Day 14 - Sunday, May 4th

Noon - 1:30 pm - Made final corrections to paper due at midnight

1:30 - 2:30 pm - Made final corrections to group paper due at midnight

5:00 - midnight - Worked on various assignments for classes and began preparing for finals

As you can see there are often times when assignments are due on the same day. I found the best way to prepare for this is keep on track through out the semester. Once you get behind it is very hard to get caught up.

Day 13 - Saturday, May 3rd

2:00 - 5:00 pm - Edited paper due tomorrow at midnight

5:00 - 5:30pm - Communicated with online group members about the next portion of our assignment which is due in one week

5:30 - 8:00pm - Caught up on readings and assignments for all classes

Day 12 - Friday, May 2nd

8:00 am - 5:30 pm - Work

9:30 am - Checked e-mail and discussion boards

6:15 pm - Checked e-mail and discussion boards

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Made my changes to my portion of the online group project which is due on Sunday

Day 11 - Thursday, May 1st

9:00 - 10:30 am - Planned out next semesters course schedule

10:30 - 11:00 am - Enrolled in classes for the fall semester (I am disappointed I won't have any online classes in the fall...I'll be finished with my communication minor and there aren't as many business classes offered online)

11:00 am - 1:30 pm - Finished HR paper!

1:30 - 2:30 pm - Made suggestions via the discussion board on my group members portions of our project

4:00 - 5:30 pm - SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) meeting

5:30 - 8:10 pm - Class

8:10 - 11:00 pm - Caught up on reading / assignments for my non-online classes

Day 10 - Wednesday, April 30th

When I woke up today I was a little nervous; today was sure to be a busy day finishing up my semester long paper for my HR (Human Resources) class as well as my rough draft for my online group project. To keep myself organized I made a list of everything I needed to have done for tomorrow.

9:00 am - Check e-mail and online discussion boards

9:30-10:45 am- Class

11:30 am - 3:30 pm - Work (Usually on Wednesday's I work until 5:30 or 6:00, but since I had so much to get done I asked if I could leave early.)

4:30 - 8:00 pm - Worked on individual paper for HR class...I'm almost done!

8:00 - 10:30 pm - Finished rough draft for group project

10:30 - 11:30 pm - Caught up on reading for various classes

Day 9 - Tuesday, April 29th

7:30 am - 6:00 pm - Work

10:00 am - Checked e-mail and online discussion boards

7:00 - 8:00 pm - Posted bi-weekly discussion post for online class

8:oo - midnight - Worked on individual paper for HR class that is due on Thursday

Day 8 - Monday, April 28th

Part 1 of our online group project was due last night at midnight, what a relief to have that handed in! Just one more part to go for that particular project.

It is sure to be a busy week! I have a 20 to 25 page paper due on Thursday (by far the biggest paper I've ever written) and another online group project due on Sunday as well as an another individual paper for my other online class due on Sunday as well.

9:30 - 10:45 pm - Class

11:15 am - 1:30 pm - Check e-mail, post to discussion boards, and get caught up on reading

1:30 - 2:00 pm - Lunch

2:00 - 4:30 pm - Work on HR paper (20-25 page paper) due on Thursday

4:30 - 5:30 pm - Readings for online class

5:30 - 8:10 pm - Class

8:30 - midnight - Check e-mail, post to discussion boards, answer group member questions and work on individual paper that is due on Sunday

Day 7 - Sunday, April 27th

Noon - 12:30 pm - Check e-mail and online discussion boards. (One of my group projects for my online class is due tonight at midnight so I wanted to check my discussion board for that class to see what changes my group members suggest I make to my part).

12:30 - 4:00 pm - Worked on individual paper for my Human Resources class (the paper is due Thursday)

4:00 - 5:00 pm - Worked online with group member to make a few final changes to our group project

As you will notice unfortunately weekends are not a vacation from homework. I use weekends to catch up on anything I got behind on the week before. This catch up time is cruical for my success in all of my classes, but especially my online classes.

Day 6 - Saturday, April 26th

I'd like to start off by saying I really wanted to go to the Brewer game today, but since I have so much to do I had to pass. It is hard to pass up opportunities like that, but I am trying to keep school my number one priority for the next few weeks!

10:30 am - 1:00 pm - Checked e-mail, responded to discussion board and read through my online group members parts of our project that is due tomorrow. (I find giving feedback in an online class to be especially difficult. Our only method of communication is e-mail and discussion boards and it can be difficult to tactfully critique someone using written communication. I have found taking my time time and choosing words carefully helps with this.)

