It's important to make your home work area learning-friendly to succeed in your online classes. Make sure your work space has no distractions, such as television, irrelevant magazines or anything else that can take your attention away. If you share a computer, create a timetable for when you will use the computer and stick to it to avoid arguments. Make sure the people you live with know not to interrupt you during study time. If you study at work, let your coworkers know that you're studying and unavailable at specific times.
Because online learning doesn't require you to show up to class every day, you become the main determiner of how you spend your school hours. Set a time each day to log on and check for messages and updates. For online lectures, log on at least five minutes early so you have time to orient yourself, greet your instructor and classmates and avoid the anxiety of dropping in late. Figure how much time you must devote to your class, and allocate specific times during the day you will study. It's a good idea to buy a day planner or use day planner software to keep track of your school time. A wall calendar placed near your computer will help you to keep track of important deadlines.
If you feel isolated as an online student, it's important to remember that, although not physically present, your fellow online classmates are your peers, and your instructor is there to assist you if you need it. Keep in touch with students and instructors on class-based message boards and outside of class with email, phone calls and instant messaging software. If you live close to campus, try to arrange for your classmates to meet up from time to time for study sessions to help lessen the feelings of isolation many online students encounter.
Studying online means you will be spending a lot of time at your computer or laptop. It's important to maintain good habits when using your computer to avoid computer-related injuries that can lead to repetitive strain injury (RSI). First, maintain good posture and don't slouch while at the computer, which will put strain on your spine. Also make sure your mouse and keyboard aren't too high or low so you don't have to strain your hands and wrists to reach them. It's also important to stretch; every 20 minutes or so, stand up and stretch your hands, arms, trunk and legs. Take a short walk every hour to encourage blood circulation.