3 Easy Study Tips When Feeling Unwell ( + Free Notion Template! )

Hello everyone, it has been a while since my last post, so I apologize for the late update. I got COVID the previous month, and I was in recovery for three weeks catching up on my breath (no pun intended, like, literally, COVID steals your breath), then I got several exams. However, I am glad that even at my lowest health point, I did not neglect any of my study sessions. In this post, I will share three easy and manageable study tips that you can do no matter how unmotivated or sick you are.

But before we get down to the article, do not forget to like ❤️👍 this post and subscribe 🔔 as this will help the channel grow! Also, feel free to share this link with anyone learning, too! ✍️

Without further ado, let's dive right in!

We all have only 24 hours on Earth, and that amount of hours does not expand no matter what we feel or what health condition we are currently in. Our instructors or professors will not extend our submission deadline, so whether we want to or not, we need to catch up with our targets. So, how do we work our way if we feel unwell or unmotivated to study?

During my terrible sickness period, I stick with this simple and manageable study management, namely 3C:

• 1st C - Clarify Goals

• 2nd C - Concise Study Schedule

• 3rd C - Catch a break

Let's take a look closer at each section.

1st C - Clarify Goals

Our energy is depleted when we are tired, so we cannot do everything we desire when we are not in good health. However, knowing our to-do list in general for that particular week will help us focus our minimum energy level to be dedicated solely to fulfilling that specific purpose despite feeling tired, sick, or unmotivated. Simply put, the week's energy should be concentrated just on what is truly vital and urgent. One way to clarify the goal is to have a tickable to-do list. I used Notion to make a tickable to-do list. Here is an example of my to-do list, which template you can copy for free from here:

When we are sick, our brain does not remember things the way it usually would, so always rely on a tickable to-do list like this to ensure we do not forget anything. If you are not convenient to use Notion, you can find the most suitable free or paid app for you in either Playstore or Appstore. You can do it manually on any planner, too!

For example, in the sixth week of college, I had to complete a group assignment worth half of my entire grade point GPA. So, I cut down my language learning time and focused all of my attention on finishing my undergraduate group projects first. Prioritizing the one with the closest deadline is crucial when our body is not in its best condition!

Did I neglect my trilingual study, then? Gladly said, no, I did not! Yes, I was hectic with group work, and my brain was foggy due to COVID medicine, so I could not tackle any heavy grammar lessons. And yes, I did cut my language learning time. Nonetheless, I could still study vocabulary or common phrases for around 30 minutes each language a day through gamified apps or by watching short videos in that particular language on my iPad.

Here is a sneak peek video at my trilingual learning:

2nd C - Concise Study Schedule

Having a concise schedule for our day will decrease our chances of becoming sidetracked. Making a list of the things we want to get done each day and when we plan to finish them before a specific date will help us focus and keep the time tracked. I got a particular target from my university and my language courses each week. Here is a glimpse of my original university assignment for one of the past weeks:

As you can see, I have to finish everything on that list within March 3 until March 9 timeframe, no more than that by a single bit. So, I mark the weekly timeframe on my calendar, then I specify actions down to each 30-minute timeframe with a big portion of what I try to accomplish on that particular week. Let's take a peek at my G-Calendar below:

As you can see, my schedule was mainly occupied by my university assignment as it was my focus at that timeframe. I cut back the time to learn languages from two hours a day down to one hour a day, 30-minute in the morning and 30-minute at night for each language. Because my schedule was clear down to its minute for the day, I was less likely to get diverted. This concise schedule also helped me to keep on committing to my deadline and study habits despite being unwell, as I scheduled enough resting time in between the activities (Clear, 2018).

3rd C - Catch a break

Talking about sleeping time, you can see the black stripe on my Google Calendar, which represents it. I had to take several naps as the medicine I swallowed made me sleepy, so I could not just take a 5-minute break, but I actually had to sleep for an hour or two.

Had I not been sick, I would usually put a 5-minute break between each 30-minute color transition and a 17-minute break for every hour of work completed. Scheduling breaks is crucial because the longer we go without one, the worse we will get at what we are doing. We need to provide our brain and body with a short break every now and then.

When catching a break, do not distract ourselves with social media as it will exhaust us mentally and physically. Try to sketch something, write a short diary in another language we are learning, play with our pet, stretch in the garden, or simply do a quick 5-minute meditation to relax our breathing. Or, if we are really sick, simply nap for 10-15 minutes. These simple but meaningful activities provide positive stimulation to our brain and refresh it, making us ready to tackle more learning.

In short, we can still study even though we are unwell if we get to clarify our goals, make a concise study schedule, and catch a break effectively. Of course, I am not saying that we have to be studyholics and study, study, and study all the time even though we are sick. But as students, we often encounter times when we still need to submit our homework or projects despite our unfortunate condition. Making well-thought preparation like this can allow us to absorb our lessons even though we are unmotivated or sick.

I hope my tips are helpful for you! ❤️👍

Reference:

Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits. Instapdf. https://instapdf.in/atomic-habits/