Motivation is the key to your success.
Sometimes it can be hard to start a project. Many of you taking Paths at OpenClassrooms also have full-time jobs, family obligations, and personal responsibilities that make online learning one more ball to juggle in the air. In order to avoid dropping those juggling balls, motivation is critical to your success.
The most important thing to motivate yourself is to remember your goals:
- Why are you pursuing a Path at OpenClassrooms?
- Is it the value of learning, the potential of opening new employment opportunities, opening more doors for your family, or fulfilling a lifelong goal?
- What do you hope to achieve when you have completed your Path?
All of these are questions that speak directly to valuable motivation. Remembering why you began your Path can help motivate you as the projects become more complex and challenging.
Another way to get motivated is to find community. The Slack community is a great way to remind yourself why you are working so hard to finish your Path.
- Post a status about why you are here and see who responds!
- Share an article about your chosen field, or ask for advice on how to feel motivated after a long day.
- You’ll be surprised at the diversity of answers that come your way from peers, mentors, and others working at OpenClassrooms!
Many people struggle with procrastination, especially at the beginning of a project before you have had the opportunity to gain some momentum. If this sounds like you, consider switching your procrastination around as a reward! Instead of starting your project “after just one more episode,” reward yourself by setting yourself a small, achievable goal and then watching your chosen episode after it is done.
Breaking down your projects to step-by-step basics can be particularly useful in organizing your time and ensuring that you make steady progress! Consider the “15-minute method.”
- Evaluate your project or course and create a to-do list in 15-minute increments
- For Example: read one lecture; watch a video; take a quiz.
- Completing one task builds momentum that can allow you to move on to another task, take a break, or treat yourself to a reward.
If you do this, you will then be able to tick off one task after another in between other projects of the day instead of waiting for a larger block of four hours and getting discouraged when life never offers you four hours of free time!
Once you have your fifteen-minute blocks, you can then reward yourself with whatever makes you happy: seeing friends, having a cookie, watching that episode of television, or going for a walk. By flipping procrastination around, it becomes a way to reward your productivity instead of hindering it!