Study in Australia

External students – make the library your lecture theatre

External courses allow a student to study without attending the university in person – great if you live in another country or another state. External study offers the promise of learning in the ‘comfort of your own home’.


But does it work?

If you’re one of those disciplined people who can sit down at your home computer and study, ignoring distractions such as the internet and the television, you might want to skip the rest of this article.

For normal students, the home is full of distractions, the assignments are always too hard, the lecture notes just aren’t captivating and you spend your study time doing things that might make you feel happier but which do little to advance your studies.


One answer is to become ‘disciplined’. Hah!

But here’s a strategy that may work for you as well as it has for countless others – make your local library your lecture theatre.

Libraries are great places. Apart from all those wonderful books and the helpful librarians, it is usually possible to find a quiet corner where you can set up your laptop and study. There will be other people walking around and possibly quite a bit of noise at times, however these distractions are remote, not directly related to you and thus easy to ignore. More importantly, the distractions that do relate to you, the television, your spouse, the kids having yet another fight, have all been left behind.

Removing yourself from your home makes it easier to focus on your study. You will achieve more within the same amount of time than if you’d stayed at home.

The act of leaving home and going to the library can feel like ‘going to uni’. It is an act of discipline that prepares you for study. If you set a routine such as going to the library at the same time each week, even using the same cubicle, you will find that you are ready to study as soon as you sit down.

Libraries are information centres ... but you knew that. Modern Australian libraries provide free, wireless internet access to their members so you can still access your university website, your lecture notes and still do the research that modern study demands. If you are overseas, your own local library may offer the same service.

Of course, your ‘uni’ need not be the library. For example, many cafés offer wireless internet and some internet providers have nodes available to the general public. All you need is somewhere to go.

Leaving home and going somewhere to work is a well known trick. Yes, it is a trick and the victim is yourself, but it works. If, like so many external students, you find it hard to get started on your study, pack up your laptop and ‘go to uni’.

Richard Spurling