Time management
Good time management is essential to success at university. Check out the video below and read our A Day in the Life of a Student section, profiling a typical day of some of our students. Below you will find some helpful tips on time management. Take the time to read through this section, and bookmark it if you need to so you can refer to it later on.
Planning your time allows you to spread your work over a session, avoid a ‘traffic jam’ of work, and cope with study stress. Studying at uni often involves meeting conflicting deadlines, and unless you plan ahead, you’ll find it difficult to manage. To meet the demands of study you need to spread your workload over a session. Work out what needs to be done and when. Work out how to use your available time as efficiently as possible.
Plan ahead and prioritise
The first step to good time management is to prioritise your tasks. In other words, deciding which task is most important and should be completed first. For example, in a choice between reading for an essay due in four weeks or preparing a seminar presentation in two weeks, choose to prepare the presentation.
To prioritise successfully you must develop weekly and long term time management plans. Many students find long, medium and short term planning useful for organising their study. Planning ahead saves time, stress and energy.
Long term planning
Using a yearly planner
A yearly planner that you can place on your wall or by your desk allows you to plan your workload over an entire session and helps to remind you about deadlines and upcoming commitments.
- Place the planner in a position where you have easy access to it.
- Write in the dates assignments are due and exams are scheduled.
- Work out how long you will need to complete each task. Allow yourself plenty of time.
- Remember to allow for extra workload. If you have several assignments due at the same time, then you’ll need to begin each task earlier.
- Set start dates for each task and write them on your planner.
- Draw lines back from the due dates to ‘start’ dates. Use different colour pens for different subjects, assignments or exams. Doing this will give you a good indication of how much time you have to complete tasks and cue you to start them.
Short term planning
Use time slots wisely
Students often believe they have no time to study, but many of them think of study time in terms of long time slots (three hours or more). While long time slots are necessary, medium and short time slots can be used just as effectively. A well-used 15 minutes is more effective than a wasted 2 hours. Different periods of time suit different activities. For example:
| Short time slots | Medium time slots | Long time slots |
|---|---|---|
One hour or less is useful for:
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One to three hours is a good time for more concentrated study. Medium slots can be used for:
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More than three hours can be set aside for:
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| Bus and train journeys or lunch breaks are useful for this kind of work. | During medium and long time slots, divide study time up into one hour sections and take breaks. Try not to study for longer than an hour at a time, as concentration begins to slip. |
|
Fill in a weekly planner
For weekly planning, use a diary, a timetable or download a copy of our Weekly Study Planner (.doc, 120KB).
Fill in all the main demands on your time:
- Uni lectures and tutorials.
- Hours of work (if you have a part-time job).
- Any regular sport or leisure commitments.
- Mealtimes and regular family commitments.
- Sleep times.
When you have blocked in the main demands on your time, look at the blank time slots left. This will help you work out how many hours a week you actually have for study.
Next, plan time slots to use for uni-related work. Fill in times that could be used as study periods including short, medium and long time slots.
General tips and resources
Be Flexible
Some weeks will be busier than others, and unforeseen things can happen. Remember that a timetable is only a plan or a guide. You don’t have to follow it religiously every week, but try to stick to your plan as best you can. If you plan a study time slot and miss it, don’t panic—look at the schedule and rearrange your time.
Be Realistic
A great deal of time management is really about taking responsibility for your learning. The best plan is to be aware of how much time you have and to manage it effectively. Be realistic about your time and what you can do with it.
Resources
Assignment Calculator
The Assignment Calculator provided by the Library is an invaluable tool when it comes to planning how you are going to work towards completing your assessments. The Assignment Calculator is available on the Library website.
Weekly Study Planner
Download a copy of our Weekly Study Planner (.doc, 120KB) and make your own weekly timetable including all your commitments. Make photocopies and keep one at your desk, on the fridge, in your diary and on your computer.
