What are your tips for instructing from home?

[Abbie]

In the spirit of community, we think now is as important a time as ever to share best practices with each other, especially as some people are choosing to spend their newfound time working on courses and learning from others who have done the same. What are your tips for instructing from home?

Leave them in the comments below (and we’ll share some of these on Udemy’s Instagram to our 800k followers)!

[Richard-Lock · Accepted solution]

Hi Abbie

Here are a few of tips that I find useful.

1. Have a routine and stick to it whenever possible

2. Inform others at home when you expect to be filming or going live

3. Take regular breaks from your screen

4. Dress appropriately for your audience and topic

5. Ensure your background is tidy and appropriate

6. Imagine you are speaking to just one person

7. Make learning as participative as possible.

8. Stay focused and keep to the point

Cheers

Richard

[Vlad_B · Accepted solution]

Hi Abbie,

At these times, many of us have all our family members at home all day, every day. If you have kids, the schools and the kindergartens don't function. So the kids make demands on your time. They want to play with you!

My advice is counter-intuitive: play with your kids! Enjoy spending time with them; it is the best time you can have. And every once in a while, sit to work for 1-2 hours. Even for 30 minutes - don't think that 30 minutes is a small amount of time. It is not!

At first glance, the overall productivity will be lower. But you will enjoy the work! And your productivity per hour will be higher, much higher because you use the best hours for the job.

I know that this advice is not for everyone. Some people need time to get into the flow, so this scattered schedule will not work for them. There is a great article, "maker's schedule, manager's schedule" (see google to find it) about this.

However, I firmly believe that the instructor's work is not merely a maker's work. It's a combination of a maker's work and an artist's work. And the artist's part of it needs inspiration. It needs time to rest, to sleep well, to think. To prepare to be ready to get into the flow.

Of course, this advice is specific to the instructor's work, where you don't have any deadlines other than you impose on yourself.
It is very different from working a regular job remotely, where you work 8 hours a day from Monday to Friday, but remotely.
As an instructor, it is you who decides how many hours per day you work.
Use that choice wisely!

Blessings and good health to everyone!

Thanks,

With kind regards,
Vlad.

[KarolyNyisztor · Accepted solution]

All the previous suggestions are great. I'd add one more tip: 

Implement the closed-door policy.

Let your family members know that your closed door means that you're working, and they must not disturb you. 
This trick allowed me to work from home without distractions, even when everybody's home. 

It may take some time to make it work, but sooner or later, your family members will understand: when the door is closed, you're working. 

I've been applying the closed-door policy for more than three years now. During this time, I wrote six books and published about a dozen online courses - despite having three kids. 🙂

[FrankKane · Accepted solution]

Different approaches work for different people. You often hear about the importance of maintaining a schedule and regimen while working from home, but I find you can be even more productive if you just roll with the swings in your energy levels throughout the day.

I happened to wake up early this morning at 5 AM, so I just got to work. It was super-focused because nobody else was up, there were no distractions, and I was wide awake - and now it's 7:30 AM, and I've already done everything I set out to do for today.

I'm usually pretty lethargic in the early afternoon, so I'll switch gears and go work on a hobby for awhile, play a video game - whatever. it's OK. There's no boss that will be staring at you unapprovingly when you work for yourself. If there's still work to be done, you can get back to it once you're refreshed.

Start your day with a list of goals - concrete things you want to achieve today. Use those goals to enforce the self-discipline needed to remain productive. By focusing on what you want to achieve today, instead of what specific hours you want to work today, I find you can get more done with the flexibility that gives you.

[LuisOzunae · Accepted solution]

I know them I'm at a biblic school and I will do a course, but I give you a quickly introduction praying, reading Bible, and fast.

[DiogoAlvesd487]

Hey Abbie,

Mine would be:

1) Get ready in the morning as if you were to go to work/ outside

2) Clearly separate personal from professional area. For those whose resting and working area are in the same room, the couch is for resting and not working and the chair is for working and not resting

3) take breaks and know when to stop. Work is never done.

4) set clear and achievable goals for your day

Let me know what you think.

Best,

Diogo

[Abbie]

These are all really great, @DiogoAlvesd487, especially #1. I think it's super important in this time to reassure your brain that it's a "normal" business day and that we should remain productive and optimistic. Thanks for sharing!

[Richard-Lock · Accepted solution]

Hi Abbie

Here are a few of tips that I find useful.

1. Have a routine and stick to it whenever possible

2. Inform others at home when you expect to be filming or going live

3. Take regular breaks from your screen

4. Dress appropriately for your audience and topic

5. Ensure your background is tidy and appropriate

6. Imagine you are speaking to just one person

7. Make learning as participative as possible.

8. Stay focused and keep to the point

Cheers

Richard

[LizBrownUX]

#6!!!! Yes to that one especially! 

[Vlad_B · Accepted solution]

Hi Abbie,

At these times, many of us have all our family members at home all day, every day. If you have kids, the schools and the kindergartens don't function. So the kids make demands on your time. They want to play with you!

My advice is counter-intuitive: play with your kids! Enjoy spending time with them; it is the best time you can have. And every once in a while, sit to work for 1-2 hours. Even for 30 minutes - don't think that 30 minutes is a small amount of time. It is not!

At first glance, the overall productivity will be lower. But you will enjoy the work! And your productivity per hour will be higher, much higher because you use the best hours for the job.

