How many times have we started an online course with a real ambition to be an exemplary student? After all, online learning is perfect for our busy lives. We can do it at our own pace, when the kids are asleep, in the comfort of our own home… but.. most of the time we drop it.
Excuses like “I’m too tired today,” “I have an awful headache” or “my favorite team is playing tonight,” all sorts of things seem to get in our way, keeping us away from our destiny. The truth is .. life happens, and the online course that we started so enthusiastically is simply swallowed up by it….
“Stop this madness! Right?” Yes, this procrastination has to end and we have a few secret tips about how to study online effectively. After all, dreams don’t work unless you do, so they say.
1. Planning: The Initial Step
If you’ve opted to study online, it is obvious that you’re short on time or you have a family or kids to deal with or something else that preoccupies your time. Therefore, approaching online training by creating a schedule is the best and smartest idea. To do this effectively:
Firstly, make a timetable and routine for yourself. Set time limits for the things you have to prioritize and then invest other time in your study.
Organize your calendar and mark important dates for exams or the last submission date for assignments. You can also look at your diary weekly or fortnightly and mark the days on which you know you’re going to be busy and won’t be able to make enough time for study so then you can compensate for that lost time either earlier or later on.
Finally, it’s your duty to be strict and stick to your plan and, more importantly, delete the word ‘procrastination’ from your dictionary for effective online study. If you don’t stop procrastinating, this will prove to be the biggest enemy of your online learning success.
2. Staying motivated is vital
When you study online, no one is there with you to keep you motivated when you are feeling down. So, another tip for online learning success is to remember that it is only you who can help to keep yourself motivated.
Whenever you feel disillusioned, just remember the purpose of your online course, where you see yourself when you have completed it and, above all, why you started doing the course in the first place.
3. Don’t be shy about being expressive
Yet another answer to your question about how to study online effectively is about being open-minded and starting to express your points of view whenever necessary. For people who hesitate to speak their mind, online studying removes that obstacle and so they can freely share their perceptions. So, for successful online study, try to communicate your thoughts as much as possible.
4. Follow the question asking concept
To be a successful online learner, we should never avoid asking questions or expressing doubt. Accept help immediately when it is needed, and this is one of the best tips for online learning success you can use. It is undoubtedly encouraging to try self-help by looking for answers ourselves, but there is a thin line between devoting time and wasting time. If you don’t ask the instructor a question when you need to, you will end up losing more time. Moreover, the instructors will happily answer your query and you will definitely get a clearer idea about the topic. Therefore, make a habit of asking for help whenever necessary.
5. The secret tip: Pen and Paper
Paper is fundamental to the capture and transmission of ideas. For more than 2,000 years we have been using paper to record and transmit ideas, to inspire and inform us.
Recent studies have shown note-taking can help with recall and academic performance. So, use paper to help you study and to organize your ideas better more effectively.
As you can see, online studying is not rocket science. You just need to follow the above tips for online learning success to become the best version of yourself.