1. Manage your time to meet your deadlines
Dr Michelle Reid
Study Advice, University of Reading

2. To meet your deadlines, you need to…
…fit the tasks you have to do into the
time you have to do them in.
Sounds easy, BUT –
“What should I do first?”
“I don’t have enough time!”
“I know what I need to do, but I can’t make myself do it!”
“Why can’t I stay focused?”

3. But we can’t do everything...
It’s not about working harder or faster...it’s about spending more time on the right things
Prioritising
Knowing how you work best

4. “What should I do first?”
Deciding on priorities
What is due first?
What will count for more marks?
What is “added value” and can be left till later?
What can I get done quickly?
What do I need to take more time to understand?
What do I need more help with?
- What are the consequences if I don’t do this?

5. Which is most urgent / important?
How would you prioritise these?
Rewriting lecture notes
Background reading
Writing end of term essay
Reading for a seminar
Weekly maths / translation exercise
Project for the end of next term
Revision for an exam in middle of next term

6. What are my priorities?
1) List everything you have to do 2) Order them into doing Now / Soon / Later 3) Explain to the person next to you why you have ordered them this way - Why did you decide to do them in this order?

7. Prioritising and setting goals
Know what you are aiming to achieve - Be selective – you can’t do everything - Break down into smaller tasks - Have deadlines for starting as well as finishing - What do you want to achieve today? This week? - Don’t make inflexible plans - Make your plans visible / visual

8. “Why can’t I stay focused?”
Identify how you work best
Work at your best time of day
Have achievable goals
Keep changing your study mode
Be aware of what distracts you!

9. Dealing with distractions
What distracts you from study and how could you deal with it?
1) Write one thing that distracts you from studying, then pass it on
2) Suggest a way to avoid the distraction you’ve been given – pass it to someone different this time

10. The 5 step plan A quick fix for when you are feeling overwhelmed
List everything you need to do
Break down big tasks into smaller steps
Put in three columns – Now / Soon / Later
Do something from the Now column and tick it off the list – getting one task done will make you feel calmer
Now put the rest in order and plan to tackle them

11. LearnHigher: www.learnhigher.ac.uk
Time management pages with excellent practical advice plus downloadable planner grids and activities
ASK – Assignment Survival Kit:
Put in your deadline and it will break your assignment into stages and calculate how long you should spend on each stage
LeechBlock:
For the Firefox web browser – block those websites that drain away your time!