A big tip I like to give new students, or people whom are thinking of entering online study, is to find like-minded people to talk to.

A way to reinforce what you have learned is by talking or 'teaching' others. This can be hard if you study via distance, especially if your new to it and haven't met you 'online family'. 

I'm pretty lucky, my work environment has a lot of uni students around me so I take advantage of the situation. I will talk to friends of mine at work listening to the things they have learnt, the ways they study and then in return I 'teach' them of the new facts I have learnt- like a test of sorts, testing myself to see how much I remember. 

It might not seem like much, this tip, but ultimately you can gain so much more: reinforcement, friendship and motivation are just some. 

In the end finding your study niche can be hard but studying alone can be harder.

What are some of your techniques to help you study?

Inspiration

One of the biggest questions I get regarding correspondence study is:

"How do you stay motivated?"

I could talk about this topic a lot, and there are many different components to staying motivated one of which is inspiration.

Everyone is different and truthfully it has taken me to better part of two years to figure out what motivates me but I do know what/whom inspires me.

Here are a list on website/blogs that inspire me:

Levo League: A website dedicated to giving advice to career driven women. I love this website so much, reading this makes me so excited to become qualified http://www.levoleague.com/home

College Prep: This blog is so much fun to read. A young New Yorker finding her place after college learning all of the pitfalls and climbing the successful ladder. http://www.thecollegeprepster.com

TED: ideas worth spreading: A collection of videos from speakers all over the world, subjects range from poetry to brain surgery. So many interesting stories its hard to pick which video to listen to first. http://www.ted.com

Here's a clip of my favourite TED conference:

These websites help to keep me grounded and excited about my future but they also highlight the need to stay focused in the present.

What inspires you?

Family

Today (and for the next three hours) is my little sister's 20th birthday.

She is so beautiful. : )

I feel old. : /

Yeah, yeah, yeah I'm only 25, I should not be whining about my age although every time one of my siblings gets another year older or reaches a milestone I start to feel old.

My 22 year old sister is having a baby this year, while it is the most exciting and beautiful event ever, it is hard (as the eldest) not to feel jealous/scared/old, especially when people wonder when it will be my turn.

It's at this time I have to remind myself that I have taken the long and tiresome road of university, whilst my siblings and others are partying/having babies/getting married/ travelling/all round being awesome I am at home textbook bound, stareing wide-eyed at the computer screen wondering WHY?

Why did I choose to study? why do I care about my results? Why can't I just be satisfied with a job at McDonalds....Now I feel better!

There are days where I question my choices and the there are times when I can see the bigger picture, its blurry, but there I am qualified. Me.

Going back to school has been the hardest yet most rewarding decision I have ever made.

What's been a powerful decision in your life?

Welcome...back

It's the end of the first week of a new semester.

Textbooks are yet to be properly cracked open, motivation is high(ish) and faces are fresh.

Unless you study via correspondence.

Textbooks are still the same and motivation is still somewhat high but the look of a fresh faced student or a slightly unorganised professor is replace with user-names and blank computer screens.

*notice the stress ball/rubber band ball? procrastination at its best :)

Welcome back to study from afar.

I've been studying this way for 3 years; and just like with anything else there are pro's and con's (far too many of both to list in one post) but the biggest pro is the experience I can impart with other's undertaking or thinking of online study.

Happy study!