Balancing study and other aspects of your life Lists of Tips
Choose a degree you are generally interested in rather than studying for the sake of having a degree. You will learn more because you are interested in the subject. Always look at your assignments as a challenge rather than saying "it is too hard". A task thought of as too hard can slow you down to a standstill. The same task thought of as a challenge can spur you on. It is best to keep up with your work. A timetable should be arranged each week, to ensure that you do not fall behind. You should be aware of all your assignments and deadlines from the earliest stages of each semester. I usually make a calendar for each module, which I stick on the wall in my kitchen, where I can refer to it as and when the need arises. If you organise your studies around the important outside commitments you have, such as work and family, you will find that you can cope quite well with what is expected of you.
Here are some tips to improve your study, but they will only work if you manage your time to get the best out of study.
Do not leave your course work to the last minute Make sure you understand the lecture before you leave the classroom. Be prepared to ask questions. Read your text books and lecture notes again and again as you get new information.
You should be prepared to spend at least 3 to 4 hours every day reading lecture notes and text books, and gathering information. My tips for getting the best out of study at university are:
Try to attend all lectures, seminars and workshops. Although, obviously there will be times when for some personal reasons you cannot attend. Do work when you get it Work with others. To stop yourself from getting stressed and overloaded with work, try to organise time for your study in and around others demands on your life. Try to make a healthy balance of all of them.
Manage your time well for each module, but also make sure you get a good balance between work and social life. That is vital for life in general. Set aside time specifically for each subject. Try to study one subject a day. You need to balance time. If you are bad at balancing things make a personal timetable. Even if you do not stick to it, you will have an idea what you should be doing each day. This is better than trying to do everything each day and, at the end of the week, not achieve anything.
Also, try to keep your weekends free of studying. Only study at the weekend if you really have to. . The problems are real, but make your action plan for the week and stick to it. This will help you study and deal with your other responsibilities in the best way.
Breaks
Autonomous learning requires good time management and self discipline - Not only to meet deadlines but to make sure you do not do too much studying at one go. Take breaks, lots of breaks. Really chill out. Take it all in your stride. If you are uptight or stressed this will show in your work. So carry on meeting friends and going out as you would normally. You might start doing more things, new things. It will all help you in your studying.
Goals
Have a goal and work at it. It may be revising for an exam, reading a book, making a presentation, or writing a essay. Whatever it is, you need to focus on that piece of work and work at it until it is completed. Research into it and get the most you can out of doing it. Most importantly: enjoy doing it.
Handbooks and Guides
Every student should be familiar, from the beginning of a course, with the handbooks, guides, etc. that the university provides. They need to know the requirements of the courses they have chosen to be able to manage their time properly. I think that all students should try to finish the work they have to do much earlier than the deadlines given to them. They should never leave work to the last moment. If they make out a realistic schedule they will neither fail to meet university's engagements nor feel anxious. Consequently, they could have plenty of time for other duties and interests.
Never allow the work to build up
Never allow the work to build up. Always try to stay on top of everything and keep ahead of the deadlines. Plan as far as possible, making yourself a weekly timetable of work. If you have children, try to get everything done when they are at school, particularly taking into account holidays. If you have work commitments, try to prioritise so that when it comes to essay writing times, you have allowed enough time to prepare your essay without feeling stressed or panicky. If you keep up with the required work from the very beginning it will create less stress and panic towards the time to hand in the work. By planning so that you finish a bit earlier - before the deadline - you can look back at your work and correct any problems.
Planning
Plan when you have your lessons - and then work around that. You may find that you have a couple of hours to spare between lessons. So why not use some of that time to write up some of your notes? This way it will not interfere with your social life. Also plan to work when your friends are working, and work as a group. For example, friends can read and comment on each other's work. Even if they are not doing the same course, they will still know how clear a piece of writing is. Plan is the key word.
Make sure that you look, at the beginning of the year, at the work that is expected of you. If you have assessments, such as essays, you must write down all of your deadline dates and plan when you are going to start working on them, so that you do not get a big pile of work landing on you at the end of the semester. Plan your time. There is always reading required so plan when you are going to do that. Make sure you get to the library well before you need to begin your essay so that you get a good selection of books rather than being last and left with the ones that are not much help. If you plan your time right at the beginning of the year, you should be able to complete everything in the required time. Make sure you use all the facilities that are available to you. The internet is a big help. It offers information on just about anything. CD Roms are another source of information that should be used. To get the best out of your study you should put in the time, there will be work for three modules, so plan each so that you have time to fit it all in.
Timetables
Draw up a good timetable that shows all your lectures, seminars, free periods for extra study and basic time out for yourself. You should be aware of all your assignments and deadlines from the earliest stages of each semester. I usually make a calendar for each module, which I stick on the wall in my kitchen, where I can refer to it as and when the need arises. I consider myself average at time managing. I try not to rush things and I like to give myself a lot of time to prepare. My advice would be to always be in control and never let things get on top of you. Manage your time as best you can, even if this means making a diary of things to do or writing out a timetable and sticking to it. If you have a part-time job as well as your studies, try not to take on to much, so that your studies do not suffer.
I found the best way of balancing study with a social life was to create a timetable and stick with it. The end result should be nearly 12 hours a week on each module. If the same time is set for each module every week, than the timetable becomes easier to follow. I found I could not always go by my timetable. So, if activities outside of study were unavoidable, I made extra study time to make up for the time lost. Time management is very important to me. It can make a serious difference to the grade gained at the end of a module. Obviously getting the best out of your study would mean that you would have to do about six hours of reading a day, this is what some of the modules set for you. Realistically though, this is virtually impossible as outside influences effect your study. I would say a good balanced lifestyle is the only way to get the best out of your studies. I normally allow for three days for lectures and two to three evenings for study. I work three days a week and finally attempt to have a day off for leisure.
University is different from school
If you have come straight from school then University life will be very different, because there is a lot more freedom. This will seem great at first, but you also learn that in a way, it becomes more difficult than school (I am referring to the mode of study rather than the content of the study), because what you must learn is no longer handed to you on a plate. You must self-manage your studies and research the topics yourself. It is very easy not to do much studying at all in the first year, unless you are very self-motivated. If you are not, then try to help yourself by reading as many books as you can from the reading lists for your modules, or any books that are relevant to your course, even if you are not specifically learning about it at the time. It is good to discuss the issues you read about with others on your course. You need to form personal views about subjects, because if you can somehow personally relate to a subject area, then you are more likely to understand it. Even though your study is self-directed, you can still ask a lecturer if you do not understand something. A lecturer can help you to understand more fully, and advise you on the best books to use for your research. It is often difficult to balance study with other aspects of life. For example, some students have part-time jobs and/or families to think about, other students who have neither of these factors, may instead enjoy socialising a lot (usually in pubs and clubs). I think that this too is an important part of University life and life in general. Making friends and social action is an important part of social integration, and may even be relevant if you are studying a social science. Interacting with people also means that you can then study together and help each other. However, there should be a balance between study and other aspects of your life. It can often be difficult to self-motivate, so a good strategy may be to make up a rough timetable of your week, which allocates specific time slots where you should sit down and do some studying. Ensure that this time is quality time where you can really concentrate, away from family and friends, the TV or the radio.