Make it feel like school, study term, like a classroom; pick a place to be your classroom and use it
Make it feel like a ‘job’ – which it really is – you are now a professional student; you may be at home in your bedroom, but you need to think like a professional student
Create a schedule for watching videos; like a regularly scheduled class, and post it, follow it
Do not work solo; try to work with one or more buddies, use group calls, play/pause/rewind in unison, use chat during the lecture, text each other and make it a group activity with possible rules and penalties for hard courses if members do things like multi-task, don't take it seriously
Hold yourself accountable for your study habits and how you spend your time; for creating the necessary balance and keeping it
Continue to take notes, always take notes
Attend ALL online sessions, connect with your instructor, tutors and with each other; use the office hours, forums, q&a options
Read the pdf/slides in advance of class – come to class or the video prepared for the material
Test s/w, check things out before class – come to class prepared on the tech side
Take part in online discussions/forums
Have a network of peers, create a virtual study group for the course; more than just your online study buddies (see above)
Exercise, healthy habits; these are important, very important and have some social contact, be human
Note and keep track of when/why you are cramming, waiting to the last minute, doing marathons – figure it out, fix it
If you can, meet with the prof virtually, understand each other, point of view, objective
Initiate course contact, persist when confused or in doubt
Know your resources, where/who/when to get help from
Review, summarize the lessons each day, each week
Keep on top of any discussion forums – your question might have been answered!
Share your schedule with your family – make sure they know when you want ‘peace and quiet’
Turn ‘best practice’ into a habit
Have realistic expectations – of the course and of yourself, the instructor is also nervous – not just you
Try to stay motivated – create mini-rewards, incentives, work with buddies
Make the time to plan
Have a daily routine
Create a study plan for the week, each day
Break each class into small blocks
Schedule regular breaks, including food, exercise
Use time blocks during the day – keep to them – do not just keep working on something
Set targets
Build in ‘phone’ breaks – keep phone in different room between breaks, turn off social media
Do one thing at a time
An additional resource from Waterloo's Student Success Office is their page on time management.
Keep a log of all critical deadlines
Use a calendar, have reminders
Designated workspace free of distractions, stay organized
Optimize your internet, understand your bandwidth, quality
Be aware of what others can see, hear