Time Management
How should I organise my time?
Organizing your time at university is very important, because you have a lot of free time (so-called free time), but it really is independent learning. So you really need to be able to use your time effectively. You'll need to look at the time frame across the semester. So what are the key milestones in a semester, in terms of your coursework or any assignments you'll have to do? You then need to look at your time with regard to a particular course: what do you need to do in a particular course? Where do you need to be in the timetable? Where are you Monday? Where are you Tuesday? What time on Monday and Tuesday? You need to organize that and make sure you are there. And then at a sort of a to-do-list level, you need to work out, what do I need to do today, in order for me to achieve these other milestones? Your to-do list is the thing that you tick-off in order to achieve those milestones. If you can't work on your to-do list, you'll probably fail on those other milestones. If you want to find out more about how your relationship with time is personally, it may be a good idea to look at the chapter on the effective study skills book, by Pearson's, that myself and a colleague, Geraldine Price, have written.
How much time should I devote to study?
How much time should I set aside for social or leisure activities?
When you're at University, you need to consider not only your studies as part of your time management, but also socializing and your hobbies. So when you start thinking about how much time you need to spend on one or the other, it will depend on where you are in the course. So you may find right at the beginning in year one, you'll socialize a lot more than if you're at the end of the course in year four or year three. So you really need to know what are the demands made on me for my studies at a particular time and balance that out with your socializing. It's always a balance and you need to know how much time you can spend on one or the other.
How much time should I dedicate to each module?
Now each of these modules, units, or courses, have a number of credits attached to them. So if you're on a ten credit unit, that would mean you'd have to spend, or you're expected to spend, around about 100 hours of learning. And that's the rough guide for working out how much time you need to spend. And only a small proportion of that 100 hours or learning will be face-to-face with your tutors, the rest of it will be for you alone.
How can I use the time between lectures effectively?
How can I make the most of a study period?
You need to make the most of your free study period time. One of the first things you need to do is work out where you study best. Are you happier in a quiet room, with a clear desk? Or, are you happier working on the kitchen table, or on the floor, with music? Some people like to have a lot of noise around them. Some people like to have a lot of people around them. And, that's why some like to work in the library, because they can feel people are there, and people are walking around. Others want to be entirely on their own, with no noise and no clutter. So, the first thing you need to do is work out "How do I best learn?", and then make sure that your learning environment is optimal for you.
Should I spend more time studying for difficult subjects?
You probably want to know if you need to spend more time on difficult subjects. And the answer would be: Yes, you will. However, you shouldn't neglect the other subjects. If you are having problems with a particular subjects, the best thing to do is to talk to friends. Because if you are having problems and they are having problems too, it might be worth forming a group and just working through sort of problems or issues. If you can't really solve it that way, then you really need to go to tutor and ask for some help. And the tutor can also have an assistant, a post-graduate assistant that you can ask as well. So find out where the help is, but first try your friends.
Should I change topics during a study period?
Changing topics during a study period will depend on how you learn. If you are a multi-tasker and you like having lot of balls in the air and switching to different things all the time, then changing topics is fine because it actually keeps you on your toes and keeps you active. You may be the opposite of that, what I call a linear-tasker, when you need to start something and finish it before you start the next thing. You need to know what kind of learner you are. Are you a multi-tasker or are you a linear-tasker? And once again if you like to look at the book “effective study skills” by Pearson, there is a chapter on that and you can start to identify how you can work on these areas.
How can I ensure I hand my assignments in on time?
Handing your assignments in on time is very important. If you don't do that, you may find that you're penalized. You need to really organize the key assignments that you have and the time frame (when you have to hand them in) well ahead of time. You need to get that in your diary and you need to work back from those deadlines. If you don't do that, you're going to miss the deadlines and you're going to be penalized.
How can I avoid last minute panic before deadlines?
Many students have last-minute panics before their deadlines of their coursework. And, of course, the answer is because you haven't planned your work, haven't time-managed, and haven't put the deadlines into your diary and worked backwards to see when you've got to do what at what particular time. And the only way around this is working out in advance when you've got these deadlines and working to them. You may find you've got deadlines, two or three essays to do or two or three pieces of coursework on a particular week. And if you leave everything until the last week there is no way you're going to be able to do all those pieces of coursework at the same time. You need to plan. If you're a multi-tasker, you may love it. If you're a linear tasker, that is, you like to finish one piece of coursework before the next; you'll find yourself completely overwhelmed. So: plan, plan, plan.
When should I do background reading?
Students have to do background reading and you will need to do this in between your lectures, or your lab work, or your field courses, and in between your part-time work because more than likely you will have part-time work as well. So you need to find a time, a dedicated time, where you sit down and either catch up on your notes, do some extra reading from that seminar, or prepare something for your group work. But you've got to allocate time for this, not to forget this. It's easy to forget this but don't.
