Staying Motivated as an Online Student

1. Make It About Ownership

Intrinsic motivation requires a sense of control, or autonomy, over what you're doing. That can be tough to find in online learning, where curriculum, meeting times, and deadlines are decided for you.

But there are things you do have control over:

• Why you are learning the material.
• Your beliefs about the material and how it can benefit you.
• Your level of interest in the material.
• What competencies you want to acquire.

The trick is to figure out what matters to you and create a learning experience around that.

For Porter, that means asking, "How will this material get me closer to a career I love? If I can identify that answer, I can decide what success looks like to me and what steps I will take to get there. It gives me ownership and motivates me to do good work."

2. Make It About Mastery

Once you've carved out some autonomy, you can shift your focus away from merely checking off tasks –– which can make online school feel like a series of chores –– and toward mastery goals instead.

That means setting goals to get better at things you care about and enjoy.

Are you in a web development class? Focus on learning to write elegant code. A marketing class? Concentrate on perfecting your pitch, or honing your storytelling skills.

Mastery goals facilitate long-term learning and increase intrinsic motivation. They create a satisfaction loop: That great feeling you get from developing competence motivates you to set a new mastery goal and rise to the next challenge.

"It can be easy to lose your drive if you're only focused on grades and participation points," said Meredith.

"But when I was in my online program, I understood that I also needed mastery of very specific objectives. I went into each class determined to identify those objectives and get everything out of them I could.

"Ultimately, that's what kept me focused and productive when everyone else was losing steam."

3. Make It About Relationships

Another solid intrinsic motivation hack? Make friends.

Research shows that even very basic feelings of connectedness raise student motivation and persistence dramatically –– in one experiment, by 70%.

As an online student, connecting can be as simple as emailing classmates to commiserate over an assignment or taking advantage of your instructor's online office hours.

Relationship building online can take time, said Porter, but it pays off. "There are a lot of people in my classes this quarter who I've met before. It's starting to feel like a community; there is real accountability."

She has taken her own quest for community a step further by joining a Black student group online.

"It's easy to feel disconnected when you don't see people who look like you very often," said Porter. "Coming together with this group over Zoom has helped a lot. It makes me proud to be at this school, to be part of something. I'm more motivated to succeed."

Social connection increases happiness, and happiness is a major indicator of academic success. So reach out, meet people, and prioritize happiness in your online learning journey.