes unexpected tribulations and setbacks that we just can’t prepare for.

On Twitter, we are already seeing a lot of students ask for donations with the hashtag, #PisoParaSaLaptop. As the name suggests, they are simply requesting generous users to spare them even just one peso for the purpose of buying a laptop. It’s unfortunate that not everyone can afford something that should be a basic need in pandemics like these. And even if they do have one, there’s still the problem of poor internet connection in the entire country.

Online classes are not a walk in the park especially when you’re already disadvantaged in the first place.

Aside from that, businesses are closing down left and right, while people are still dying at the hands of coronavirus. If you were a student whose family was directly affected by this, could you imagine how tough it would be to continue online classes?

What are we sacrificing?

Every student is probably having anxiety or some internal squabble about the upcoming school year. I mean, it is going to be super different without a doubt. Simply going through the motions of online classes is not exciting.

Young people should be out and about, exploring the world with their friends and discovering themselves.

It’s difficult to do that when you’re stuck in the confines of your own home. The best memories I have of school do not involve going online to answer tests and listen to lectures. They involve interaction with people I consider home and spontaneous moments that just can’t be replicated through a screen. Sharing contagious laughter and giving someone comfort are things that stick with you because of the physical touch.

The clinking of beers, the sound of basic trap music blaring in college bars, the sound of the bell ringing to signal the end of the day…

To the zoomer who’s going to enter online classes, you deserve to be angry. You deserve to feel robbed. This whole “I attended school during the pandemic” story is going to be a killer story when we’re older, but let’s be real: this situation sucks.

However, there is definitely an opportunity to make timeless memories during these times. But even if we do make the best-tasting lemonade out of the sourest lemons that life has given us, the fact is: we didn’t want lemonade in the first place.

If we could trade back all the problems that we encountered pre-COVID, we would do it in a heartbeat!

What now?

In short: this school year is gonna be difficult. It might be harder, it might not be. What it is gonna be though, is different. And if you’re feeling a bit positive, you might even say unique.

Online classes are gonna present new challenges that we will help you with here in Zoomers Corner. You are not alone in experiencing this unusual and unfamiliar situation.

That said, there are gonna be problems and events all of us have never come across before… things that have to be documented and talked about. We’re here to experience these together and tell others how it really feels like to be a zoomer during this time. No one can write our history better than ourselves.

School has always been important in one’s education and personal growth. With that said, it’s important to recount how such a drastic change in our “second home” will shape who we are and who we become.

We’re here with you, zoomers.

Featured Image: Christina Morillo on Pexels

The post This August, We are Navigating School amidst Coronavirus appeared first on Zoomers Corner.

School’s back, and you know what that means: group projects are making a comeback. Everyone hates it but what can you do? No matter how much you try to avoid it, teachers like to shove them in your face as “practice for the real world”.

Unfortunately, finding the right mix of groupmates is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get!

There are just so many oddly specific types of groupmates that they make us want to volunteer to do a project by ourselves! Here are six of the people in school we have come across so often but never really had a name for… until now.

They love organization, power & being the star of the show. If there’s one thing the Type A Leader loves most in the world, it’s planning everything from start to finish. Because of their superb work ethic, they have built quite the reputation for being the best group leader in class. They might as well have a blinking sign that says “pick me if you want an A”.

Everyone else wants to be partnered up with them… until they actually experience being their groupmate.

If your mediocre-loving ass is paired with the Type A Leader, then get ready to be pushed beyond your limits against your will! Aside from the micromanagement, they get easily angry if you’re a second late with the impossible deadline that they set.

The worst part is that you can’t get mad at them because in the end, they know what’s best for the group!

Rumor has it that this person disappears when you need them most. They are one of the most frustrating types of groupmates; it’s the night before a huge deadline and everyone, and I mean everyone, is on their third cup of coffee working together at 3 AM.

But there’s always someone who’s nowhere to be seen. One who’s never been there from the start and whose presence is only felt because their name is written on the cover page.

“Where is that #@&$!%,” the Ghost’s groupmates all shout in unison.

Were they asleep? Or perhaps they were just getting drunk at the bar? No one knows. That’s why they’re called the Ghost.

If there’s a group project that needs completing, who you gonna call? The Savior!

Nobody actually expects them to contribute because this person doesn’t reply much and is probably super busy with life. In fact, they’re pretty much the Ghost until the very last minute!

This person, who has not even touched the .doc file before, suddenly saves everyone’s collective asses by making major contributions right before the deadline. Over the course of a night, they become the most valuable player of a group project.

And just like that, all their past sins are forgiven. Maybe they were too busy before, or maybe they just enjoy the thrill of passing a project last-minute. But whatever their reason was for being MIA, we are thankful for the Savior’s presence.

Need some tea about how the other group is doing? Or maybe you need some details about what the teacher wants to see on your project? Good thing you have the Spy as your teammate. Their extensive network means that they know how to get the best score for your project.

The Spy is one of the most underrated types of groupmates you’ll have. They are the favorite sidekick of the Type A Leader, who always wants to get the latest scoop about the competition. Because of their natural ability to be shameless and sociable, the Spy always has useful insider info that they’re willing to share the group.

The sweetest words that escape their lips: “the other group hasn’t started yet”.

For whatever information needs you may have, make sure you call on the services of the Spy.

Look, some people just weren’t born to do long research papers; some were born to be artists! When all the boring paperwork is done, it’s time to hand it over to the Designer.

They will make sure to create a beautiful, kick-ass presentation out of a 50-page, Times New Roman 12, double-spaced paper. Powerpoint, Photoshop and Canva are their Holy Trinity. Leave all the aesthetics work to them because no one knows better.

For some, they are a useless groupmate who should’ve just used their energy to do something more “useful”. But for the intellectuals who know how much great visuals can put a presentation over the top, the Designer deserves as much praise as the researchers.

Some people are better off doing the bare minimum than being given huge responsibilities. They are the people who have gotten the reputation of not being good groupmates, or are just too busy with other things.

That’s why the Assistant is delegated the easiest tasks in a group — tasks that are almost impossible to screw up. These include doing the report during class, bringing materials, and printing the paper.

Easy, right? But imagine how pissed you and your groupmates would be if the Assistant managed to screw up the simple task that had been assigned to them. It’s a lot of pressure!

What oddly specific types of groupmates entered your mind while reading this list? Let us know in the comments below!

We’re still trying to accept that we’ll be “back in school” in a few weeks, but the worst part is classes will all be done online! Read about how the school year will feel a lot different with Miss Rona around.

Never miss out on anything by following us @ZoomersCornerPH on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The post There are 6 Oddly Specific Types of Groupmates — Are You One of Them? appeared first on Zoomers Corner.