How My Online MBA Taught Me How to Learn (and Work) Better

It is no secret that technology has (and will continue) to change how we work. Broad access to Wi-Fi and more powerful laptop computers are also allowing us to change where we work, with millions now working from home or connecting with cross-site teams every day.

Remote working is also taking off in education. Dozens of universities now offer degree programs online to engage with students who do not have the means or the time to relocate for full-time, in-person programs. One such university is the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, where I am currently pursuing my MBA, despite being located in Charlotte, NC. The keys to solving some of the challenges posed by learning remotely have been as valuable in my work life as they are in my education.

Cross-site communication is key

Working with classmates remotely can perhaps be the most challenging aspect of an online MBA, just as working remotely with coworkers can make a work project vastly more difficult. Members of group projects may be located hours apart and possibly in different time zones. They may be unfamiliar with each other and therefore unused to each other’s working styles. Working through an online MBA has shown me how critical communication is to completing projects on remote teams.

In order for communication to be successful, it must be consistent and accessible to everyone in the group. My most successful project groups decided on one main method for intermittent communication (email, texting, chat apps) and one for meetings (conference call, Skype, Zoom). Whatever mode of intermittent communication, it should be easily accessible to the whole team at any time. This allows decisions to be made quickly and allows for rapid mobilization if there is an issue with the submission of deliverables. Remote meetings work best when information can be shared in real time along with verbal communication.

A remote workspace should still be a workspace

Instagram is chock-full of photos of alluring scenes of remote offices in chic coffeehouses. As exciting as working in a coffeehouse (or at a park or at the beach) may be, they are only a great workspace if they are compatible with your working style. I personally have a difficult time accomplishing work with the distractions of a noisy coffeehouse and the bustle of people coming and going. Instead, I embrace the serenity of the quiet room at the local public library and the campus library of a local university. These places provide me with the free Wi-Fi, bathrooms, and absence of distractions that I need to be the most productive.

I have since parlayed this realization about my preferred working atmosphere to my job. Instead of just grabbing the closest space in communal hubs or the cafeteria for meetings, I am conscious about finding meeting rooms where I can offer my full attention to my coworkers. I also find that coming in before my coworkers (or staying after them) provides me a quiet office to accomplish some of my most attention-intensive work.

Actively engage in the learning process

So often during my undergraduate career, I was expected to simply show up to lectures and take notes, read a textbook, and then regurgitate the material back on an exam or in a paper. Launching into a new career right out of my undergraduate program, I expected on-the-job training to be as simple as that. My new hire training was fairly structured, but further career development is rarely so straightforward.

Any good graduate degree requires its students to take charge of the learning process for themselves. An online program takes it even further because professors and classmates are not physically present to engage in conversations about lectures or course material. I have found that learning, both in the classroom and in the office, requires understanding what resources you have at hand and then actually taking advantage of them. That might mean accessing databases through the university’s library or reaching out to coworkers who are subject matter experts. While accessing these resources may take more effort, knowing how and where to access new information makes continuous learning possible.