How to Stay Motivated in Online Classes as a Working Student

So, you’re taking online classes. You enjoy the adaptability it brings, especially as a working student. However, you’re starting to struggle with staying excited about what your learning and the progress you’re making to your degree.

Let’s talk about it. Keep reading for practical tips to make sure you stay on track.

Why it’s hard to Stay Motivated as a Working Student

Staying motivated in online classes as a student with a job is hard because of the greater independence.

Instead of having to commute to campus, you’re able to watch lectures in the comfort of your own home, anytime you’d like.

For me, this often leads to greater procrastination because of the lack of structure.

Furthermore, you’re working when you’re not studying, so classes might be the last thing you want to do some days.

Keep reading to find out what to do when motivation fades, and some practical tips to keep you afloat in your classes.

What to do when motivation fades

When I first returned to college online, I was so excited to finally be finishing my degree. I was more than willing to go the extra mile on my assignments, and I actually enjoyed it.

However, in my second semester doing this, I’m dreading my classes (especially Accounting).

One thing that’s important to remember is that even if you don’t do any school work, life still goes on. Burying your head in the sand will only work until an upcoming deadline lights a fire under your butt. (I’ve been there multiple times).

At this point, it’s discipline that comes into play. And I’m not talking about the ‘waking up at 4 in the morning’ discipline. I’m talking about the ‘opening your textbook’ 4x a week kind of discipline.

It’s really the little decisions like these that will serve you the most. And these decisions are the most realistic ones for us at the moment. Eventually, we may reach that level of 4am alarms, but, at least for me, I’m not there yet.

Anyways, if you’re at the point of dreading your online classes as a working student, here are some realistically helpful ways to help you keep drudging along, and even thrive the rest of your semester.

How to stay motivated in online classes as a working student

Put away distractions

I know you’re scrolling Instagram to procrastinate…I do it too. I’ve also been reading a lot, which most people in my life would say is abnormal.

The common denominator is escapism. Escaping from the difficulty by distracting ourselves with social media.

How do you know if you’re procrastinating? You feel this blaring alarm every time you’re not distracted that keeps beeping “paper, paper, paper” or “exam, exam, exam.” Then you try to drown out that noise by scrolling harder.

In other words, you’re running away.

The first step is to hide your phone somewhere out of sight. I ask my husband to hide mine. Then move on to the next steps.

Make it easy to start

Is your laptop stuffed behind your couch with your charger somewhere on the other side of the room? If so, it’s time to fix that.

You already don’t want to work on school work, so the fact that your materials aren’t in place is just another reason your brain thinks you shouldn’t start.

Set up your workspace with everything you need beforehand.

Maybe this means you have a snack to bribe yourself. Your laptop and charger are already plugged in. Shoot, maybe your class info is bookmarked on your browser!

While all of these things sound small, they add up. This is because by handling these barriers now, you reduce the amount of ‘activation energy’ required to get started on studying.

Another way to make it easy to start is to make your study space somewhere you want to be.

This might be decorating with some posters, setting up a candle, and keeping a blanket nearby. Don’t underestimate the power of the vibe of your environment to help you stay motivated with your online classes.

Make a deal to just “touch” the material

Don’t overcommit yourself. It never works. Instead, just agree to what I call ‘touch’ the material. And I don’t mean literally.

This means starting off by reading a sentence or two of your textbook. Or copying and pasting assignment instructions into a Word Document. Or making 5 flashcards.

The hardest part really is starting. Just by making a deal to spend 2 minutes on a class, you’ll often find yourself making more progress than expected. I often find that motivation comes back after I start working on my homework, and I believe you’ll find the same for yourself.

Find clarity in what exactly is demotivating you

Is the material boring? Are you afraid to study because it’s difficult? Or maybe you just don’t know where to start?

I’ve been in all 3 of these spots, and once you get to the root of the problem, then you can create a strategy to make studying more bearable.

If the material is boring, move down to the next section of this post for more tips.

If the class is difficult, figure out what’s so hard about it. Are you unaware of professor expectations? Do you feel like you can’t keep up?

At this point, I recommend reaching out to the professor for assistance, and/or looking up external resources about the topics you’re having trouble with. My favorite place is YouTube.

Make the learning process enjoyable

It’s easy to become weary of studying in online classes if what you’re learning isn’t interesting to you.

So, find ways to tie the topic back to something you’re curious about! For me in a business communications class, I was able to connect the topics I learned with things that have happened at my job.

If you’d like, you can also ask ChatGPT reasons why you should care about the topic, and find a rabbit hole to go down from there.

When you’re interested and engaged with a subject, it is much easier to maintain motivation and make time go by faster.

Find a study buddy

Although online classes allow for great flexibility, it can lead to loneliness as well.

I often find that doing something by myself, like video games, can deflate my motivation fast.

Recruit someone to study with, whether it’s a friend or a family member.

You can even just sit in the same room as someone else while you study. I like to do this with my husband. A coffee shop works as well.

I find that just being in the presence of someone makes studying so much easier.

An alternative is taking advantage of Study With Me videos on YouTube. These are videos of other people filming themselves studying.

Although it doesn’t feel the same as being around a human in-person, it is still an excellent option compared to studying by yourself.

Conclusion

In this post, we covered why motivation fades as a working student. We also covered ways to maintain discipline when taking online classes.

I hope these tips helped you, and make sure to join the email list below for more practical tips for working students.