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Top Tips for Staying Motivated as a Distance Learner

Online education is becoming an increasingly popular method of getting a degree today. If you want to get a university degree but aren’t sure that you will be able to manage juggling your commitments with going to regular classes on campus or aren’t able to relocate and want to get a degree that isn’t available to study at your local university, then online study could be an ideal route for you to consider. Studying online comes with many different benefits and advantages for students including making it easier to fit studying around full-time work and other commitments, saving money, and developing important skills that are becoming more and more sought-after in the workplace. However, studying for a degree online also comes with some drawbacks, including distractions when you are trying to learn at home and the difficulty of staying motivated when you don’t have a set class timetable to stick to. Keep reading for some top tips on keeping yourself motivated and being successful as an online student.

Choose the Right Degree for You

First things first, as you decide that online study is the right option for you, it’s also important to make sure that you are looking at degree options that you are going to be motivated to study for. While it’s normal to feel demotivated from time to time, even if you’re studying a topic that you’re really passionate about, the last thing that you want is to end up studying something that you find boring. You should pick a degree program that you are interested in; go for a topic that you actively want to learn more about, rather than only thinking about the salaries on offer for future career options. While getting into a lucrative career is great, it’s harder to get there if you’re studying something you really couldn’t care less about.

Choose the Right University

Picking the right university is also an important part of making sure that you stay motivated throughout your degree course. Ideally, you will want to choose a university like Aston University Online, where you know that faculty have a lot of experience teaching students virtually and the university is well-equipped to deal with online students since it specialises in distance learning courses. While the COVID19 pandemic has led to more distance learning and online degree course options from universities around the world, it’s wise to be wary of a university that’s only just started offering online degree options since it’s likely that they just won’t have the experience needed and there may be a higher risk of problems.

Get Your Home Set Up for Studying

Ideally, setting up somewhere in your home that is distraction-free and allows you to study in a quiet place where you can focus should be something that you do before you start on your first lecture. If you are currently working from home and have a home office space, this will be easy to do since your home office space can easily become your study area when you’re not on the clock. While you don’t need to dedicate an entire room in your home to studying, it’s a wise idea to choose an area of your home that is quiet, as well-lit as possible, and free from distractions. If you live with other people, make sure that they know where you are going to be studying in the house and at what times, so they can let you get on with it and avoid being just another distraction to add to the mix.

Find Somewhere Else to Study

While being able to switch from working to studying seamlessly in your home office, or get home from work, open up your laptop and start learning is great, some students find that they are more motivated and able to focus better by getting out of the house. Although there might be days where you’ll study at home because you don’t want to go outside for whatever reason, knowing what your options are for studying in your local area can make it easier when you’re just not getting the results you want from studying at home. Some students find that it’s easier for them to focus and remain motivated when they work from co-working spaces, local libraries, or even a local Starbucks. As long as the place you find has somewhere you can work without being distracted, as well as Wi-Fi and power sockets, it could be an ideal alternative to studying at home.

Set Your Schedule Early

Flexible online degree programs give you the chance to study as and when you want, rather than demanding you are on campus for a lecture at 9AM. While this can be great for working studying around your job or other commitments, it can also make it seriously easy to procrastinate and put everything off until the last minute, which only gets stressful for you. To avoid this, you should consider figuring out a study schedule that works for you from the start. For example, you might normally finish work and spend an hour scrolling through social media – instead, start using that hour to study every day. The sooner you can get into a routine when learning online, the easier it’ll be for you to stay on top of things.

Be Sure to Take Breaks

Studying online can be a lot of hard work, especially if you’re juggling it with working full-time or even part-time. It can be easy to get burned out and exhausted if you’re jumping from work to studying and doing something every day without taking a break. The good news is that the flexibility of online degree courses means that taking breaks when you need them is easier than you think. Having at least one full day off per week where you neither work nor study will be good for your health and wellbeing, allowing you to return to your workload with a clearer mind and giving you the chance to do something you enjoy for the day instead.

While online study is a popular and effective way to get a degree, staying motivated when you’ve got such a large amount of flexibility will take some planning.

Cheryl Henson

Cheryl Henson is a passionate blogger and digital marketing professional who loves writing, reading, and sharing blogs on various topics.

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