[convalescence]

I will be starting college online in the August of this year, but I'm apprehensive about it. I want to get good grades, but am worried about distractions and lack of motivation I might get while I'm in school. Does anybody have any tips to give to a future online college student who suffers from problems w/ distractions, motivation, and bipolar disorder? I can't do a traditional classroom setting until I have my license, which I might be getting next month.

[Perna]

I would only take a course or two at once online, see how it goes, how you like it and respond to it. I would get a printer if you don't have one so you can print out the syllabus and lectures, etc. and really study them and mark them up, etc. I got a degree online and some of the organization was hard for me because everything was online and I felt more comfortable printing some things out so I could "see" them and get a sense of their organization. With everything "there" at once it can be easy to panic at the amount so I kept reminding myself that I only had to do "this" lesson or this project, not worry about the final project or what I had to know or read in the next month or two.

Experiment and find your own rhythm for doing the work in front of you. Participate a lot in the online classroom work and chatter as that will keep you interested (like here) and writing stuff out, questions to others or clarifications, etc. will teach you the material and get you familiar with it.

[gayleggg]

Set a schedule and stick to it. Go to bed at the same time every night. If you are a morning person start your studying in the morning or start in the evening if you are a night person. But set aside a time to study everyday and stick to your schedule. By managing your time you will get good results. It helps keep you from procrastinating.

Good luck to you. I'm sure you will do just fine.

[Blue_Bird]

I agree with only taking a course or two at a time. I take online classes and they each require a lot of time. It is difficult to stay focused. The best tip I can give is to start out fresh in the morning with a cup of coffee and get to work. Also, every week write out all your assigned readings and actual assignments for that week and cross them off as you get them done. Good luck!

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[convalescence]

I am incredibly grateful for the great advice that you all have given me! Thank you so much! I feel way less anxious now!

[jules77]

I have bipolar disorder too and I've completed about 30 credits (about 1 year's worth) over 2 years...do you think that doing online school is more isolating? I'm not suggesting that it is...just curious about your opinion because I have considered it myself... I believe that if you get some school experience under your belt it will be easier to attend more "traditional" schooling with your license - something i also don't have thanks!! you're not alone in this worry.

[Techie255]

My first attempt of doing uni was four classes online. I dropped out, so I kinda have an idea of
what works and what doesn't.

I guess the main thing is to be realistic. Ever heard of SMART goals? Stands for specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time- bound. I found that to be a major principle when figuring stuff out. Don't overdo it, don't take heaps of classes and attempt to keep up with them all. Give yourself time and, more importantly, time off from study. I didn't - I would wake at 9am and study through to 2am the following morning, every day. Not a good idea, I got really sick from pushing myself.

I would suggest you make a timetable and stick to it. Schedule regular breaks and downtime, and give yourself a good stopping point for when you stop for the day. Also, make your study environment comfortable but not distracting. Getting a good chair makes the world of difference - if you use some cheap uncomfortable thing, you'll be in pain and that's distracting.

Another handy thing to do is list every assignment for the semester, put them in order of due dates, and then tick them off as you go. I didn't do it in my first semester, so it was hard to complete everything on time. I did last semester, though, and ended up finishing one of them two months before it was due, because I knew it was coming and started early!

Time management is a major factor as well. Be aware of deadlines and what needs to be done. That also comes under doing a timetable, though - I set aside a specific day for assignment work and catchup work, so if there's anything left over from the other days (should probably mention that I take three classes and work on one subject per day) I can do it then without getting overly stressed and staying up late.

Um...that's about all I can think of for now. Sorry for the long rambling post, but I remember how I felt starting out so...I just wanted to help ease your fears a little. Hope I helped

[mazing]

I have done a lot of study online and definitely agree that the most important thing is to create a timetable and stick to it - it is so easy to get behind and then it is extremely difficult to catch up again, especially later in the semester when assignments etc. are due.

I also found it helpful to over-estimate how long things would take (eg. I would leave 2 hours for a 1.5 hour lecture just in case something happened and I was distracted / technical issues / needing to pause and look things up in the text that I didn't understand). That way I was never rushed and if I was having a good day I would keep going on the next task using that time, finding that I had a 'bank' of time later in the semester for assignments or if I was having a really bad day and didn't get as much done.

On bad days I would still keep to the schedule though too - even if I only got through one chapter or 1/2 a lecture I still sat and did the work. That way I was still in the routine of working and felt that I had been able to accomplish something.

I think environment is a big thing too - somewhere without too many distractions where you have everything set up that you need. I would make sure I had all my equipment, a drink and a snack and devote myself to being in that space to study. I would turn my phone off, just have some soft music in the background and turn off the internet (unless I needed to look something up) to limit distractions. My partner knew that time was when I was studying and would only disrupt me for emergencies (and was also really good at calling me out if I stopped early!).

Studying by distance is definitely a challenge and you need to be able to be relatively motivated and manage your time well but it is possible