Last Updated on October 12, 2025 by Alexandra Markin, Dip.Mgmt.St.
You’ve optimized your time, you’re motivated and you’re ready to go. How do you make sure you actually get the most out of your study sessions?
As an online bachelor of commerce student, I know staying productive can be challenging. When you’re studying from home it’s easy to get distracted or lose motivation, especially when your classroom is your laptop and and you have a mountain of laundry to do.
I’m here to share some of my favorite online college productivity tips to make studying from home feel a bit easier – and a lot more productive. They may seem simple, but research shows they add up to big results.
Productivity Tips for Online College Students
1. Gather the Right Tools
Just like how you pack essentials before a trip, study sessions benefit from the same approach.
Have you ever sat down to work only to realize you forgot a glass of water, your notes are in the other room or the one color of highlighter you need is missing? By the time you’ve tracked everything down, you’ve lost precious focus.
Set yourself up with everything you’ll need: materials, water, a comfy sweater – so you can immediately get in the zone and stay there. Small interruptions break your flow, while being prepared keeps your productivity high.
2. Overcome Resistance with Routine
Your brain loves patterns – use this to your advantage!
When you study at the same time each day, you train yourself to focus faster and waste less energy fighting procrastination. Research on self-regulated learning shows that routines like this help you stick to your goals and boost achievement.
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3. Set the Right Study Scene
Environment matters.
A quiet, well-lit space with minimal distractions sets you up for deep work. If you live with others, set boundaries by letting them know you’re in study mode. Or, if you’re like me and prefer to study in a busier environment sometimes, head to the library or coffee shop.
One quick interruption can make you lose your train of thought. Think of your study space as a productivity zone – and protect it.
4. Have a System
When you use structured approaches like weekly routines, checklists or digital planners, you’re more engaged and get more done.
Studies show that strong time management skills are directly linked to higher productivity and less stress. Try breaking assignments into smaller steps and giving each task a time slot.
When you’re an online student, winging it rarely works. Trust me on this one – I’ve tried it.
5. Don’t Procrastiplan
Planning is important, but over-planning can quickly become an excuse to delay real work.
Research on time management finds that students get more done when they spend less time preparing and more time acting. Sketch out a plan and then dive in. Your direction will sharpen as you go.
TIP: I know you want to make your Notion student dashboard as pretty as possible, but save the aesthetics for after hours.
6. Set “Early” Deadlines
Have you ever been given a week to finish an assignment that you thought would take much longer, but still somehow got it done?
Parkinson’s Law says that “work expands to fill the time available.” If you give yourself a whole weekend to finish a paper, it will take the whole weekend. But if you give yourself two focused hours, you’ll often surprise yourself. Setting personal deadlines creates healthy pressure and keeps momentum going.
In addition, if you set earlier deadlines for yourself rather than the “real deadline”, you’ll leave space for unforeseen circumstance like a case of the flu or a last-minute invite to a holiday party!
7. Gamify to Maintain Interest
Studying doesn’t have to be boring. Research on retrieval practice shows that testing yourself improves learning far more than rereading notes.
Why not turn it into a game? Challenge yourself with flashcards, set mini time trials or reward yourself for hitting milestones. Studies show that being engaged can help learning. A little fun goes a long way in keeping motivation up.
8. Reward Yourself
Pair hard tasks with enjoyable rewards. Telling yourself you can watch an episode of your favorite show after finishing an assignment makes the work feel lighter. Plus, you’ll enjoy your reward guilt-free knowing you’ve earned it.
A cup of coffee or tea can be a nice reward while you’re working, and the caffeine may benefit your productivity.
9. Schedule In Breaks and Rest
Have you ever been working on a jigsaw puzzle, unable to find the right piece for hours, then after walking away for a few minutes you return and find it right away?
Stepping away from a problem helps you solve it faster later – that’s your brain consolidating. Spacing out your study sessions with breaks and revisiting material later has been shown to dramatically boost retention.
Instead of powering through exhaustion, work in focused bursts and rest strategically.
10. Study with Others
I’ve experienced firsthand that online college can feel isolating, but finding friends and peers to engage with makes it less lonely.
Whether it’s a virtual study group or a buddy you check in with, studying with others keeps you engaged. Research on student engagement shows that collaboration and accountability help you stick with tasks longer and perform better.
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11. Study With Repetition
Want to actually remember what you learn? Forget cramming – science shows that spacing and repetition are far more effective.
Reviewing material across multiple sessions and quizzing yourself along the way builds stronger memory than one long study marathon. Short, repeated exposure is the key to long term learning and memorization.
12. Use Active Note-Taking & Summarizing
Don’t just passively highlight (otherwise known as passive learning).
Rewrite concepts in your own words, draw mind maps or use the Feynman Technique to explain them out loud as if you were teaching someone else. Actively processing information like this makes it stick far better than passive review – especially in tougher subjects like math.
13. Try the Pomodoro Technique
Long study marathons often lead to burnout.
Instead, try the Pomodoro Technique: you work in focused sprints of 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break. After 4 “Pomodoros,” take a longer break. This rhythm keeps your brain sharp and helps you maintain energy throughout the day.
This method is my go-to when I don’t feel like studying or need to get urgent work done.
14. Use Sleep as a Tool
Pulling all-nighters might feel productive at the time, but they actually hurt your memory and performance.
Sleep consolidates learning, meaning you’ll remember more if you get rest before your exam. Productivity isn’t just about time – it’s also about energy, and sleep is fuel for your brain.
As a mature learner in my 40s, I find I need to prioritize a good night’s sleep much more than I did when I first went to college in my late teens and 20s.
15. Prioritize High-Value Work First
Schedule your most important tasks first – also called “Eat the Frog.”
If there’s a tough assignment or big project looming, tackle it first when your energy is fresh. Getting it out of the way early not only boosts productivity but also relieves mental stress for the rest of the day.
Tired of putting things off? This no-fluff guide will cure your procrastination. It's quick to read, easy to follow and the 22 tips actually work - even if you’re a chronic “I’ll do it later” type.
16. Manage Digital Distractions
Phones, social media, and notifications can sabotage even the best study intentions.
Try using “focus” modes, productivity apps or leaving your phone in another room. Creating a distraction-free zone gives you back HOURS of focused work each week.
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17. Reflect and Self-Assess
At the end of each study session, take two minutes to reflect: What did you get done? What worked well? What could you adjust next time?
This tiny habit builds self-awareness and helps you continuously refine your study system, which is especially important for online learners.
18. Keep Work in Progress Low
Trying to juggle five assignments at once doesn’t make you more productive – it just divides your focus.
Studies link task-switching with reduced efficiency. Instead, finish one task fully before moving on. A clear checklist with single-task focus beats multitasking every time.
19. 80/20 Rule
Not all tasks are created equal.
The 80/20 rule (also called the Pareto Principle) says 80% of results often come from 20% of efforts.
Figure out which assignments, readings or practice problems will make the biggest difference in your learning and prioritize those first.
For example, re-doing practice questions in math courses matters much more than memorizating definitions.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Online college productivity isn’t about working harder – it’s about finding ways that help YOU work smarter.
By using evidence-backed strategies like routines, self-testing, time management and spaced repetition, you’ll get more done in less time while actually learning more deeply.
Which of these tips do you think will help you most? Share your thoughts below!
If you found this post helpful, sign up for my email list below and follow me on Instagram and Pinterest to join our online student community – you don’t have to go through your study journey alone!
