5 Easy Tips to Boost Your Study-at-home Productivity

Online learning and distance education are getting more and more popular over the last year. This can be good news for some people because they can avoid commuting hassles and save on transportation costs. Meanwhile, for some people, studying at home can be challenging due to distractions and social isolation. 

If you feel fatigued or burnout from hours and hours of studying online, try our 5 easy tips to increase your study-at-home productivity.

 

Tip #1: Organize your study space

As a student, your study space is your sanctuary, so it is important to keep your study space clean and clear. A tidy, well-organized desk can boost your study productivity by limiting distractions while ensuring you have all the essentials you need for a study like laptops, notebooks, and writing utensils. Check out our previous blog for more tips on creating the best study space. 

Tip #2: Have a to-do list organized by priority

Sometimes, your brain is not the most effective memory tool. That is when a to-do list comes in handy. As you can tell from its name, a to-do list is a list of things you need to do. It is a popular tool that most people use to keep up with all upcoming tasks. However, organizing tasks by priority is the extra step that could make a big difference in your productivity level. 

A to-do list organized by priority can help you keep track of all the assignment deadlines, exam dates, and what tasks need to be prioritized at that moment. Also, checking tasks off your to-do list is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world. 

Tip #3: Set your own deadline 

In addition to having a to-do list, setting your own deadline get you one step closer to that A grade or crushing your upcoming proctored exams. Look at your study schedules and set your own deadlines at least 1-2 days before the actual due date. This gives you more time to review your assignments or relax before the exam. However, keep the deadlines realistic so you can have enough time to carefully go through all important materials. 

Tip #4: Try the anti-procrastination “two-minute rule.”

Procrastination is your enemy. David Allen, the father of a time management method called “Getting Things Done”, come up with an anti-procrastination “two-minute rule”. It means if you can do anything in under two minutes, get it done now. There are multiple ways to apply this rule to boost your study-at-home productivity with a little twist. For example, instead of trying to do 39 mock multiple choice questions for your upcoming TCF Canada reading test once a week, try to get 3 questions done first. By doing that every day, not only will you eventually build a habit of studying every day for your TCF Canada, but you would improve your reading skills too.

Tip #5: Create a study plan with some short breaks. 

It is easy to develop a study plan from your to-do list organized by priority and study deadlines from previous steps. The detailed study plan will vary between individuals as everyone has different learning styles and preferences. However, it is essentials to include some short breaks in there if you not already did. 

Researches have shown that the longer you work, the more unproductive you are. Hence, breaks are the secret weapon to keep your productivity levels high and improve your focus and attention. Do some stretches, pet your dogs, treat yourself a snack, or even go out for a walk to recharge your energy. They are crucial to avoid any potential fatigue or burnout that may occur after several hours of looking at the computer screen. 

Summary

Studying at home might not work for everyone. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is inevitable. If you have everything on track, keep up the good work! However, if you are feeling stressed, fatigued, or even burnout, try one of your above tips (or all 5!) to boost your productivity. Don’t forget to check out our Blogs sections and Study Tips playlist on Youtube for more valuable tips!

How to Let Go of Perfectionism Before Your Next Proctored Exam

Perfectionism can both help and hinder your progress when it comes to studying for a proctored exam. Perfectionist tendencies can make you feel super motivated and successful or the fear of failure can hold you back from really absorbing your study materials and succeeding on your exam. How can you recognize habits of perfectionism in your study routine and how can you learn to combat them? 

What is Perfectionism?

As with any personality trait or quirk, perfectionism can look a little different for everyone. For some people, perfectionism can look like success, ambition, needing structure and control and feeling uncomfortable with unpredictability. For other people, perfectionism can look like procrastination, getting overwhelmed, taking on too many responsibilities or that image of being a deer caught in the headlights. For a lot of people, perfectionism can mean a loud inner critic and unrealistic personal standards. Having a strong fear of failure can also connect to procrastination, which hurts your chances of succeeding.

Maybe the thought has crossed your mind that either you will ace this exam, or you will fail it. Either you will achieve your dreams today or you never will. If you have ever had these types of thoughts, you may be leaning on all-or-nothing thinking. This kind of polarized thinking is one aspect of perfectionism, but it is not the only perspective out there or the way that you can think about a situation. How would it feel if you aimed for a more grounded and realistic approach? What if you simply put in the work and tried your best, instead of obsessing over the outcome? You could end up noticing a major shift in how you feel and improve your test scores while you are at it. 

