How to Stop Getting Distracted During Virtual Lessons

Virtual classes are now necessary for many due to COVID-19 in order to maintain their own or other family members’ wellbeing. However, it does come with drawbacks, like getting distracted easily. It is easy to just mute the Zoom or Google Meet tab and scroll through TikTok, watch a YouTube video, or take an hour-long nap during class. Knowing how to stop getting distracted is imperative towards your education during the pandemic, as it is much easier to lose focus while still being as important as in-person education.

Here are some tips to help you get back on track:

1. Set some boundaries between time for work and time for play.

Setting different locations for work and fun is a way to establish some boundaries, whether that just be in another chair or in a whole other room. During face-to-face learning, it is much easier, as you are either at school or at home. However, our education now takes place in our homes, so it can be hard to distinguish between when you should have fun or stay focused since you would usually just relax at home and focus at school, but we are always at home now. Again, even if you simply relocate to another chair, it will help differentiate between when you need to focus and when you can have fun.

1. Remind yourself that you are supposed to be in school.

When you start dozing off during class, you usually reassure yourself by thinking that you can look at the slides later or ask someone else about the material you missed, right? Even if you can do that, it does not mean that you should. Sure, slacking off during virtual lessons results in fewer consequences compared to in-person classes at school, but if you build a habit of it now, it will be difficult to focus in class when we return.

1. Turn your notifications off, or just put your entire phone away.

You have probably heard this a lot and it may seem obvious at this point, but how many people actually do it? When you hear a notification, it may seem harmless to quickly look at it and immediately go back to paying attention, but how many times have you actually put it into practice? Usually what will happen is that you check the notification, then proceed to get distracted and spend hours on your phone. It will be easier to turn it off from the beginning, and if you still cannot resist the temptation, put it away entirely.

1. Block distracting websites.

Even when you overcome the hurdle of not using your phone during class, you could still open another tab and get distracted again. With extensions such as StayFocused or BlockSite, you can easily block sites that may distract you. Do not worry about having to manually unblock them when you are done with your work and want to unwind, as you can set a schedule for those selected sites to only be blocked during certain times on certain days.

No matter how many articles you read about focusing during online school, it will only work if you put in the effort to make it work. Even if you follow every instruction and tip, if you do not try to pay attention, you will always find a way to get sidetracked. Virtual school may seem trivial compared to in-person school, but remember that you will have to eventually return, so resolving some of these bad habits now will help you in the future.

Edited by Ally Chan.

Gisele is a grade 9 virtual student who goes to Milliken Mills High School. She enjoys lazing around but recognizes that it should, unfortunately, only be done in moderation.