IB Coronavirus Advice: 7 Things that Help Studying from Home!

Most of us are now forced to work from home for the foreseeable future as a result of the current world situation. Even if you’re not under mandatory quarantine, social distancing and self-quarantine whenever possible might just seem like the morally and ethically right thing to do at the moment. The danger is that with all this sitting around at home we’ll lose motivation and become unproductive. As such, we’ve compiled a list of seven things that help studying from home! 

Exercise Ball

It’s going to become a whole lot harder to stay physically active if we’re forced to sit inside all day! One way to make sure you’re staying healthy, exercising your core, and not hurting your back through poor posture while you spend all that time hunched over your desk is to get an exercise ball! Swap out your regular desk chair for this makeshift stool and your body will be thanking us in a few days time!

Light Therapy Lamp

If you’re finding yourself lacking energy to do any studying and feeling down with the current state of the world, one way to counteract some of this is to invest in a light therapy lamp. These lamps are designed to reduce production of melatonin (a hormone that makes you sleepy) and encourage serotonin (a hormone that affects your mood). Try sitting in front of it for a few hours while doing your work and see what effects it might have.

Drawing Pad

More and more of us are having online classrooms with teachers using tools like Zoom, Skype, or Google Classroom to host virtual classes. One common struggle in these is that the teacher can’t really check your work! Well, if you get a drawing pad, do your calculations on a program like OneNote, you can just share your screen with your teacher and they’ll be able to help you much easier!

Wall Planner

Now that you’re going to be stationed at one desk for quite some time, might as well make this the optimal working space. Download a wall planner here, print it out, and put it up on your wall! Or, even better, we’ll send you a wall planner for FREE! Just click this link and it should be with you ASAP. Not only will this wall planner make sure that you know what’s coming up, but it’ll make for a great wall decoration!

External Monitor

A slightly larger investment, but a great way to increase your efficiency in work is to have a secondary screen. This will allow you to have two documents up simultaneously. Suppose you’re working on your IA but want to look at an article for research at the same time? Problem solved! 

Anti-Fatigue Mat

Standing or moving is clearly better for your overall health than sitting for hours at a time. However, if you are confined to sitting at your desk throughout a whole school day, an anti-fatigue mat might just do the trick. They have all kinds of ramps, ridges, and nodes built in which allow you to stretch and massage your feet as you’re working! On top of keeping your circulation going they’re also great tools for anyone who likes to fidget to get out some of that restless energy! 

Incense Sticks or Burners

Fancy some essential oils? Incense burners actually have 2 clear benefits to anyone who needs to study from home. Certain essential oils can actually inspire different moods. You can inspire creativity, relaxation, energy, or anything else that you might like to feel. It’s also going to help get rid of that funky smell that your room will inevitably have after sitting in it for a whole day. This is a must-have! 

There you have it! 7 things that we’d recommend getting to make your temporary home workplace a tad more productive. Let us know if you can think of any other products that would be great to have! You can always find us on our instagram @lanterna_ed! 

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