The Academic Perspective 

Within the field of psychology, perfectionism is often broken down into two core ideas about how we strive for success and how we are concerned with failure. Researchers Martin Smith, Donald Saklofske, Gonggu Yan and Simon Sherry succinctly define perfectionist strivings and perfectionist concerns in their academic article about the interactions between these two psychological concepts. On one hand, perfectionistic strivings are defined as "ceaselessly and rigidly demanding perfection of the self." On the other hand, perfectionistic concerns are described as those "nagging self-doubts, excessive concerns over others’ expectations, and overly negative reactions to perceived failures." Perfectionist habits can of course vary and there is often plenty of overlap between what we strive for and what we fear losing. Which of these two ideas do you relate to more?

Researchers Jana Gäde, Karin Schermelleh-Engel, and Andreas Klein explain the dynamic further with their academic article about disentangling the commonalities of perfectionist strivings and concerns. Their collective research explores how "perfectionistic strivings are positively correlated with hope for success, whereas perfectionistic concerns are positively correlated with fear of failure." What they are essentially saying is that perfectionism can help us out when we are inspired and motivated to strive for excellence, but perfectionism can also hinder our success when we are overcome with fears of failure. 

Letting Go of Perfectionism 

What can you do when you notice perfectionism creeping in before a big exam or deadline? There are a number of useful and uplifting habits that you can build through intentional practice. The first thing that you can do is to be kind and generous with yourself. Try positive affirmations to give you a boost in confidence and remind yourself that everything will be okay. By thinking positively, you can actually rewire the pathways in your brain to focus on the good. You will end up feeling better and will be better able to make slow and steady progress.

On the day of your exam, try not to obsess over a single question or section. Move through the questions at a steady pace and you may find that the overall experience is more positive. This goes for studying too. When we obsess or fixate on a particular challenge or learning obstacle, we use up all our mental energy. Your focus and attention can be better put to use by thoughtfully demonstrating your knowledge and insight. 

Finding Your Optimal Environment 

How can you set yourself up for success in other ways? Finding a calm and secure environment for your proctored exam can make all the difference. Look for external proctoring services with an organization that has positive reviews and thorough safety and security guidelines, such as ATS. A professional atmosphere can help reduce the stress or anxiousness that often comes along with a perfectionist mindset.

Summary 

No one can undo years of perfectionism overnight, but having awareness and slowly building up positive habits will help you so much in the long run. When you are easier on yourself and let go of perfectionist concerns, you will ultimately do better on your exam. You will not be so wrapped up in the fear of failure, which will allow you to more comfortably and confidently go through the exam.

Written by CJ McGillivray

How to Stay Cool, Calm and Collected During Your Proctored Exam

Do you have an upcoming proctored exam? Has your college, university or governing organization requested that you book one through a local testing provider? Exam proctoring services provide you with a fair and accurate evaluation of your skills, but you may be experiencing some very normal added stress and nerves at the prospect of taking your exam. Try not to be too hard on yourself about that, as we all get nervous and stressed out sometimes. Here is a short and succinct breakdown of how to stay cool, calm and collected on the day. 

How to Stay Cool 

How do you stay cool under pressure? It helps to remember that your individual proctored exam is not a competition with other people who happen to be writing their exams at the same time as you. You may see fellow exam writers moving quickly from section to section or even getting up out of their seats to hand in their exam when you are still working through the first half of your exam. This is nothing to worry about. Try to remember that your exam success is yours and yours alone. It does not matter how quickly someone else completes portions of their exam. Take all the time you need. 

How to Stay Calm 

Try to collect your thoughts and ground yourself so that you can focus on doing your best during the exam. Meditation is an excellent tool to help you stay calm before the exam and during any waiting periods or break times. You could also consider repeating a nice, positive affirmation for yourself while you wait to begin the exam. Tell yourself a positive message, reminding yourself that you have already put in the work to prepare yourself and that you are determined to do the best that you can. It helps to remember that there are so many factors outside of our control, and we can instead focus on the things which are within our control. If you are really struggling to feel calm during your exam, remember to take some slow, deep breaths as a quick way to ground yourself.

How to Stay Collected 

To feel collected and equipped for success on your exam, the most important thing that you can do is study ahead of time, methodically and gradually. Devote a little chunk of time each day to your study materials so that you do not feel pressured to learn everything in a rush the day before the exam. Research various strategies so that you can find what works best for you and maximize your studying time. Are you a kinesthetic learner? Or are you more visual or auditory? Try to gear your studying towards the learning style that you are most suited for. You could also look at an online preparation program to help you out with the specific material that you need to cover. For example, if you are preparing for a language proficiency exam, such as the CELPIP General or General-LS, then you can put your best foot forward by taking a CELPIP preparation program with an accredited instructor. By going that extra mile, you will be much more relaxed during the exam. 

Another thing that you can do to help yourself out on the day is to strategically manage your time. Try not to get too caught up on one particular question or section that you find challenging. You may end up accidentally robbing yourself of valuable time for later sections. By managing your time wisely, you will not only feel more collected and confident, but you will also increase your chances of hitting your target score on the exam. 

