Taking an online course can be overwhelming. How do you learn at your own pace and successfully achieve your goals?

Here are some general tips that can help you stay focused and on track:

#1: Set daily goals for studying

Ask yourself what you hope to accomplish in your course each day. Setting a clear goal can help you stay motivated and beat procrastination. The goal should be specific and easy to measure, such as “I’ll watch all the videos in Module 2 and complete the first programming assignment.” And don’t forget to reward yourself when you make progress towards your goal!

#2: Create a dedicated study space

It’s easier to recall information if you’re in the same place where you first learned it, so having a dedicated space at home to take online courses can make your learning more effective. Remove any distractions from the space, and if possible, make it separate from your bed or sofa. A clear distinction between where you study and where you take breaks can help you focus.

#3: Schedule time to study on your calendar

Open your calendar and choose a predictable, reliable time that you can dedicate to watching lectures and completing assignments. This helps ensure that your courses won’t become the last thing on your to-do list.

Tip: You can add deadlines for a Coursera course to your Google calendar, Apple calendar, or another calendar app

#4: Keep yourself accountable

Tell your friends about the courses you’re taking, post achievements to your social media accounts, or blog about your homework assignments. Having a community and support network of friends and family to cheer you on makes a difference.

#5: Actively take notes

Taking notes can promote active thinking, boost comprehension, and extend your attention span. It’s a good strategy to internalize knowledge whether you’re learning online or in the classroom. So, grab a notebook or find a digital app that works best for you and start synthesizing key points.

Tip: While watching a lecture on Coursera, you can click the “Save Note” button below the video to save a screenshot to your course notes and add your own comments.

#6: Join the discussion

Course discussion forums are a great place to ask questions about assignments, discuss topics, share resources, and make friends. Our research shows that learners who participate in the discussion forums are 37% more likely to complete a course. So make a post today!

#7: Do one thing at a time

Multitasking is less productive than focusing on a single task at a time. Researchers from Stanford University found that “People who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete one task at a time.” Stay focused on one thing at a time. You’ll absorb more information and complete assignments with greater productivity and ease than if you were trying to do many things at once.

#8: Take breaks

Resting your brain after learning is critical to high performance. If you find yourself working on a challenging problem without much progress for an hour, take a break. Walking outside, taking a shower, or talking with a friend can re-energize you and even give you new ideas on how to tackle that project.

Your Microsoft Azure learning journey starts now!

While preparing for the exam or working on achieving your learning goals we encourage you to:

Review the exam guidelines and skills measured as a starting point.

Work through each lesson in the learning pathway. Try not to skip any activities or lessons unless you are certain that you already know this information well enough to move ahead.

Take the opportunity to go back and watch a video or read the further information provided before moving on to the next lesson or module.

Complete all the quizzes, exam practice questions, and exercises. During the practice sessions, you have an opportunity to run through the questions again to make sure that you are satisfied with your progress.

Read the feedback carefully when answering quizzes or practice exams as this will help you to reinforce what you are learning.

Make use of the practical learning environment provided by the exercises. You can gain substantial reinforcement of your learning through the step-by-step application of your skills.