What’s your preference for absorbing information? Are you tactile (touch), auditory (sound), or visual (sight)? You may think that you’re limited to only sound and sight as an online student, but you can easily modify your home learning environment to fit your needs. Once you’ve identified where your mind is at, you’ll be able to adopt new learning methods that will compliment your experience in the classroom.

Define your learning style.

1. Visual learners learn best through their eyes.
2. Auditory learners obtain information best through their ears.
3. Tactile leaners absorb knowledge through their hands.

Take the time to observe yourself, and how you relay information in a subject. If you find yourself doing a search for videos and podcasts then you should focus on tuning your skills in the auditory direction. Here’s a great post on how to “Maximize Your Learning Style in School and Life.” It’s has great suggestions and exercises for fine-tuning your learning skills.

By: J. Mason

Sometimes it’s not enough to have our apps, and other computer accessories closed down while we write. The more “noise” you have on your screen, the less likely you’ll feel compelled to finish the piece you’re writing on. If your preference is to create your weekly discussion post for class within the classroom editor, then consider trying a different approach. OmmWriter is the zen garden specifically created to soothe and coax you into the writing process.

[Check out more tools for online learners.]

This program takes your mind to the spa. It blacks out everything that’s irrelevant to the topic at hand, and will playing soothing background music. Just be sure to bring your headphones along if you’re writing at a public place. It could be just enough to shake up the humdrum routine of producing weekly assignments.

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By: J. Mason

There’s a reason art is still included in class discussions for children in elementary school, it’s fundamental and enhances the basic building blocks of learning.

Art helps with problem solving, creativity,cause and effect, and opens the lines for communication. There’s a lot more that lies behind the paint on the canvas, and a lot of higher level humanities courses will help you dive into the interpretation for great works of art and their relevance to current events and society.  With that said, steal yourself away from your laptop for a few hours this weekend and visit a local museum or art gallery.

Look through your local newspaper, or use a museum finder website to find a great spot nearby. If art isn’t your thing, stop by a science, or history museum. There’s always something to be learned, and it doesn’t have to be dull. Take your family or a friend along with you. This way you have someone to chat about the pieces with.

While you’re out, enjoy it. If you’re late on a paper, or stressed about work, it tends to linger and follow you everywhere you go. Leave stress and anxiety behind, and keep your mind open as you explore your artistic side this weekend.

P.S. If your local forecast is calling for snow this weekend and you can’t venture out, visit the Smithsonian’s Collections for an online tour from the warmth of your own home.

By: J. Mason

A brain fart is the students biggest complaint for writer’s block. In online learning you’ll be writing a lot, possibly more than you ever have, so giving in to the flatulence in your head can really hold back your true potential. Instead, open up a paper you got a really high grade on. If you’re new and it’s been a while, pull up something from high school (if you have anything), or use something great from work.

Take a timeout from your discussion post, or a paper for class, and pay close attention to one of your old papers. Pay close attention to any marks the instructor left on your work. Make notes on your own paper as you read. Take care to look at the details you mention, the research you sourced, and your flow. Take notes as you go on why YOU think the paper was so good. For me, this gives more confidence in what I’m doing and gets me amped up to continue on with my next assignment.

[related: Scribble on Your Desk to Work Out Creativity]

Just remember not to dwell or procrastinate for too long. Get back to your work once the inpsiration bug hits.

By: J. Mason

What are your goals for the year? Have you broken it down into months, or do you have a weekly goal campaign? Whatever your method is, make sure you have a way of tracking your success along the way, and having a follow-up to ensure they get done.

There’s nothing that pushes a person harder than their peers. Personal drive is great, but the need to impress is pretty high too. You brag on Facebook when you aced a class, you don’t necessarily share that you’re failing a class,  unless you’re looking for sympathy or help. With this social interaction in mind, you should try a new way of completing your resolutions…expose the completed ones to your social network.

A great tool just came out, called iDoneThis, which will help you share your mission(s) for the year with others. The point behind it is to track your resolutions, and match you with others trying complete similar things. This way if you get stuck trying to train for your first marathon, you can find inspiration from others trying for the same. If school is making you hit a wall, this tool will help get you on track.

By: J. Mason

Have you caught yourself staring at the computer screen lately, mind a blur, drool dribbling down your chin, and papers strewn everywhere? Do you know the signs of burnout when you see them, because if you don’t you may be headed for a widespsread circuit combustion if you’re not careful.

Like a computer, the more items running in the background the slower the computer. When you over extend yourself you get burned out quicker, and the projects you’re working on for school can suffer in terms of quality. Make sure to check your internal “task manager” to see where your energy usage is being spent, it could help you out in the long run.

