Consider how many hours a traditional class would meet. If you were taking classes on campus, how many hours would those classes meet? A quick way to determine this is to look at a class schedule. Most online classes are also taught on campus. For example, if your marketing class meets on Tuesdays and Thursday for 2 hours each day, you would need to schedule at least 4 hours for the online class.
Pay close attention to due dates. Online classes usually give students a week to complete their assignments. Look at each course and write down the due dates for each week’s assignments.
Make time for meetings. Some online classes require that you meet in a chatroom. It’s important to schedule time for these chats, or you could fail the course. Also be sure to schedule time for tests that will be taken on campus.
Set hours that work best for you. You can schedule time to work on online classes whenever you like. The key is to create a schedule that works for you. If you work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., schedule your classwork for 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. each night. This will give you time to relax after work so that you can free your mind for assignments.
Spread the work throughout the week. Students taking online classes often try to do all of their work in one day. This not only makes it hard to complete all your work, but it can burn you out as well. Instead, schedule a time to work on each class once a night. For example, you might do your algebra on Tuesdays and your accounting course on Thursdays.