This page will discuss four main ways of organising time: breaking into steps, using time planners, making lists and prioritising. Watch the video below for some quick tips on time management.
Video on Time Management
1. Smaller bites
Think of an assignment as a series of steps. For example, writing often incorporates the following stages adapted from Godfrey (2011, p. 98):
Understand: look at the assignment brief and title.
Rough Plan: write down initial thoughts.
Research: read and take notes.
Detailed Plan: list topics for paragraphs.
1st draft: develop thoughts.
Additional drafts: write introduction/conclusion; check against plan and title.
Tip
Balance the time spent on different steps. Use the planner below to allocate time periods for stages of writing.
You can use a traffic light system of red (high importance), amber (moderate importance) and green (low importance).
Another way of prioritising is by labelling tasks as now, soon or later (Williams and Reid, 2011).
Ask: How critical is this?
Tip
Eat the frog first: ‘your biggest, most important task’ (Tracey, 2017, p. 2)
5. Overcome procrastination
Procrastination is the act of postponing or delaying.
Stella Cottrell (2019, p. 28) recommends taking small steps, having an organised routine and rewarding yourself after reaching goals.
It also helps to be aware of your common distractions (such as television). See some tips about overcoming distractions from Learn Higher (2021)
Watch the short video from the University of Sheffield about overcoming procrastination.
Video about procrastionation
Resources consulted for this page:
Cottrell, S. (2019) 50 ways to manage time effectively. London: Red Globe Press.
Godfrey, J. (2011) Writing for university. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Learn Higher (no date) Planning timetables and schedules. Available at: http://www.learnhigher.ac.uk/learning-at-university/time-management/planning-timetables-and-schedules/ (Accessed: 1 March 2019).
Tracey, B. (2017) Eat that frog! 21 great ways to stop procrastinating and get more done in less time. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.