Online Learning Articles
Organizational Skills Key to Success in Online Learning
Being a distance learner has advantages but also presents some difficult challenges. One of the main advantages is that you can work at your own pace, not according to a daily class schedule for a set quarter or semester. This means you can organize your time—and your life—to accommodate other obligations, such as family, job, volunteer work, and personal health and relaxation.
The following tips will help you make the most of your available time.
Be Realistic About Your Daily Study Goals
It's useless to make a resolution to study four hours a day, if you know that's impossible. Unrealistic study goals set you up for discouragement and failure. How much time can you realistically devote each day to your college courses? If it's two hours or only one, make that your goal—and stick to it!Be Flexible
There might be days, weekends perhaps, when you can study longer. Unforeseen emergencies may sometimes cut into your pledged study time. If that happens, get back on schedule as soon as you can.
Make the Most of Spare Moments
Get a briefcase or book bag and get used to carrying your textbook and a notebook with you everywhere you go. Also, carry a highlighter with you so that you can mark key items of information as you work through your reading assignments. Get used to studying in short bursts, whenever your day provides a few extra moments, as in the following examples:
1. Waiting for a bus or subway train and during your commute
2. Waiting in a doctor's or dentist's office
3. During breaks at work
It's amazing how these minutes add up and move you forward from lesson to lesson in a course.
Know Your Energy Peaks and Valleys
If you're a morning person, you would do better to get up an hour earlier than to "burn the midnight oil." And vice versa. Your time is too precious to waste on an inefficient schedule. Whenever possible, study when you are physically and mentally at your sharpest.
Avoid Marathon Study Sessions
It's much better to study two hours a day for five days than to study 10 hours on one day. Your body and mind just aren't geared to paying attention for hours at a time. After a few hours, you'll be wasting your effort.
