In March 2020 schools in Austria temporarily closed and switched to distance learning to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The resulting situation posed great challenges to teachers, guardians and students (Huber and Helm 2020). Research has shown that perceived competence (Deci and Ryan 2000) affects selfregulated learning (SRL), intrinsic motivation and procrastination, however few studies have considered these variables in context of distance learning among adolescents. This study investigated differences in students who perceived themselves as high vs. low in competence with respect to these constructs. In an online questionnaire, 2652 Austrian secondary school students answered closed questions regarding SRL, intrinsic motivation and procrastination as well as open-ended questions about challenges, successes and need for support in distance. Structural equation modeling was applied for the quantitative analysis which was complemented by thematic analysis for the qualitative questions (Braun and Clarke 2006). Results showed that students who experienced themselves as highly competent use SRL strategies (goal setting and planning, time management, metacognitive strategies) more often and are more intrinsically motivated than students with lower perceived competence. They also procrastinate less. Furthermore, qualitative analysis revealed that although all students face similar challenges (e.g., independent learning, time and task management, learning on the computer, lack of contact with teachers and peers), students who perceived themselves as highly competent seemed to cope better, and have less need for support. Implications for distance learning and future research are discussed. Supplementary Information: The online version of this article (10.1007/s11618-021-01002-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.