1:00 - 1:30 pm - lunch

1:30 - 4:30 pm - Work on individual paper

6:00 - dinner with my roommate

Day 5 - Friday, April 25th

8:00 - 5:00 pm - Work

6:00 - 7:30 pm - Work on group projects for both online classes

7:30 - 8:30 pm - Work on individual paper that is due next week (at this point I am really starting to feel like I will never get this paper done!)

9:30 - I met some friends out

Day 4 - Thursday, April 24th

Thursdays are the days I use to get caught up. I don't have class until 5:30 pm so I have a lot of time stop in to my professors office hours, meet with groups and go to the library.

8:00 - 9:00 am - Check e-mail and online discussion boards, respond to online group member via discussion boards. By stage in our group projects we are each working on our individual parts and giving each other feedback. During this stage it is again crucial to stay connected with my groups members through e-mail and discussion boards.

9:00 am - noon - Went to the library to do research for one of my individual papers that is due next week.

noon - 1:00pm - lunch

1:00 - 3:00 pm - Work on group projects for online class (did research, started paper)

3:30 - 5:00 pm - Meet with other SHRM (Society For Human Resources Management) executives to decide 'game plan' for next year. Extra curricular activities take up a lot of a person's free time, but the activities are worth it. I've met so many people through SHRM (and it looks great on a resume).

5:30 - 8:10 pm - Class

9:00 - midnight - Worked on individual paper that is due next week

Day 3 - Wednesday, April 23nd

8:00 - 8:30 am - Check e-mail / online discussion boards

9:30-10:45 am- Class

11:30 am - 7:00 pm - Work

8:00 - 9:00 pm - Listen to lecture for online class / checked e-mail and discussion boards

9:00 - ? - Meet friends out for dinner (I've learned it is important to mix fun in with your studies and work...it makes for a good balance.)

Day 2 - Tuesday, April 22nd

8:00 am - 5:30 pm - Work

9:00 am - Check my e-mail and discussion boards for any new items. (I'm lucky, because I am able to periodically check my e-mail and discussion boards while at work, however this wouldn't be necessary to my success in my online classes.)

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm - Complete assignment for class (non-online class)

7:30 pm - 8:00 pm - Check e-mail and discussion boards. Tonight I responded to a few of my classmates on the D2L discussion board; we are currently working on putting together group projects in both of my online classes and we are in the process of deciding who will work on what; I've found communication is especially important during these phases of the project.

9:00 pm - 10:00 pm - Did online reading for online classes

10:00 pm - 10:45 pm - Worked on homework for classes (non-online classes)

As you can see having nearly continous availability to the Internet is necessary for success in an online class.

Monday, April 21st

9:30 am - 10:45 am - Class

11:00 am - 11:30 am - Check e-mail and online discussion boards. I've found it is absolutely necessary to check e-mail and online discussion boards at least once a day (whenever possible I try to do this in the morning and then again before bed).

11:30 am - 12:30 pm - I used this time to respond to my online groups on the discussion board. Currently both of my online classes are working in groups to complete a project. It is very difficult to work in a group with people you never see face-to-face so it is extra important to communicate as much as possible. The groups I am in rely mainly on communicating through online discussion boards.

12:30pm - 2:00 pm - I used this time today to do research for my online class project. Since it is a group project I had to not only look up the information, but also pass this on to my group members through online discussion boards and e-mail.

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm - I used this time to do homework for other classes.

5:30 pm - 8:10 pm - Class

9:00 pm - 10:30 pm - Homework

Tips

Before I begin taking you on a daily journey with me I want to give you a few tips on succeeding in an online class.

1. Start out organized

• When I start an online class I look closely as the syllabus and mark down ALL deadlines on my calendar
• Highlight deadlines and important information on the syllabus

2. Keep the syllabus near

• It is important to refer to the syllabus on a weekly basis to make sure you are meeting requirements and deadlines

3. Get to know your professor

• Although it is much harder to build a relationship with your professor make an effort by sending an email once or twice a month

Introduction

Hello! Let me take a little time to introduce myself. My name is Lindsey. I am a junior at UW-Milwaukee pursuing a degree in Human Resources Management and a minor in Communication. I am currently taking 15 credits, work between 25 and 30 hours a week and am the Vice President of UW-Milwaukee's Society for Human Resources Management chapter...needless to say I keep pretty busy.

Last semester I had my first online class, and enjoyed it so much I am taking two this semester. I like online classes, because they give me a little more flexibility in my schedule. This added flexibility lets me work more often(which I enjoy, but I think my employer enjoys even more).

Over the next two weeks I am going to share my daily activities with you.