10 Ways To Be A Successful Distance-Learning College Student
Distance education… such a wonderful thing that has risen from the growth of the internet. No longer do you have to pack up your belongings and move away from your home state to attend that university on the other side of the country. With a world of information at our fingertips, we can now apply to a multitude of colleges that offer distance education online. Despite this awesome opportunity, it can also come with its own challenges. Unlike being on a college campus, there is not much physical movement happening because we sit down at our computers (or other devices) and log into our student portals and start working on our courses. It is so easy to get caught up in our research and assignments that you can sit for so long that your bottom falls asleep. That’s not good! If we are at home, it is also very easy to just head on over to the pantry and grab easy to eat snacks that we can munch on while working on our essays. Distractions are at their peak when you are at home surrounded by all of your comfort items and favorite things; this becomes a problem when you need to focus on your studies. So how do we address these challenges?
- Make A Plan
- You can’t accomplish goals if you don’t have a plan in place on how you’re going to accomplish them. Whatever your goals may be, how do you plan on smashing them? What are all the things that you need to do? Consider this your to-do list or you could either use it as a goals list if you have not worked those out yet.
2. Have A Support Network
- It is probably the best piece of advice that I was given when I started my own distance learning journey with the American College of Healthcare Sciences. Have a support network! This can be family members, friends, online social groups, church groups, just any individuals that you can count on to be in your corner to cheer you on when you need it. A shoulder to cry on when you just want to toss all the books out of the window and give up. These people are sparkles of gold and make the journey a bit more enjoyable.
3. Clear A Study Area
- It is important to have an area that is clear from trash, toys, clutter, or any other potential distractions. Make sure that the area has plenty of space for your computer (or device you plan to work on), an outlet to power or charge your device, natural sunlight, and plenty of surface space to lay out notebooks and study books.
4. Take Advantage Of Using A Planner
- This was probably the BEST thing that I ever started doing when I first started my distance education journey. Get a planner that accommodates the amount of space you will need depending on the number of your courses. Break down your overall course load for the week into daily chunks that are manageable with your daily schedule. I found that doing this makes it seem less overwhelming and gives you a nice checklist for each day of what you need to accomplish. I prefer to get all of my chapter readings out of the way first.
5. Get Plenty Of Self-Care Time
- It is so easy to get caught up in all of our readings and assignments that we lose track of time and before we know it we’ve been sitting at our desk for 6 hours working through our Biology chapters and writing an essay on the mitochondria. If feasible, schedule a massage or see if a trusted friend or your partner will massage your shoulders and neck. Sitting at the computer for extended amounts of time can affect our posture, circulation, and joints. Make sure that you are getting up and away from the computer screens to give your eyes a break and your body some movement. I try to take a 30-minute break at least every couple of hours to go and do something that I enjoy such as doodling, chat with some friends on Facebook, listen to some music, or even just to lay down for a bit and not think about my schoolwork.
6. Stay In Contact With Professors
- Your professors are on your side more than you think. They WANT you to succeed because if you don’t, that just looks poorly on them as a teacher. Our professors are not only there to teach us, but they are also there to help us when the waters get rough. Whether you are struggling to understand a topic, or you’ve fallen ill with the stomach flu and are falling behind on your assignments, REACH OUT TO YOUR PROFESSOR. Most of the time they are more than willing to accommodate your needs, they are just waiting on you to step up and ask for help.
7. Connect With Other Students
- Whether this is through a school arranged study group online, a local study group based on a subject that meets at the local library, or even just directly with another student in your class, I highly recommend connecting with at least one other college student. Having someone that you can relate to about the stresses of college life can help ease back some of the tension you may experience. Each semester I try to connect with another student from my school. This helps me feel that I am not alone amongst the thousands of other students at my school and that there is someone I can turn to if I just need to vent, ask a question about APA citations, or even to just share some research with that I found really interesting.
8. Contact The School For Help
Similar to the above, the faculty of the school is on your side. Believe it or not. They are just not going to do everything for us because we are grown adults. If you need help, reach out. Need help figuring out your financial aid? Reach out. Falling behind on classwork? Reach out. Struggling to manage stress? Reach out. Wondering about a grade? Reach out.
9. Network With Others
- One of my biggest pieces of advice to new college students, especially in the healthcare field, is to network with others in your niche or field of studies. This has been a wonderful bit of icing on the cake to my education because I have connected with a multitude of other professionals of various healthcare modalities. I learn from the things that they post on their social media accounts, the interactions that they have with others in the comments area, announcements of new books or research being released… it is a vast and endless sea of information out there, why not learn from some of the best in your field? With the advantage of the internet, we can easily connect with people all over the world in a matter of seconds.
10. And Breathe!
- It will all be okay, I promise! Just make sure you take the time to just breathe… and repeat this throughout the day, every day, every day of the week, every week of the month, every month of the….. yea, you get the point. College isn’t SUPPOSED to be easy, it is meant to be a challenge. It is a lot of hard work! Especially if you are an adult that has other responsibilities such as work and family life. But it will all be okay, just breathe through the hard times. Millions of people have been in your place before and have gone on to graduate successfully. Just breathe!
