Setting priorities and managing your time effectively

Online classes require that you manage your time wisely. Because the course is accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, you might be tempted to procrastinate, telling yourself that the material “will be there tomorrow.” By contrast, if you’re a first-time online learner and are especially nervous about missing some information, you might become obsessive about logging on to your course several times a day when only one check-in is necessary.

One of the best ways to avoid either of these extremes is to create a schedule. As you might with other courses, you can use a personal calendar or planner to mark due dates and establish a plan for completing assignments. Or you might find that your course platform has an online calendar that you can use, adding your own dates and activities to those related to the course.

Whatever calendar tool you use, the important thing is to map out your term and stay on top of all the work. Referring to the syllabus or the calendar that your instructor provides, first record the course due dates for major assignments, such as essays, projects, or term papers. Next add the due dates for shorter assignments, such as discussion posts, essay drafts, and peer reviews.

Finally, with your personal and other academic commitments in mind, set your own personal due dates for these assignments and the smaller steps you need to take to complete them. Your personal due dates might fall on or before the actual course due dates, depending on your obligations. For example, if Wednesday is the due date for a particular discussion post but you have to take your son to soccer practice every Wednesday afternoon, make Monday or Tuesday night your personal due date—ahead of schedule.

Sample schedule for a research paper

Related topics:

Communicating regularly

Making adjustments to increase motivation