Your schedule is packed to the gills and between juggling your work deadlines, home life, social life, and slight Instagram addiction, it feels like there’s time for nothing else – am I right?

But if you’re like me, you have a thirst for learning and knowledge as well as for both personal and professional development. Enter ONLINE COURSES. Online courses can be a great way to learn a new skill or to gain expertise.

Unlike a traditional, in-person workshop, seminar, or full-blown course, they offer a lot of benefits:

• They’re generally more flexible in terms of when you can complete modules, homework, etc.
• Because of this flexibility, they’re very convenient and accessible
• They take less time as you don’t need to travel anywhere to attend in-person lessons
• They’re also more cost-effective – online courses are often more affordable than in-person classes, plus you’ll save on all the expenses associated with going to an in-person class (like gas, parking, eating out, childcare, etc.)

Online courses also offer many intangible benefits. They:

• Promote self-discipline
• Encourage lifelong learning
• Help you to boost your confidence and knowledge

And of course the main benefit is that online courses can equip you with real-world skills in a wide range of topics taught by an even wider range of experts. There’s almost nothing you can’t learn online these days. Whether you want to augment your work skills by improving your copywriting, learning programming, understanding SEO, diving into design, or communicating strategically, or perhaps upgrade your personal life with a course on photography, public speaking, mind mapping, or meditation, there’s truly something for everyone. Check out MOOC.org, Coursera, the Khan Academy, Stanford Online, Udemy, and Lifehack to get started.

However, nothing is all good. Online courses also have some disadvantages. They:

• Require good time management skills
• Make it easier to procrastinate
• May leave you feeling isolated
• Require you to be independent and an active learner
• Require you to be responsible for your own learning
• Give you a lot of freedom (which can also be an advantage, but there’s definitely such thing as too much freedom!)

So before you sign up for an online course, consider these factors and be honest:

• Are you self-motivated enough to do a self-directed course?
• Do you prefer working/learning independently, or in a group setting?
• What kind of accountability works best for you? Accountability to yourself, or to others?
• Do deadlines help you achieve your goals, or create more stress?

Once you’ve honestly assessed your aptitude for online learning, you have a few choices. You can go for it, and sign up for a course that piques your interest. You can pass, and wait until the time feels more right. Or you can find a course that suits your learning style. For example, some courses offer more freedom in terms of the time you can take to work through the course, while others provide a stricter schedule, with live classes and Q&A periods. Some courses may require completely independent work, while others take a more collaborative approach where you’ll be put into a group, which will require you to be more accountable and which can help you to actually complete the course. So figure out which style suits you best, and go for it! There’s so much to learn and discover.

Have you taken an online course? If so, what was your experience? Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, and let me know!