Staying motivated as an online student isn’t easy. Especially when balancing a full-time job, family, and other commitments, it can seem exhausting at times to keep up.
Remaining dedicated to your goals in your academic journey is vital not to lose faith in yourself.
SDSU Online offers a diverse range of bachelor’s, master’s, and certificate programs that are fully or partially online and cater to the needs of today’s working professionals of today.
It’s essential to remember your “why” in your academic journey to stay motivated. Here are some practical tips you can apply today to help stay motivated with online learning.
1) Create a Designated Study Space
Having a designated study spot is a highly effective way to stay organized, focused, and to help block out external distractions. By creating a mental association with a specific area, it’s easier to switch into focus mode when it comes time to study. Finding a calm, clean, and private area to work can greatly improve productivity.
2) Draft a Schedule That Works With You
It’s vital to draft a schedule that works with you, not against you
It’s important to be honest with yourself about when, where, and how much you can study and set realistic study goals. Find out what works for you and stick to a routine. When balancing a full-time job, an education, and kids, having good time management skills is key.
3) Set Small Attainable Goals, Often
Long-term and short-term goals can be extremely helpful to stay on track and motivated in your degree program. Making short-term goals for the day, week, or month can be immensely rewarding while creating good time management capabilities. Breaking up bigger goals into smaller, attainable, and measurable goals makes a daunting workload easier and more rewarding to achieve.
4) Take Breaks
It’s important to allow yourself breaks along with grace during your academic journey. Taking breaks. Taking breaks can be essential to preventing burnout, improving retention, and mental clarity while studying online.
Try to have breaks be physical, creative, or relaxing, not just scrolling on social media. Try these breaks below:
- For for a walk
- Have a snack
- Call a loved one
- Stretch
- Meditate
- Work on a hobby
5) Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management technique that breaks down the time spent studying. The technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. This technique can significantly improve productivity and retention, which becomes essential when time is limited.
How to use this technique:
- First, pick a single task to focus on and set a timer to work for 25 minutes
- Take a short 5-minute break after the period of uninterrupted intense focus.
- Repeat this process four times. Then take a 15-30 minute break to stretch, eat, chat with loved ones, or relax before repeating until completed
6) Reward Yourself
Rewarding yourself for all the small and large wins you accomplished along your journey is a great way to help stay motivated and excited about what’s ahead. Going out to your favorite restaurant, buying something you have been wanting, taking yourself out for the day, are all great ways to celebrate yourself for all you do. It’s important to give yourself credit and let yourself experience all the small joys, even before you have completed your degree.
7) Find Study Buddies and Build Relationships
According to a survey from Faculty Focus, 60% of students reported better learning outcomes when studying in groups, rather than alone. Additionally, Almost 70% said that being in a study group increased their motivation to study. Reaching out to students in your cohort in an online program may seem daunting, but it provides indispensable support from students who are in the same boat with you.
Even with location barriers, scheduling study sessions with classmates is still possible over Zoom. Setting a weekly or biweekly time to study with a partner or in a group encourages accountability and support.
Cultivating a community is immensely important in an online environment. Without a classroom setting, it can be difficult to have a regular support center that is essential to productive collaborative learning. Stepping out of your comfort zone and reaching out to classmates can completely transform your online learning experience.
Additionally, students never know when a peer could become a transformative network connection.
8) Cultivate a Strong Support System
Having a strong support network is essential while embarking on an academic journey, especially if you’re balancing work and family commitments. It’s important to have honest and open conversations frequently with your loved ones to remember why you’re doing this.
With a strong community standing by you, it will be easier to get back on track when you’re down, and it will feel even better to celebrate your wins with those who have gotten you through. Whether your friends, family, partner, peers, or even colleagues invite them in on your journey and keep up with them frequently. You’re not the only one who wants to see you succeed.
9) Stick to a Strong Self-Care Routine
While maintaining a vigorous work, life, school, and family schedule, many overlook the importance of self-care. It’s essential to take time to care for yourself first; you can’t show up for others if you aren’t showing up for yourself. Even with a hectic schedule, finding even 10 minutes for yourself doing something you love is vital for having the mental clarity and motivation to keep going.
Self-care is not selfish; it’s essential. Try some of these self-care routines:
- Journaling
- Exercise
- Yoga
- Take a long bath
- Take a day off
- Reset your space
- Go to a therapy session
10) Limit Outside Distractions
Studying can seem impossible in a hectic environment with constant outside distractions.
Take time to note what’s causing your biggest laps in focus. If it’s your kids, consider studying in a private room or at times when they are out of the house. If it’s your phone, consider putting it in a separate space or blocking certain apps that are distracting. In the digital age, our attention spans are just getting shorter. To stay on track, it’s important to take extra measures to limit distractions.
Thinking of Going Back to College Online?
Download Our Free Guide
If you or someone you know is considering going back to college online, download “Unfinished Business: The Working Adult’s Guide to Earning Your Degree Online.” The guide is full of helpful information and tips that can make the process of going back to college online smoother. Download your free guide today!
