Lack of Time for Learning Online? Try These Goal-Setting Strategies!
Distance Education students, learn how to best use your time and resources with these goal-setting tips and tricks!
Whether it’s looking after their children or pursuing a full-time career (or sometimes both!), Distance learning students are inevitably faced with many obstacles to effectively managing their time. Online programs are often more flexible than residential programs in that they do not have the structure of a defined program of classroom lectures and assignments. It is likely that the class will meet online once a week or that homework is due at particular times of the month or even at the end of the semester. Some learners simply have to complete all the work on a given date and send it back. This can cause difficulties for all online students to find the time or motivation to complete a distance degree. Here you will learn how to set goals throughout your study to meet these challenges and optimize your time.
Create a time budget
Many people take online degree and certificate programs because they already have busy and busy lives. Many of these programs are offered on a part-time or evening basis, and class hours are often defined to allow students flexibility. Because of this flexibility, it is very important to establish a realistic time budget that allows you to estimate what you can accomplish and see if you have to give up something in the process.
Use a weekly planner or a piece of paper to chart a typical week in your schedule. Fill all your obligations and things in your life that can not move: your work hours, family dinners, appointments, meetings, spending time with your children, sleeping. Add to that things that are not so necessary but that you would always like to do during your week: do you jog or bike, or do you see a weekly movie? Is there still room in your schedule? Do you have room to learn?
Many people are amazed by what visually blocking a schedule can do. They can find in their day a space they have never realized. This visual support makes it quick and easy to move planning events so you can spend more free time in your day and learning. Use the free time of your schedule to set realistic goals for when you can work. Plan your learning time on the page and dedicate those hours to your education. If you can, booking time each day for classes will help you the most.
Micromanage your deadlines
Setting long-range goals is extremely important in achieving a distance program, even more than residential programs. Courses in many programs are only due at particular times of the year: once a month, at the end of a semester, and some programs may even require a portfolio of all course materials that are not due before the end of the year! It is essential that students break down their workload into manageable portions to complete throughout the year so that these deadlines do not arise out of nowhere.
This means setting daily, weekly or monthly goals throughout the year that will help you avoid procrastination and allow you to micromanage a large amount of work. Review your lesson plans and review all course objectives and deadlines. Estimate the total work required for each and break these discouraging tasks into smaller, more manageable pieces. Then, assign these pieces to the periods of your choice. Essentially, you define your own completion times. For example, if a large research paper is required, plan to finish your research at Week A, your first draft at Week B, and the revisions at Week C. Divide the tasks realistically and you will see that you do not have to. You will not have a huge amount of work waiting for you a week before the deadline.
Plan for unpredictability
Even the most goal-oriented distance learners will encounter obstacles they did not expect. The next step in the goal setting process is to allow for unpredictability. You may have planned every day of your semester, but make sure you leave room for life so that it bothers you. Unexpected things can happen and happen.