I know that this advice is not for everyone. Some people need time to get into the flow, so this scattered schedule will not work for them. There is a great article, "maker's schedule, manager's schedule" (see google to find it) about this.

However, I firmly believe that the instructor's work is not merely a maker's work. It's a combination of a maker's work and an artist's work. And the artist's part of it needs inspiration. It needs time to rest, to sleep well, to think. To prepare to be ready to get into the flow.

Of course, this advice is specific to the instructor's work, where you don't have any deadlines other than you impose on yourself.
It is very different from working a regular job remotely, where you work 8 hours a day from Monday to Friday, but remotely.
As an instructor, it is you who decides how many hours per day you work.
Use that choice wisely!

Blessings and good health to everyone!

Thanks,

With kind regards,
Vlad.

[MartinCohen]

Hey Vlad,

this is great advice.

Since my kids are at home, they often enter my working room to ask if I can help with their homework, and I often say: "Wait, I'm working now, I'll help you later."

But I think you're right: you have to be there for your kids. They're also home the whole day and need to do their homework (online) and need attention and help.

So after reading your post, I decided that I will be there more for them and just stop working from time to time and help the family.

And I can release that course that I'm working on a month later.

Thanks for this great advice,

Martin.

[KarolyNyisztor · Accepted solution]

All the previous suggestions are great. I'd add one more tip: 

Implement the closed-door policy.

Let your family members know that your closed door means that you're working, and they must not disturb you. 
This trick allowed me to work from home without distractions, even when everybody's home. 

It may take some time to make it work, but sooner or later, your family members will understand: when the door is closed, you're working. 

I've been applying the closed-door policy for more than three years now. During this time, I wrote six books and published about a dozen online courses - despite having three kids. 🙂

[FrankKane · Accepted solution]

Different approaches work for different people. You often hear about the importance of maintaining a schedule and regimen while working from home, but I find you can be even more productive if you just roll with the swings in your energy levels throughout the day.

I happened to wake up early this morning at 5 AM, so I just got to work. It was super-focused because nobody else was up, there were no distractions, and I was wide awake - and now it's 7:30 AM, and I've already done everything I set out to do for today.

I'm usually pretty lethargic in the early afternoon, so I'll switch gears and go work on a hobby for awhile, play a video game - whatever. it's OK. There's no boss that will be staring at you unapprovingly when you work for yourself. If there's still work to be done, you can get back to it once you're refreshed.

Start your day with a list of goals - concrete things you want to achieve today. Use those goals to enforce the self-discipline needed to remain productive. By focusing on what you want to achieve today, instead of what specific hours you want to work today, I find you can get more done with the flexibility that gives you.

[debra1111]

I will add: Set a timer for how long you will work before a break

Go to a desk not a bed or sofa

Turn text alerts off

Start early

[Ankit_Mistry]

For me,

I am not tracking anyone.

Nobody is tracking me. I am free to go (Not physically) anywhere 360 degree.

But being disciplined in such situation is real test for home sapiens.

[MuhammadBilal]

Hi Abbie

hope so you are fine..

here are my tips to do the thing.. hope so it may help others.

1. Consistency and determination is the key thing.

2. set timer on daily basis.

3. set your list of content videos how many are they and how you are going to  create it.

4. set your strategy of making things..

5. Gather the data that you really need.

6. Try to make it in night or in early morning because at that tip its a pin drop silence everywhere.

7. sound must be clear . Try to use external mike or try removing noise tools like premier pro.

8. Try yourself best then the rest will be handled by ALLAH ALMIGHTY.

That's all what i am doing when i am creating a course.

Regards

Muhammad Bilal

[AfricanBass]

Hi Abbie. You've silenced my discussion relating to revenue. You said I should contact support. I have been trying to get a response from Support for exactly two months now, perhaps you can help with that. You say that you'd investigate if something like this happened. I have two CSV exported revenue reports Udemy emailed to me at different times on the same day with different revenue amounts from the same student. There is no greater proof than that and it's happened three times in two months.

What are my tips for instructing from home? Keep an eye on your sales reports.

[LuisOzunae · Accepted solution]

I know them I'm at a biblic school and I will do a course, but I give you a quickly introduction praying, reading Bible, and fast.

[LuisOzunae]

Ill do it 

[MithunRai]

Hi,

you right people are consentrating on more time in finding out new courses to learn also try to impliment it.

But we need to understand the Basic needs,

1- How to reach them ?

2- How much effective we are equiped to teach or train them ?

3- Really we are inspiring them in this period.

4-keeping Motivated and do not loose the clients what we had before lockdown.

5- Relationship Management all comes first in these days when people are almsot isolated themselves. 

so overall we need to consentrate on our followers and people ,

1- Inspire them,

2- do not loose them at any cost,

3- make them happy with your equiped answers and facts 

4- make sure they are keeping touch with what you are teaching or counsel them.

5-At last even your student or any one asking suggession give him a fact orriented answers 

6- Online classess must be with a facts and materials with out a Boring aspects .

7- Make sure even a boring topics look like attractive.

8- in this period youust a hellish Marketing guy . whoknows how and when to catch everybodys attention 

if you feel some mistakes in my thoughts please share with me,

Thanks,

MITHUN RAI

[SaiAcuityIn756 · Accepted solution]

Take that 1 step forward every day

 - One step in the direction of making high-quality courses

 - One step towards marketing courses

 - One step a day towards understanding your customers

 - Just one step finding more sites to market coupons

 - Don't waste a single day - Keep taking just that One simple step forward EVERYDAY!