1. Not Setting a Concrete Goal
"Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days."
― Zig Ziglar
Without a concrete goal of what you want to achieve you are likely to become a jack (or jill) of all trades, and master of none. It's fine if you don't know what you want to achieve in your life, yet know what you want to achieve in a course.
2. One Huge Goal Without Milestones
"If you lose direction, go to a higher ground."
― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut
So you want to become a rocket-surgeon, that's great! To achieve this you will need to follow either a well honed path, or set out your own path. It might not always be clear how to get to your destination, so talk to somebody who has already arrived. Setting out easily achievable milestones is a great way to succeed at every step of the way.
3. Not Focusing
"If you have no good drive in you, your life will not be steered through a good direction. It will miss its destined station. Passion or drive is what moves the vehicle of a fulfilled life."
― Israelmore Ayivor
Focus is often about passion, it might be that you are focusing on things you are passionate about or that you procrastinate because the thing you need to do now is not fulfilling to you. There are many ways to reach your goal, sometimes you can bypass a boring section, other times jumping in head first is the only way to get it over with.
4. No Plan for Studying
"Plan specifically so you can implement flexibly."
― Dallin H. Oaks
Cramming before an exam is a good way to pass an exam, but it's a lousy way of retaining the information. To retain the information, you can best come at it with a plan -- take the time to fully absorb the material. That way it will still be useful long after you have finished your course.
5. Taking Too Many Courses
"Can you define "plan" as "a loose sequence of manifestly inadequate observations and conjectures, held together by panic, indecision, and ignorance"? If so, it was a very good plan."
― Jonathan Stroud, The Ring of Solomon
Selecting the courses you need―and that will speak to you―is hard. Knowing the courses you should cut is harder.
6. Wrong Expectations
"A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect."
― Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Coming from a traditional learning environment, you might have been exposed to different ways of learning and studying. In a broad sense, on- and offline education differ little, and you might find subtle differences. And whether you are studying in online or in a more traditional setting education is the same and requires the same effort.
Know How to Study Online
Studying online is different than studying in the classroom, it has many advantages and some potential issues that can arise. Oplerno offers a class Introduction to Online Learning for Students, taught by Dr. Grover, to take full advantage of online learning.
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