Here’s a great list of energy zappers from Sherrie Bourg Carter, Psy.D. via High Octane Women:

• Wearing tight clothes
• Sporting high heels
• Clutter
• Working straight through without breaking
• Negative people
• Heavy lunches and junk food

Most online students work from the comfort of their couch or home office, so the heels may not be applicable, but uncomfortable clothing could be. Wear sweats, or slightly looser clothing when you’re powering through a big term paper. As for clutter, it causes anxiety, and gives you something else to be distracted about. If you don’t have time to tidy up a certain area move to a different part of the house with minimal distractions.

[related: 4 Tips for Succeeding in an Online College Course]

Working straight through can be very daunting, and puts a lot of pressure on yourself to finish by a certain time. Space out the work, and don’t put it off!

Last but not least, negative people and food. If your friends or family have nothing positive to say at a time of high stress, tell them (politely) you’ll talk later and leave it at that. And junk food, while tasty it’s a wreck on our bodies. The heavier the meal the more sluggish you’ll feel, and motivation will take a rest with you.

If you’ve felt like you’re on hyper speed lately then you probably need to slow down a bit. Take the time to prioritize what you’re working on, and find a happy medium that fits with your class schedule and time constraints.

By: J. Mason

Instead of wasting trees to jot down notes (as an online student you’re already cutting back on your eco footprint) turn your desk into a dry erase board.  

[related: It Can Be Easy Being Green]

There is this awesome paint made by Rust-Oleum, where you can turn wood, metal and other surfaces into a dry erase board; most people use this for their kids room, or their home office. The paint allows you to turn the smallest of objects, or large ones, into a canvas for those smelly markers we love to use. Be crafty by turning a paper sized part of your desk into a “sketch pad”. Or, if you have more room on your desk you’re willing to sacrifice cover a bigger portion for big sketches and mind maps for class.

The price for the paint is about a half tank of gas, maybe less, but the outcome is pretty amazing. Consider switching up how you write out your ideas or topics for class.

What DIY projects have you tried in your home office that help you focus for school? Share your ideas below.

By: J. Mason

Having a hard time absorbing the material? Exercise may help you retain those tiny details you can’t seem to remember.

Recently a cognitive psychologist spoke about sparking your memory by exercising. It has been proven in the past that getting out of the chair and taking a walk, or even a break encourage healthy blood flow and can spark creativity. Your brain is a muscle, so it’s only fitting that exercising can encourage “growth” when studying new material.

Wendy Suzuki suggests intense physical movements, like kickboxing or aerobics, paired with positive affirmations. With studying you can try your kickboxing routine, and every time you punch or kick yell out a theory from the chapter you’re on. Or if you have to memorize a scientific process, say them out loud with every step you take. It might feel strange doing it, but the “motions” of the exercise along with stretching the hippocampus (part of your brain that holds long term memory) will help in creating a memory and possible better understanding of the topic.

[related: Mission Motivation: How Organization Can Motivate Success in an Online Setting]

So, if you’re reading the latest from your history class today go ahead and shout out the latest battle scene and major players of that time along with a good kick.

By: J. Mason

There’s something about putting on a favorite outfit, or a great pair of jeans and just sitting on your couch reading. As an online student you have the luxury of studying in your pjs, taking a midterm in your sweats, and taking a final in your bathrobe. It is very convenient that you don’t need to get ready to go out, but maybe you should.

Making the extra effort to look the part could make you feel more productive. Think about it, you’re already forcing yourself to get ready. You’re showered, have clean clothes on and you’re on your way out the door. The great thing is you don’t need to leave the house, just look the part. It may even give you a boost of confidence.

Since the luxury is there to wear whatever you want, you don’t need to do this all the time, but perhaps just on occasions of a big test. That way you’re being more stringent on your activities for the day.

By: J. Mason

Nothing says impressive more than a paper without spelling or grammatical errors. Your instructor will appreciate not having to pull out their red pen, and it shows you took the time to proofread carefully. So, instead of relying on spellcheck reach out to a family member, one with close attention to detail, and have them read through your paper(s).

Yes, your spellchecker will catch obvious misspellings, but it won’t be able to detect the tone and intended definition for the word you’re using. Here are some examples of frequently misused and misspelled words for college students; thanks to Huffington Post College for the great article.

Common words you may be misusing or misspelling:

• Their / They’re / There: The first is possessive, the next is a contraction of they and are, and the third is location.
• Acquire: I’ve probably left out the “c” a few times before as well, but a word you should consider double checking before using.
• Conscience: Whenever I use this word I repeat to myself that it’s ”con-science”; with this method I never spell it wrong. Misspelling words like this may look like you don’t know how to properly use it in a sentence.
• Grateful: This is something I did a double take on yesterday. It’s sad it isn’t used more, but remember to “grate” your words when you’re “grateful”.
• Your / You’re: Again, this should be simple, when using these words read out loud if you are seems more appropriate then your.

Don’t be embarrassed if they uncover multiple mistakes; you’d rather it be a friend than your professor.

By: J. Mason