It all depends on your work/life schedule, but for me, I have been successful at meeting my learning goals when I do two things:
- Set aside a discrete amount of time for coursework, and stick to it as much as possible
- Do SOMETHING in the course at least once per week, even if it's just watching one video
For the last course (or Udacity Nanodegree in my case) that I completed, I set up this schedule to fit my work/life (I have an infant):
- Watch course videos/do in-class exercises for 2 hrs on 1-2 days after work or during lunch break each week. My goal was to complete all the course videos that went with a project, so that I would be able to do 1 project per weekend. For longer/more complex topics, I would have to stretch this to one project per 2 weeks.
- Complete 1 project every weekend while my baby napped (total 3hrs per weekend day). I usually was able to complete the project during this allotted time, but sometimes had to work at night after putting baby down.
With the above schedule, I was able to complete my program within 3 months, which was slightly ahead of the program's recommended schedule.
You may need to adjust the schedule as you go (life happens) but the main thing is to KEEP GOING, and do your best to visit the classroom and do something - anything - at least once per week.
- Set aside a discrete amount of time for coursework, and stick to it as much as possible
- Do SOMETHING in the course at least once per week, even if it's just watching one video
For the last course (or Udacity Nanodegree in my case) that I completed, I set up this schedule to fit my work/life (I have an infant):
- Watch course videos/do in-class exercises for 2 hrs on 1-2 days after work or during lunch break each week. My goal was to complete all the course videos that went with a project, so that I would be able to do 1 project per weekend. For longer/more complex topics, I would have to stretch this to one project per 2 weeks.
- Complete 1 project every weekend while my baby napped (total 3hrs per weekend day). I usually was able to complete the project during this allotted time, but sometimes had to work at night after putting baby down.
With the above schedule, I was able to complete my program within 3 months, which was slightly ahead of the program's recommended schedule.
You may need to adjust the schedule as you go (life happens) but the main thing is to KEEP GOING, and do your best to visit the classroom and do something - anything - at least once per week.