Organising and time management skills
Balancing study, work, family and social life
University life can seem very unstructured in comparison to school or the paid workforce. There may seem to be a lot of ‘free’ time. However, university students are expected to spend time in independent study and devote an average of ten hours a week to each unit (subject) they’re undertaking. Structuring time effectively is vital to success.
Family relationships and study is a light-hearted yet highly pertinent account of the tensions students inevitably face in trying to balance the various facets of their lives. It suggests some steps that students can take to better handle the conflicting demands on their time and attention.
Structuring your apparently ‘free’ time
You have a whole day ahead of you. Your assignment is due in two days but you’ll spend the whole day working on it. It’ll be fine. You sit at your desk, pull out your books, sort a few things, wander about a bit, make a phone call, read the question again, make a few notes, have lunch, send an email, have another coffee, start reading a chapter and ... suddenly the day is gone and you’ve got that meeting tonight and no assignment. But you’ve been studying all day? Wrong! You need to learn and use organising and time management skills. Rule number one: Be honest with yourself!
Planning and efficiency are extremely important and they don’t come naturally to all of us. Timetabling is the place to start.
To help you plan your time efficiently, you will need three kinds of timetables:
- A semester planner (this will enable you to map out tasks for the semester).
- A weekly timetable (this will ensure that you structure your time in the short term while allowing flexibility).
- A diary with daily ‘things to do’ (TTD) lists (these will keep you on track).
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Planning for the semester
The semester planner
Semester planner wall charts are available free from DUSA (Deakin University Student Association). You can also buy or make one. Enter in all study periods, exams, assignment deadlines and other important dates (including major tasks and family/social commitments). Stick this up above your study desk. It gives you an overall view of the extra busy times, so you can organise around them.
Planning for the week
The weekly timetable
You need copies of a blank weekly timetable in one-hour blocks. Put one above your desk and carry a small one with you. Fill in:
- lectures and tutorials
- online study-related tasks
- paid/voluntary work time
- domestic commitments
- leisure/sport - this is very important. If you don’t build in free time you will resent your timetable and not stick to it. Exercise is also important to keep your mind fresh and alert. Try to do some at least a couple of times a week.
Subject study time - divide the rest of your time into subject study blocks. Some subjects may need more time than others. Even a half-hour block is valuable - though you’ll need some longer ones (1½ - 2 hours) for each subject. What you do in these blocks should largely be determined by assignment demands and be made specific in the TTD list. But try to keep the times for each subject constant. It is recommended that students devote ten hours per week to each subject.
Weekly planner (76kb .doc)
Planning for the day
The 'things to do'or TTD list
This is a vital daily list. It should be included in a diary so you can carry it with you and shuffle things around when necessary. Remember, you should never start a study block without a clear idea of what you’re going to achieve. And, each night you need to make yourself a list of what to do the next day, for example:
- read Smith Chapter 2
- see history tutor
- analyse sociology essay question/identify resources
- reserve books on psych. reading list
Work out the order of importance (prioritise) and think about the most efficient way to fit them in (i.e. if two items are library-based, can they both be done in the one trip?). If you don’t get through all the tasks you’ll have to fit in extra time the next day. Be careful! You can’t keep shunting things forward without getting overloaded.
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Wasting time and procrastinating
Here are some tips to guard against wasting time and procrastinating. These are general statements, which need to be considered in the light of your own learning style and preferences.
- Beware the whole day off - it is rarely used effectively, especially if you think you’ll compensate by working on one thing all day.
- Try to study three different subjects per day, or at least engage in three distinct tasks. Changing tasks produces a new energy surge. People tend to wind down if they work on the same thing for too long.
- Work in short intensive blocks (perhaps 30 minutes – you will get to know your best concentration level) with short regular breaks. Up to two hours on one subject is usually enough. An intensive two-hour work session can cover as much ground as a whole day of half-hearted shuffling about. Take a real reward break after each intensive session - have a coffee with friends, go for a walk, watch TV. Then on to the next session.
- Schedule adequate computer time. It always takes longer than you think. Have a plan of action in case of technological hitches. ‘The computer was down’ is no excuse!
Procrastination examines some of the reasons why people may put off study and other important tasks. It suggests strategies that can be used to get down to the task at hand.
Studying efficiently
Here are some more tips on efficiency:
- Think about when your brain works best - morning, night or the middle of the afternoon. Plan your TTD list accordingly. If you’re going to read a difficult article for the first time don’t start at 10.00pm unless you are a natural night owl. Do something less demanding in the low times - organise your notes, or write the next day’s TTD list.
- Get out of the house! Early if possible! Work in a library (or other suitable space), as there are fewer distractions. Force yourself to get there - bribe yourself if necessary.
- Pre-lecture/tutorial reading. You get a lot more out of a lecture/tute if you are already familiar with many of the terms and ideas. This saves time later.
- Review lecture notes on the same day of the lecture. After that time your ability to ‘reconstruct’ the lecture, and consequently commit any new ideas to memory, reduces rapidly.
- Structure your time to keep up with your weekly reading. This is particularly important for off-campus students.
- Re-read all your notes for each subject every week. (Build this time into your timetable.) Obviously, it will take more time each week as your notes pile up but it will dramatically reduce your exam study time at the end of semester and make you confident that you know your subject.
- Talk in tutorials - even if only to ask questions. Talking about your subject is a way to test out your understanding. Pre-reading will help you in this. Off-campus students and students studying an online subject can ‘talk’ with their lecturers, tutors and fellow students through DSO (Deakin Studies Online).
- Use library time effectively. Don’t borrow huge piles of books. Use overviewing techniques to decide which books are really useful. Most of them won’t be. Don’t photocopy great wads. Most of it you’ll never read. It’s a waste of time and money. Take notes on the spot rather than postponing the task. Take down all bibliographic details and page numbers so you have quick access to all your references. Put in reserves for library material immediately you get the reading list.
- Organise your notes and don’t borrow notes from others. Keep all your notes in labelled files in chronological order. If you have missed or know you are going to miss a lecture or tutorial, see the lecturer or tutor. Other people’s notes are not very helpful - they reflect someone else’s interpretation, often in a way that won’t make sense to you.
- Finally, be honest with yourself. Deep down you know whether you’ve put in the time and really engaged with your study material or not.
You won’t understand your study material or write well without effort. It’s up to you!
Useful resource
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