To get the most out of studying at home you need to be organised and you need to manage your time well.
Time management is quite personal. Different approaches will work for different people but there are some key ideas that will help everyone.
This page will explain those ideas:
- Organisation - organise your diary / calendar, organise your stuff.
- Prioritisation.
- Focus - space, time of day.
- Self-discipline.
Organisation
Organise your diary / calendar
If you don't already use a diary or calendar then our most important time management tip, is to start! It can be online or on paper but using one will help you organise your time effectively.
The first step with your calendar is to go through and write down anything that can't be moved, everything that has to be done at a particular time or on a particular day. This means deadlines or online class sessions, family commitments or social events.
These unmovable events are your framework. Once you can see where they are then you can start thinking realistically about fitting everything else in.
Organise your stuff
Searching for lost notes, misplaced work, old references and so on can be a huge waste of time. Give yourself a few minutes each week to organise your stuff. It will save you hours in the long run.
- Set up a system for organising all your notes, work and paperwork.
- Keep your work area and any equipment you use tidy.
- Keep track of where you have got your information from. Make referencing notes as you read to save time (and stress) later.
Prioritisation
Some things are more important than others. They don't necessarily need to be done first (something else might be more urgent right that second) but you need to plan enough time to do them.
Prioritisation is particularly tricky at the moment because we are all working out new routines. You might be juggling your studies with caring for children or sharing space and equipment with other family members who also suddenly need to work from home.
Whatever is going on in the world though at any moment in your life you will have to give priority to one activity or another.
This video from Oxford University gives some great advice on prioritisation.
You might want to use the Microsoft Tasks / To do app to help you to prioritise your activities. Go to the 'Using Digital Tools to Help You Study' section of this guide for more on that.
Focus
It can be hard to stay focused when you are working at home. You have to deal with a range of distractions that are safely left behind or at least easier to avoid when you are studying at College.
How can you stay focused on the task at hand?
Activities that soak up much more time then you meant to give them are called time sponges. Social media is a big one but gaming and TV shows are often guilty too.
It might be completely different activities that are the time sponges in your life though. If so try to catch yourself next time it happens so you can be wary in the future.
Try to remove distractions as far as possible. Avoid social media during the time you've set aside for study.
Consider leaving your phone in another room, turning off notifications or even turning your phone off. There are also apps available which will block social media for the time period you set.
The problem with all time sponges is that you can easily think I will just take a quick break and then you find yourself still doing it hours later. Just one more game, one more episode or one more funny video.
The best approach is to wait until you have finished the work that you have planned. Build in some time to catch up with friends on social media, play a game or crash in front of your new favourite series but treat it as your reward for getting your work finished.
If you need a break then gentle physical activities like taking a walk or making yourself a drink are better ways to clear your head. If you find it hard to keep your breaks short then set yourself a timer.
Space
It's much easier to focus if you can give yourself a dedicated space in your home for your work. If you are lucky enough to have a dedicated study desk or even a study then that's great.
Most of us need to set up a temporary space when we have work to do. Think about finding a space with the fewest distractions. It needs to be safely away from the TV for example. If you are using a desk or table that you also use for relaxation (be that gaming or dinner) then find a way to show that it's being used as a work space. Clear the desk / table, put different things on it etc. This will help trick your mind into focusing and it signals to other people in the house that you are studying.
Time of day
Different people focus better at different times of day. Think about when your most productive times are and use that to help you plan your day.
You need to be honest with yourself though. Most people's brains are actually working at their best for the two hours after they fully wake up. (Fully waking up will take different amounts of time / coffee for different people.) Don't use this tip as an excuse to leave your assignment until last thing.
Self-discipline
Good time management and organisation come down to self-discipline. Without it procrastination will eat up all of the time you've set aside for your work. Procrastination is pointlessly putting off doing something that you know you should be doing.
If you have some work that you need to do then you will sometimes find that doing almost anything else suddenly becomes more appealing.
Self-discipline is about staying focused on the task that you've planned to do.
Activities like social media, gaming and TV are obvious ways to procrastinate but look out for righteous procrastination. This is when you sit down to do your work and then realise that the washing up is piling up or you haven't tidied your room recently. It can be study related. For example you might be reading this when you had planned to be writing up your assignment.
Planning your time well is the best way to avoid procrastination. If you've planned time to do housework later then you won't feel that you should be doing it during your study time. If you know you're rewarding yourself with a gaming session / box set binge this evening then you will be less tempted during study time.
Good time management isn't about planning to spend every minute of your time on your College work. Make sure that you build balance into your day. It will be easier to focus on your studies if you know that you've also set aside time for relaxing, any other work that needs doing and for fun.
