Online Student Survival Guide

Would it help to step through an example?

What I do is write each goal on a 3×5 index cards, then lay them out together on the table to see what patterns and strategies appear, what needs to be broken down further, what should be done in some sequential order, what has a fixed deadline, what you need to study next, what should come later. It’s very easy to prioritize from there – I know what’s important for me, I know how much time I have, I have a pretty good idea how much time each one of these is going to take, and this way I can work in all the other commitments and expectations, and fill in the voids with goals that are not time critical. That gives me a working model – or at least a model I can work with. I pencil in the start and completion dates on the index cards as I go along.

Having done that much, I start putting the start dates on my desk calendar. A flag automatically goes up if I have to flip back on the calendar – sometimes it’s not going to paint me into a corner, but sometimes it might so I have to rethink a little, and see what might be a better sequence or start date. Once everything is set on my calendar, I go back through it one more time, this time putting in the target dates for completion. Again, a flag goes up if I have to flip back – yada-yada-yada.

For me, this is always a process, not an event; so I might do this at the beginning of the term and several more times before the cycle begins again at the beginning of the next term. Usually, though, I mark the index card with the final grade on completion and move it to the back of my card index file. I don’t use color coded cards; but they might be useful for some. I do use monthly separators, and have two sets of those in the file for the next 24 months, moving them to the back as the calendar rolls over. Again, if there’s a card that shows up somewhere it shouldn’t be, that’s going to trigger another flag to find out why. [Anything scheduled beyond 24 months still gets a position in the second 12 months in the appropriate month. In time this will come to the front each year until it is current; each time, though, I evaluate whether it's still a valid goal, and move it back to the next year if it is; if it has been accomplished along the way, I'll move it to the very back with the other completed goals; it's it's no longer a valid goal, the card is tossed out.]

That part is ridiculously simply, but very efficient.

The part I especially like sounds like something straight out of B.F. Skinner and his research in operant conditioning – appropriate ‘rewards’ to reinforce behavior.

The ‘reward’ depends on how much time and effort I actually had to put into it, and how much I actually got out of it. If it was relatively quick, easy, and painless, it doesn’t warrant much, usually something I was going to buy or do anyhow. If it was more difficult, time-consuming, and downright painful, I’ll think I’ve earned a moderate splurge.

Whether goals are short- or long-term really depends on your perspective. For example, for our purposes getting through the coursework and getting the degree might be a long-term goal – but only a short-term goal, a milestone in your career. With distance learning, we’re mostly taking one or two courses at a time, and those short-term goals leading up to completing the degree requirements can be further broken into weekly and daily goals. If you’re like me and have several shorter study sessions throughout the day, I think it helps to stay on track and on schedule to focus almost exclusively on getting through whatever it is you have as the goal for that session. I like a nice, even, steady pace throughout the term, with no last minute binges or all-nighters; I’d rather take the week before finals to review and this way I don’t have to make up for goofing off all semester.