Welcome!
No matter where you are in your educational journey—preparing to start, or pushing to finish the last semester—chances are you may be feeling exhausted, confused, overwhelmed, or frustrated with school. Trust me, my friend, I’ve been there.
Can I just say from the start that college/university is tough?!?
And it should be. (sorry…you were hoping I would tell you that was a myth, right?)
A degree isn’t just an expensive piece of paper. For many, it is the key to a better future. My college degrees opened doors for me to do work I am passionate about and support my family financially. Those opportunities would not have been available without my degree.
You are working to change your future and you may be feeling stuck right now and chasing your elusive motivation.
I’m excited to work with you on this journey to get unstuck and make progress!
Let’s get Unstuck together!

If we haven’t met already, I’m Jessica Shields, a college professor and founder of College Study Smarts. My goal is to take the mystery out of college by sharing tips to help you be productive with your study time and stay motivated to keep working towards your degree.
My entire life has been spent in the educational system testing strategies out and learning how to be a kick-ass student. I graduated Summa Kum Laude (highest honors) with my Bachelor’s degree and went on to earn a terminal degree while working a full-time job.
It wasn’t always easy, but it was so worth it!
After finishing both of my degrees I continued in higher education teaching college students both in the classroom and online. These days I work with online students who are working full time while earning a degree. I understand the challenges students are up against (hello, I was there in the trenches at one point).
When I am not teaching courses and writing about college success, you will find me hanging out with my husband and daughter, snuggling my pup, and reading lots of great books.
If you hang around College Study Smarts, you’ll learn a few things that I believe…
- You don’t have to study 8 hours a day to do well in your online courses.
- Trying to study for 3 or 4 hours straight rarely works. (and by “works”, I mean you should be getting killer results from it)
- Awesome time management strategies run your life on auto-pilot, leaving your brain free to do the hard work of studying.
- True motivation always begins with what you are thinking.
- We can change our thinking and create lasting inner motivation + awesome results.
- Every student can be successful in college! This includes YOU.
You + College Study Smarts = perfect match?
College Study Smarts provides study strategy, motivation, and time management tips to help online students kick-ass. Specifically, this site is for…
- Online students feeling lost and overwhelmed trying to work through courses on their own.
- Adults going back to college and graduate school while working and raising families.
- College students feeling unprepared for the rigor of college-level courses and needing some strategies to result in better grades.
- Discouraged college and graduate students who are committed to better grades but aren’t sure how to earn them.
If this sounds like a good fit for you, get started by gaining access to my resource library full of goodies to help you set a study schedule and implement core study skills:
One more thing…
Regardless of your natural talent or skills for studying, if you practice the right approaches you can become a better student. (p.s. find out what it really takes to be successful in college)
Pass more exams.
Earn better grades.
Finally, obtain your college degree. Yes!
The key to making these dreams a reality is to apply the strategies discussed on this site. If you work through the strategies, keep what helps you and discard what doesn’t, you will see results.
Sign up for the free 7-Day Study challenge and follow me on Pinterest and Facebook.
Ready for Some Tips?
To get a feel for what I am all about, check out some of the most popular posts by topic:
How you approach college study (read these first)
Motivation and Mindset
- FREE 7-Day Study Challenge
- Stop Feeling Overwhelmed and Get Motivated
- Stop Sabotaging Yourself and Reach Your Goals
[…] welcome college professor Jessica Shields, who also runs collegestudysmarts.com, to share her considerable wisdom on how to be productive and stay motivated with your studies. […]