Find a place where you will be able to consistently work and study without distractions. If you plan to do classwork at home, make sure that you will not be distracted by family members or roommates while you're working. Cafes and coffee shops usually have consistent Internet access. Check with the owner to make sure that you are able to occupy a table for extended amounts of time. Libraries are a good option if you prefer to work in a quiet space. Many have desktop computers available for your use, which is helpful if you do not have a laptop. Many public parks offer free wifi. You may find it relaxing to study in the park, as long as there are no distractions nearby. As soon as you receive the course syllabus, write down the due dates for any important assignments, papers, and exams. Many online courses require online assignment submissions to be made by a certain time. If each weekly assignment is due at 5pm on Sunday, make sure to note this specific time so you can keep your assignment submissions organized. Use a paper planer or online calendar to keep all of your assignment dates organized and accessible. If you are taking more than one course at a time, create a master list that has each of your course assignment due dates listed. Each week, organize your schedule and make a priority list for assignments that are due that week. A study schedule will help you to stay organized as you progress through the course, and will help you manage your time efficiently. Be as detailed as possible in your schedule. Plan ahead and take in to account any outside commitments that you've made like vacations or doctors visits that will disrupt your normal schedule. Use the list of assignment due dates that you wrote down at the beginning of the course to set aside time to study for large exams and to complete projects or papers. Stick to the schedule that you set for yourself. You will need to follow your schedule to accomplish your coursework on time. Create weekly to-do lists that map out your assignment deadlines and required coursework. Take detailed notes for each of your class readings and lectures either by hand or in an online document. Be prepared to take notes during each online lecture. Organized and detailed notes will be your best study tools to prepare for exams. It can be tempting to zone out or not pay attention during online lectures since you aren't physically in a classroom, but taking notes can help you to avoid this temptation. Keep your notes in a centralized and organized space. If you take notes by hand, dedicate a large notebook or binder to holding all of your notes. If you take notes on your laptop, create an online file to hold all of your notes in one place. Your online course will have specific deadlines for assignments, just as any other class would. Always meet these deadlines and produce your best work on assignments. Online courses are great for independent learners since you are held accountable for your ability to follow a syllabus and meet deadlines outside of a physical classroom. You must reliably meet deadlines and turn in your work on time. Missing deadlines can have a large negative impact on your grade. Plan ahead if you know that you have a busy week coming up so you won't have to struggle to get your work done.
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One-sentence summary -- Set up a dedicated workspace. Make a list of course due dates. Create a study schedule. Take detailed notes. Meet course deadlines.

If you don't feel you can do this alone, ask a friend or family member to hold you accountable to reducing or stopping your news viewing. Having someone to help you adhere to your goals will provide you with a greater chance for success, especially if your obsession has been bugging them or interfering with your relationship. Alert your friends and family to the telltale signs you've been watching too much cable news, such as becoming easily agitated, paranoid, not answering the phone, panicked and restless. Make a point to check in with your family and friends. Don't wait for them to ask you how you are doing. Consider saying something like, "Hey, I wanted to check in with you to let you know how I'm doing with changing my news viewing habit." This will provide a lead in for them to feel comfortable to ask questions. Set a maximum amount of time that won't interfere with other activities. Typically 30 minutes of news can provide you with ample coverage; any more than that and it gets repetitive. Create a schedule of all your daily events. Include news reading, viewing or listening as a small portion of each day, and no more. Setting limitations and tracking your time on a daily schedule or planner will help you hold yourself accountable to your goal. Apply the same rules to internet news. Give yourself a chance to break your news addiction by limiting your online news reading to set times of the day. If you see headlines, don't click to go there unless it's during your allotted time. If you watch more than your allotted amount of news put money into the jar. The money will be given to your friend or family member. Or, it could be donated to a non-profit organization that helps people with addiction. This principle is similar to using a Cuss Jar when trying to stop a family member or yourself from cussing. Instead of cussing, the goal can be news watching. Pick an amount of money to insert into the jar for each violation. You can also get someone to agree to add money to the jar when you go an entire day without watching the news. All the money will go to a good cause. If it is filled with news about the latest sensational terrible event, you will hear the same information from 50 different sources across multiple electronic devices. Weed out the sources that are not at the top of your list. Limit yourself to 1-2 sources. Check in for updates infrequently unless you're actually in the epicenter of an unfolding issue and need real-time help. There are programs that will alert you when you have reached a limit on your viewing time. Also, you can use the program to block sites that are distracting you from your goals. The most effective outcomes result from allowing yourself some freedom to browse certain sites, and then self-determine what you want to block. So pick a time to review the sites you visit regularly and pick your top three. If you free up your time by reducing your news watching, there will be time to do it. If part of the problem is that you have too much time on your hands, try something new.Research indicates that if you have a hobby you will be healthier and less depressed. For example, take a class at the local community college, tackle a project you've had on your "to do" list for years or make a concerted effort to see friends and/or family members more often. Going cold turkey is one possibility, which is a successful technique for many people. Abstaining from seeking news will likely be challenging due to the constant influx of news that fills online, TV and radio channels. Divert your eyes and ears from news sources and focus on your work or an activity. A person can develop an addiction to many things. Abruptly stopping your news viewing is a valid method for recovery, but it has limited success. For example, although smoking is different than excessively watching the news, studies have shown that only 22% of smokers who attempt to quit cold turkey kick the habit.
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One-sentence summary --
Seek help from family and friends. Schedule a specific amount of time to watch news. Keep a money jar for lapses. Unsubscribe to news-heavy social media sources. Use online commitment devices. Get a new hobby or venture. Turn it off.