Last time I told you that my second tip on staying motivated in your online classes was to take the initiative and study outside the class material. This time I'll tell you that you should:

Online Learning Motivational Tip #3 - Chart Your Progress
If the classes you're taking online are at all similar to mine, your instructors probably give you an entire list of the assignments and their due dates as soon as the classes get underway. In fact, in many cases this is probably part of the course syllabus that your teacher prepares before opening your classes online. If so, you can use that information to prepare an offline progress chart that will keep you on task and help you stay motivated in your online classes.

One way to chart your progress might be to transfer the course schedule to a master calendar or a poster board that you keep near your study area or at your computer workstation. As you move along through each of your classes, simply mark off each of the assignments when they are completed. Once you hit a significant milestone (like successfully passing your mid-term exams, for instance) you may want to give yourself a special treat: it could be a gold star on the chart, a special dinner out, or a phone call to your friends to brag about your progress, etc.

A secondary benefit of preparing an offline chart of your online assignments is that there is a second place in which you're keeping track of when things are due. Sometimes it can be all too easy to overlook an important deadline or assignment date when the only place those dates are noted is in an online course calendar. This can be particularly true if you have several instructors and one instructor provides a detailed calendar for one course, while another instructor doesn't use the online calendar at all.

So get out there an start charting your progress. It will keep you sharp and focused on your assignments and your class dates. Then, reward yourself. After all, you deserve it!