3 semesters ago, I took organic chemistry 1 and came out with a C and a very discouraged version of myself. A semester later, I started organic 2 and had to withdraw due to several things (check out my other post!) making myself even more discouraged. 2 months ago, I started organic 2, again, and was absolutely terrified of the fact that it was online but I decided that I wasn't going to let that affect me! Last night, I got my final grade for the class and I got an A! Let me tell you: it was a lot of hours, sweat, and tears put into it. But I'm here to give you any helpful tips that I have!
If you've taken any other gen chem courses or even organic 1, you may have been able to get through it with memorization and just learning enough to pass (I know this because its what I did). But organic 2 is a different story. Learn the concepts and know the reagents. Every chapter/unit builds off of each other and you will get behind if you plan on "learning that later."
In order to learn the reagents, make a flowchart and/or learn the mechanisms, forwards and backwards. You will only cheat yourself if you just memorize what happens for one reaction. Many reagents are similar to others and do the almost the same thing. You need to be able to identify exactly whats happening and whats going to happen.
Practice, practice, practice! I can not stress this enough. I didn't do this in organic 1 and my grade clearly reflects that. Most of the times, professors will use practice problems from the textbook and put it in your exams. I found that having the solutions manual for my textbook was very helpful but don't just look at the answer and move on. Understand why the correct answer is correct and why the wrong answer is wrong.
USE ALL YOUR RESOURCES! ESPECIALLY THE FREE ONES!! I spent a lot of time watching old lecture videos from my professor and youtube videos from The Organic Chemistry Tutor. These youtube videos helped me a ton! Especially since my class was asynchronous and I didn't actually have lecture. I also spent a lot of time looking at MOC Summary Sheets, Kaplan MCAT book, old organic 1 notes, and summaries from my textbook. Use your resources. They are there to help you!
Find your way of "taking notes" and stick to it! Personally, I need to write everything down otherwise it goes in one ear and out the other. My boyfriend, on the other hand, can just listen to something or read it and understand and writing notes isn't as helpful for him. Find your way of "taking" notes and whatever sticks, take it to the grave. Don't try and switch up halfway through. You will spend more time trying to figure out how you want to learn than actually learning.
Just be confident in yourself and don't beat yourself up. When I was having a hard time learning something, I would get so annoyed and think that I couldn't do it and then I would waste my time being mad and frustrated. But once I took a deep breath and looked at the material with a fresh mind, it was amazing how fast I could understand or at least begin to understand. Just breath. It will all be okay in the end and if its not okay yet, then its not the end. You can do it!