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Comment by aisofteng | Hacker News Reader

That "something" is that the vast majority of people need to be given structure by someone else. In the vast majority of cases, if you leave someone to do something by themselves for which there isn't a clear, short term benefit, that person will do nothing.

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But online courses do provide structure. And universities don't provide a ton of it (some more than others). It's up to the student whether to attend class at all, and whether and when to study - just as it is with an online class. The difference is the setting.

When I say "structure" in this context, I mean it to include a social and hierarchical structure as well - namely, others doing the same thing alongside you, and someone you have to report to. Without those things, most people don't have the discipline and/or interest to do much of anything.

What a university provides is worlds more than self paced or automated online classes, or even online classes where all interaction with others is text.

I'm not sure it's just structure, though. I think there's an aspect of social pressure, for instance.

I agree. Universities give clear structure and a sense of accomplishment when completing something. The structure part is really essential.

Wow this is the problem with me. You simplify it. So my next question is how to tackle this when there is no short term benefit? How you get motivate yourself?

Learn discipline. Nobody stops you from self-study but you.

If you can't do that, sign up at a university.

Not sure why this is being downvoted. Maybe it came off as harsh? Pushing yourself to continue studying when you've lost the motivation would certainly require discipline though.

I've considered signing up for classes before but instead I find coworkers or friends interested in the same subjects as me and we do online courses together. Groups are a helpful tool to keep you (and others) moving forward for sure.

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