Next Steps 

When you feel ready to book your exam, look for a testing venue that puts your health and safety first, such as ATS (Ashton Testing Services). Our professional exam proctoring services provide you with a clean and comfortable testing environment so that you can stay cool, calm and collected during your exam. 

Written by CJ McGillivray

Francophone Immigration Outside of Quebec

If you have been thinking about immigrating to Canada, chances are you already know about many of the requirements for your immigration application. Since Canada is a bilingual nation, those seeking to immigrate have choices when it comes to the language testing results they submit. Results for English, French or both languages are accepted options when the results are from Canadian immigration-approved exams.

While submitting results for both English and French language tests does not allow applicants to double their language points, it does allow them to increase their language results by up to 50 more points. This possible increase in points can make the difference between admission to Canada or being left waiting.

The TCF Exam

One of the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada-approved (IRCC-approved) French language tests is the TCF Canada - the Test de connaissance du français. This test includes speaking, listening, reading and writing sections. The listening section consists of 39 multiple-choice questions as does the reading section. The three speaking tasks increase in difficulty as the test progresses and the three writing tasks also progress in difficulty.

Potential immigrants who choose French as the primary or secondary language for their immigration application language test will do well to take do their TCF Canada exam registration through an approved testing provider. This will ensure they are taking the right exam and will know when they can expect the results. Results are not reported as a pass or fail, but instead are a score that aligns to the Canadian Language Benchmark table.

Your testing centre will provide you with the official results certificate once the results have been calculated and this can be included in your immigration application.

Skilled French-speaking Workers are in Demand

Overall, Canada is looking to attract more French-speaking workers to immigrate throughout the country, outside of Quebec. The desire is to fortify the Francophone communities within the various provinces and territories and create more vibrant, thriving French-focused regions.

Through the Canadian Express Entry program, those who fit the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades program, the Canadian Experience Class and some of the Provincial Nominee Programs can find their best fit and chances for successful immigration. This is where the language test result points plays an important part. Because the Express Entry program asks applicants to apply for immigration when they have a minimum number of points, the language points can be a significant element in reaching that threshold.

Francophone Communities in Canada Outside of Quebec

Immigrating to Canada using French as your primary or secondary language does not restrict you to immigrating to Quebec. Quebec, which is Canada’s most concentrated Francophone province, has its own language requirements which differ from the French language requirements throughout the rest of Canada. There are many Francophone communities outside of the province of Quebec, where those who speak French primarily, or as a second language, find a welcoming environment.

For example, the neighbourhood of Maillardville in Coquitlam, British Columbia, has a Francophone history dating back to the early 1900s and an annual event known as Festival du Bois. Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes in Lorne, Manitoba has a significant volume of French-speaking residents and their history is revealed in the Pioneers and Chanoinesses Museum. Then there’s the Township of Moonbeam, Ontario which has a developing tourist industry and a strong focus on outdoor activity.

Canada’s history of French and British colonists, and the battles driven by their mother-lands, influenced the flows of Francophone immigrants to the country. Acadia was a French-speaking colony back in the 1600s, but after a series of wars over this region between the French and the English, Great Britain finally took control of it and French-speaking individuals didn’t immigrate in as much abundance.

Various subsequent events in Canada’s history changed this. Certainly, the Klondike gold rush was one aspect. Francophone adventurers from Europe came to try their luck at striking it rich and a number of French-speaking professionals formed communities through BC to service the dreams of these individuals. There was also a large amount of demand for fertile land and European Francophones came to the prairies to farm and established rural communities.

Canada’s multiculturalism and bilingual status continue to be motivating factors for Francophone immigration. For those who are ready for a new home which supports their French language, culture and roots, Canada is an excellent option both within Quebec and in the provinces and territories outside of Quebec.

Choosing a Francophone Neighbourhood

If speaking French on a daily basis for work, school and activities is an important part of your choice of where to settle in Canada, you will want to research the various Francophone locations to get to know the standards of each community. Francophone communities outside of Quebec often offer French and English job options, French-language schools, community services in French and English and a variety of French and English community supports. However, not every community is the same, thus why getting to know the communities better is important to helping you make a decision about where you want to live.

For more information about Francophone communities and job opportunities in French, search for the Destination Canada Mobility Forum which brings employers together with French-speaking job seekers.

Studying in French

Part of your choice to immigrate to Canada may include a desire to continue your education. Many post-secondary institutions offer educational options in French. This includes well-known universities like The University of British Columbia, University of Guelph, Cornwall University, University of Waterloo and York University. Visit the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne to learn more about the post-secondary education options available in Canada.

For centuries, Francophones have come to Canada and made it their home. This long-standing history not only makes various communities within the country desirable places to settle for French-speaking individuals and families, it also ensures a welcoming neighbourhood with a familiar Francophone environment.