Studying Skills and Time Management

8/3/2019 Studying Skills and Time Management

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Study skills & Time

Management



Time You cannot turn back time, but

you can use it wisely to get the

work / life balance correct!

Semester weeks / hours

Made up of: Sleep

Domestic commitments

Classes / research

Relaxation / socializing



Do you find that you and your team are:

Easily distracted? Feeling stressed and arguing a great deal?

Working long hours, yet not progressing well?

Handing in work at the last minute and obtaining results that are belowpotential for important tasks?

Missing deadlines?

Seeking unrealistic standards in the time given? Not focusing on the important things?

Putting things off?

Always working when there is a need to relax?

The answer for many people is yes!

We can all probably improve our time management andstudy skills to some degree!!



Improving our time and study skills Identify and try to resolve problems on a personal and team level that

stop us going forward. ( Seek support from others if it helps)

Examine how we use time ( keep time diary/ log) and identifydistractions

Identify priorities and plan to use time effectively

Identify how we, and the team, study and work best. Establish theground rules!

Set objectives, time lines and review progress

Start! Take small steps to get going, work steadily, keep going!!

Take time out to relax!!!



Identify and resolve problems

Barriers to going forward

and using time well:

Our personality and habit Skills

Other people



Our personality and habit!

Not organized? Get organized! Plan, keep a diary and file relevantinformation.

Take notes. Look for the key points that the text and

especially the teacher makes.

Keep notes simple, yet detailed enough!

Use mind maps

Worry? Check your understanding with others! Your Tutor willexplain tasks and help you set realistic goals. Try to

negotiate if you think time and tasks are not sufficient!

Perfection is seldom required or attainable!!

Leave things to the last

minute?

Some people feel that they can only work when a deadline

is approaching!! This approach can put us under extreme

pressure. Work steadily so you can produce drafts andyour best work!

Easily distracted? Keep a focus on the task! Have an agreed time for work,

stick to it. But, have leisure time, breaks and take time to

reflect on what has been done.



Skills Practice your reading

skills!Read (Skim)

Re – read

Relevant points ( highlight)

Question:

- What are the main elements?

- What are the main arguments?

- Who disagrees?

- What questions does it raise?

- What do I think?

Review:

Write down points and thoughts in

your own words. Put in quotes onlythat which is so important that itcannot be said in another way!

Take a note of author, book andpage!!

General

Practice note taking

Take notes and produceaction plans for team work

Read and understand thetask

Ask for guidance!

Negotiate for time, resourcesand extra support

Don’t be afraid to say if youfeel that there are problems.

Explain your concerns

constructively when workingin a team.



Other people

Other people affect our time!

Avoid getting caught up in idle chit chat!

Set and agree deadlines and resources. Don’t be afraid to ask for

adjustments and others to help!

Other people have agendas that may conflict with your time and taskneeds

- Don’t feel guilty about saying no!

- Explain your situation

- You can often negotiate a compromise or another date which is more

convenient

- Organize yourself and others so that you can do more than one thing

in the same time slot



How we use time

Keep a log of what we do,how long things take anddistractions.

Use this to help us organize,remove or control things thatsteal our time.

Take note of our body clocks.Schedule tasks to fit.

Where do we work best?



Identify priorities and plan to use time

effectivelyTime in planning is seldom wasted!!

What is most important, what will give us the best returns for our

effort?! Pareto principle: 80 % of key results produced by 20% of effort!!!

Stay focused. Work smarter, not harder!!! E.g. Relevant research

Many people set out a life / career plan to guide them!

Many people use weekly and daily plans. Think of how “Microsoft

Outlook” works and the basic written diary and “to - do - lists”

A task plan is very important in completing work. It helps us get going

and in staying focused.

We should learn our ABC’s for setting priorities



ABC’s

“A” Tasks Important and urgent - Do your best in the time

available

“B” Tasks - Important or urgent - If urgent, but not important, do

what you can! If important, then plan and schedule time in advance against

this so that it does not get done badly, or is not achieved! E.g. Projects,presentations, exams etc.

“C” Tasks - Neither, important or urgent, but should be

done at some point - Do these when convenient to avoid them

becoming a nuisance or making you look un-professional

Could some tasks be done by others if they were briefed?



Key steps in planning

Read the brief Understand the task and clarify

any points

Define what has to be done and

agree this with others

Agree deadlines and identify

critical points

Break down the task into key

steps

What is the best order and what

follows on from the other?

What work can be donetogether?

Allocate a time for each stage

and allocate a named person

General

Keep all people informed

Allow some spare time for emergencies!

Identify any help you willneed. E.g. Library / Tutor /

external Review progress at key

points

Consider other ways to dothings

Are there any opportunitiesto save time?



Planning for a task

E.g. for a project. Establish a time – line. Work backwards

Deadline

Final print and proof reading

Draft(S) Get Tutors and other people look at this

Review progress

Organizing your ideas in the form of a content plan

Reading and research time

Getting going and agreeing what has to be done



Working in teams

Discuss and define the task

Get individual commitment to the task

Set a task / action plan that has time frames and responsibilities.

Take notes at meetings for action points!

Regularly review progress against plan You may want to meet each week with your Tutor and discuss

problems or review progress as part of your task plan. In this waythe Tutor will join the Team as a facilitator.

You need to be open and honest with each other for the good of theteam. You have to deal with conflict and people who may not be

“pulling their weight” .



Reality check!!

“If you first think it will take aday to finish off a project, it will

probably take five!”



Appendix 1: Time sheetDay………………….Date…………………….

Time

7:00-

19:30

Activity How

important

to you?

1-10

How

important to

others ?

1-10

Could

some one

else do it?

Distractions Comments

Studying Skills and Time Management

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