How to Choose and Actually Finish an Online Course
These days, there are so many online courses available to help us learn new skills or improve the ones we already have. Often, we find a course that looks exciting. We start it with full motivation, but after a few days or weeks, we lose interest, get distracted, or jump to another course.
This happens to a lot of people and it’s not always your fault. Sometimes the problem is with the course itself, sometimes with how we approach it. I’m a frontend developer and have taken many courses (you can even see some of them on my LinkedIn). After lots of trial and error, I’ve created a simple strategy that helps me stay focused and actually finish what I start.
Let me share it with you:
1. Check the Course Length
This is the most important factor for me. I always try to pick short courses that I can finish in 1 to 3 weeks. Long courses can be overwhelming and exhausting.
Also, remember:
A 4-hour video course doesn’t mean it only takes 4 hours to complete.
You’ll need extra time to:
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Take notes
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Pause and understand concepts
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Do exercises or projects
A 4-hour course might take 10–20 hours of actual work. Now imagine a course with 50 hours of content , it could take months! So, focus on smaller courses. This way, you get quick wins and stay motivated.
2. Pick One Course at a Time
Trying to complete multiple courses at once can lead to burnout and unfinished lessons.
Instead:
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Choose one course
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Focus all your energy on it
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Enjoy the feeling of finishing something!
That small success will boost your confidence and keep you going.
3. Build a Daily Routine
Set a specific time every day to work on your course. For example:
📅 “Every day at 7 PM, I’ll study for 1 hour.”
If you’re busy, even 15–30 minutes a day is enough. The key is consistency.
And if you miss a day? That’s okay. Just make sure you don’t miss two in a row. Restart and keep going!
Final Thoughts
We all know that finishing a course is hard. But with the right strategy and routine, it becomes much easier. I hope these tips help you like they helped me.
If you have more ideas or methods that work for you, feel free to share them in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
Have a great time learning and don’t just start courses, finish them too! 💪
