CultusIf you have recently enrolled in an online study course, you might feel a little unsure of the best approach to take to your studies. This is particularly relevant if you have spent time studying at more traditional educational facilities, where the amount of time you need to commit to your studies is pretty much written in stone.
When you study online, you need to be very disciplined with your time and have the motivation and willpower to successfully complete your studies. To help you remain focused, here are some online study tips that should prove to be useful over the coming months.
Identify your goals:
At some point or another in your studies, most students lose their motivation and become quite lax about studying. This can be more of a temptation when you are enrolled in an online study because you have no-one encouraging you to succeed and knuckle down to work. Identifying your goals and committing yourself before you start your course, and reminding yourself of these goals whenever you falter, is a good way to pick yourself up and move forward.
Make backups:
Always back up all of your work online, so that if the worst happens and your computer dies and your hard drive is corrupted, you will not lose everything. Backup daily onto an external drive, as well as to a cloud drive, such as Google Docs or Dropbox.
Find a study space:
Trying to study at the kitchen bench isn’t the best way to focus your mind. If it’s at all possible, your best strategy is to have a dedicated study space for yourself where you can focus clearly and won’t be distracted or interrupted all the time. Turn off your phone and close your social media platforms, so that the latest post from a friend doesn’t suddenly make you lose focus and become diverted, we know that one can lose hours on social media!
Make a study plan:
It’s always best to carve out specific days or times when you focus on nothing but your studies. So plan ahead for your assignments, create to-do lists, set time limits and stay on schedule for your assignments. Most people who enrol in an online study course find that procrastination is their worst enemy, which is why a study plan is perfect for keeping you on track and motivated.
Ask for help:
Just because you are studying at home, doesn’t mean that you can’t ask for help if needed. This is one of the first actions you should take when you have enrolled in an online study course – writing down all of the contact details for your lecturer, tutor and the student help desk at your online facility. If you have all these contact details on a spreadsheet, it’s easy to ask for help by either making a call or sending an email to the appropriate person.
Online participation:
You may find that people taking the same online study course congregate together in an online forum to discuss problems or to simply discuss the course and assignments. Connecting with other students online is a great way to keep yourself motivated and most people feel quite comfortable with this type of communication.
Hopefully, these simple online study tips should help you to succeed with your studies and gain the additional qualifications you need to further your career.
Author:
www.australianonlinecourses.com.au