How to set boundaries
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How to Finally Finish the Online Courses You Bought
Do you have a graveyard of online courses sitting in your inbox? Workshop replays you meant to watch, summit recordings you never opened, a course you bought with the best of intentions and haven’t touched since? If you’re nodding along, you are so not alone — and there’s a real reason it keeps happening. In this episode, I’m sharing three simple, foolproof steps to help you finally finish online courses you’ve already invested in, so you actually get the outcome (and the money’s worth) you were after in the first place.
Key Takeaways
- Make every course and resource you own visible in one place instead of buried in your inbox
- Prioritize which one to start with — and give yourself permission to let go of the ones that no longer apply
- Separate the learning from the doing so you stop waiting for a mythical block of free time that never shows up
- Multitask the learning portion of concept-based courses, and protect a separate time block for hands-on implementation
Why We Buy Courses and Never Open Them
Before we get to the steps, it’s worth understanding why this happens in the first place — because it’s not a willpower problem. There’s actually a psychological reason behind it. Researchers who study something called symbolic self-completion have found that when we acquire a symbol connected to a goal — buying the course, signing up for the summit, telling a friend about our plan — it can create a sense of progress toward that goal, even before we’ve done a single thing with it. Our brain registers the purchase itself as a step toward becoming the person who has that skill or habit, and that little hit of “progress” can actually lower our drive to go do the real work.
So when you buy a course or register for a summit, some part of your brain checks it off as progress, even though nothing has actually changed yet. Knowing that is the first step to working around it.
Step 1: Make Your Courses Visible
The first move is to create a dedicated place to track every course or resource you’ve purchased or signed up for — what I call an Education Library. Mine started as a Trello board organized like a kanban board, with a column for each focus area in my life: business finances, social media, working with a virtual assistant, and so on. Every time I bought a resource, I’d add a card with the course logo, the login website, my username, my password, and a quick description — usually copy-pasted straight from the confirmation email.
You don’t need Trello to do this. A Google Doc works just as well, which is exactly why I created a simple course tracker you can grab here. This week, set a 15- to 30-minute timer, go through your inbox, and pull every course confirmation email into one place where you can actually see it.
Step 2: Prioritize What to Start With
Once everything is visible, ask yourself a few questions: Which resource would give me the most immediate relief for my biggest problem? Which one would I actually enjoy? Which one would be quickest to get through? It doesn’t matter which approach you use — what matters is having a reason behind where you start, because that reason is what keeps you motivated to follow through.
You may also notice courses in your list that no longer apply to where you’re headed. Consider this your permission slip to let those go. You don’t have to carry the weight of unfinished courses that no longer serve you.
Step 3: Separate the Learning From the Doing
This is the step that changes everything. Getting value from a course actually requires two very different actions — the learning and the doing — and they need two different time slots.
For the learning, multitask, especially for concept-based lessons (topics, methods, mindsets). Pop in your earbuds and listen while you fold laundry, load the dishwasher, or go for a walk. Technical lessons — the kind with small, intricate steps you need to follow along with in real time — are the exception, and those deserve focused, sit-down time.
For the doing, build a separate, recurring time block into your week. Once you’ve already done the learning, most exercises only take ten to fifteen minutes to complete. Treat that block like a meeting with yourself, and don’t skip it.
Episode Links and Resources
- Get the Free Education Library Course Tracker
- It’s About Time Academy
- Apply for a Free Time Management Coaching Session
Related Episodes
- Ep. 277 – The Science of Getting Things Done: How to Get 2 Hours Back Into Your Workday No Matter How Busy You Are with Leslie Shreve
- Ep. 237 – Declutter Your Digital World: How to Save Time and Stay Organized ft. Shawn Lemon
- Ep. 242 – Love Where You Live: How to a Create and Maintain an Organized and Clutter Free Home with Shannon Acheson
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