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One of the most common difficulties that online college students have, besides not being disciplined enough to study and do their work on time, is staying focused on their studying during study time. Sometimes it’s your own attention wandering (no matter how hard you try to stay focused, and how determined you are to do your work ahead of time), and sometimes it’s other people.

Attending an online class goes along the same principals that freelance workers encounter: when you’re home all the time, your family and friends may assume your study time is actually free time. They may not look at your work — in this case, your homework — as something “real” and “valid” because you don’t attend the class in person, and so they won’t leave you be during studying time.

In other cases, your own self-discipline seems to be the problem. Not a lack of self-discipline — too much of it. While some people respond well to urging themselves to finish their work until they do it, others may truly desire to do their work, but the harder they push themselves the more of a block they seem to create to them actually completing the work. This latter group, not surprisingly, are the majority, and also the ones who tend to be the biggest procrastinators.

To stay focused while studying, turn off all other distractions, such as your cell phone, instant messengers, television, and any internet windows not related to your homework. Then relax, maybe put on some music, and just look at the assignment for what it is: one little assignment. You can do it in no time.