GET AHEADUNDERGRADUATE SUMMER PROGRAMME 2014

Start Organised, Stay Organised

Sara Steinke s.steinke@bbk.ac.uk

Aims of the session• Importance of starting and staying organised

in your studies

• What is meant by time management, including time management techniques

• How to prioritise tasks

• Importance of establishing a study timetable

• How to use a diary effectively

Why start organised?• Poor organisational skills prevents students

from achieving their best

• Related to other study skills - study space/resources, essay writing, presentation, exams, revision, reading for academic purposes, note-making

• Helps you to achieve your goals - S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound)

• Link to employability

Time management

Harold Lloyd, Safety Last, 1923

• Importance of time management

• What is time management

• Where does the time go

• How well do you use your time

• Establishing a dedicated study space

Importance of time management

"Time management is the skill which above all others can make the difference

between graduating and drop out.”

Ruth Pickford and Sally Brown, Assessing Skills and Practice (London: Routledge, 2006), page 47

• Expected of you in Higher Education

• Transferable skill to the workplace

Cottrell, S. The Study Skills Handbook chapter 4

C - Creativehave the confidence to use your individual strategies and styles, applyimagination to your learning

R - Reflectivesit with your experience, analyse and evaluate your own performanceand draw lessons from it

E - Effectiveorganise your space, time, priorities, state of mind and resources to the maximum benefit

A - Activebe personally involved, do things, physically and mentally in order to make sense of what you learn

M - Motivatedbe aware of your desired outcomes using short and long-term 'goals'

What is time management?

• Time management is about organising your competing priorities in the limited time available

• Time management often has very little to do with time

• It is about organising your life around what is important to you, dealing with and confronting more emotional issues like fear, inadequacy and other people’s demands on you

Studying lectures, reading, writing

sleeping/

eating

exercise/relaxation

home/personnel

work

travel

socialising

What current pressures are there on your time?

Have you thought about how you are going to fitstudying into your wider schedule?

Can you foresee any problems which may arise?

How well do I use my time? Yes No

1. I use small pockets of time effectively.

2. I am well motivated to start work quickly.3. I do enough rather than aiming at perfection.4. I say ‘NO’ when I lack time.

5. I use a diary to prioritise my activities.

1. Small pockets of time - around 45 minutes - are more productive; short portions of time soon add up; take frequent breaks

2. Recognise and deal with procrastination; set goals; identify your time wasters (self-inflicted and given)

3. Pareto Principle - roughly 80% of results/effects come from 20% of effort/causes; 20% effort delivers an acceptable result, not perfect, but good enough

4. L’Oreal principal - ‘because you’re worth it’; educate your family, friends and colleagues to respect your study space/time

5. Use one diary to create a ‘to-do list’; prioritise tasks; note deadlines; write down dates you must begin working towards the deadlines, establish study timetable

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun

am8-12

Gym/Work

Work Gym/Work

Work Work House work and errands

House work and errands

pm12-6

Work Work Work Work Work Study Family/Friends/Fun

Eve6-9

BBK BBK BBK Gym Family/Friends/Fun

Study TV

Night9-12

TV Library Key reading

Key reading

Family/Friends/Fun

Family/Friends/Fun

TV

• Use one diary, carry with you at all times

• Enter deadlines, lectures, appointments, including extra time needed to complete these tasks

• Check diary everyday • Do not schedule 100% of your time,

allow for emergencies/the unexpected

• Plan time for family, friends, eating, shopping

• Create to-do list, using prioritisation• Record follow up tasks

Think about the following1. Have you created a

dedicated study space?

2. Are you comfortable?

3. Have you enough space to work in?

4. Do you have all the equipment that you need?

5. How are you going to organise your notes/books?

• The 3 Ps

• Importance of prioritisation

• What is prioritisation

• How to prioritise

• Goal setting

The 3 Ps

• Avoid PROCRASTINATION

• No such thing as PERFECTIONISM

• Learn how to PRIORITISE

• Procrastination• Perfectionism• Lack of self discipline• Worrying• Personal disorganisation• Lack of priorities• Inability to say ‘no’• Indecisiveness• Socialising (too much)• Intrusions (visitors, calls)• Not finding resources• Excessive family demands• Not able to contact people• Facebook/Twitter/internet

1. Which of these time wasters apply to you?

2. How are you going to deal with these time wasters?

Importance of prioritisation

• Adult learners have many, often competing, demands on their time; work, family, friends and studying

• Helps you to achieve your short, medium and long term goals

• Expected of you in Higher Education

• Transferable skill to the workplace

What is prioritisation

• Quadrant 1 - Urgent and Important The Quadrant of Necessities - reactive tasks that need to be done, often at the last minute. Crises, 'fire-fighting' and looming deadlines are typical examples.

• Quadrant 2 - Important but not UrgentThe Quadrant of Quality - proactive tasks, often habitual, that maintain or improve the quality of your work and life. The more you expand this quadrant, the more you reduce the other three, particularly 'pseudo-emergencies' that should never have been allowed to become so.

• Quadrant 3 - Urgent but not ImportantThe Quadrant of Deception - plenty of people have gone home in the evening wondering where all the time went. Well, it was here! It's so easy to get sucked into doing things that are the wrong side of the 80-20 rule.

• Quadrant 4 - Neither Urgent or ImportantThe Quadrant of Waste - you know what it is and you know when you've been in it. The trick is to know when you're in it. Often, it starts out as restful time (which is Quadrant 2).

List of things to do

AImportanceNeed to do

scale 6 (unimportant)

to 10 (essential)

BUrgency Do now

scale 1 (must be done at once)

to 5 (it can wait)

CSubtract the

score in column B from column

A.The higher scores in column C are

priorities.

DOrder of priority/

When to doNumber the

order of priorities

1. Print/submit essay for today’s deadline2. Start to prepare presentation for next week’s seminar3. Sick child requiring urgent doctor’s appt.4. Plan for work meeting taking place tomorrow5. Book holiday for next summer

List of things to do

AImportanceNeed to do

scale 6 (unimportant)

to 10 (essential)

BUrgency Do now

scale 1 (must be done at once)

to 5 (it can wait)

CSubtract the

score in column B from column

A.The higher scores in column C are

priorities.

DOrder of priority/

When to doNumber the

order of priorities

1. Print/submit essay for today’s deadline

10 1 9

2. Start to prepare presentation for next week’s seminar

8 3 5

3. Sick child requiring urgent doctor’s appt.

10 1 9

4. Plan for work meeting taking place tomorrow

9 2 7

5. Book holiday for next summer 6 5 1

http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/images/6/6c/Smart_goals_1.jpg

How to stay organised

1. Which three organisational skills do you think will be the most useful for your studies?

2. Why are they important to you?

3. How are you going to use these organisation skills to start organised and stay organised?

New (academic) year resolutions

Psychologists (at the University of Hertfordshire) have identified 5 success factors for individuals who managed to achieve their New Years’ Resolutions.

1. Breaking down goals into small steps2. Rewarding achievement3. Telling other people what you are trying to achieve4. Focussing on the benefits of success5. Keeping a progress diary

Recap of the session• Importance of starting and staying organised

in your studies

• What is meant by time management, including time management techniques

• How to prioritise tasks

• Importance of establishing a study timetable

• How to use a diary effectively

Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook, 3rd Edition (London, Palgrave) chapter 4 ‘The C.R.E.A.M. Strategy for learning’ pp.70-79

http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studyskills/learning/time.asp helpful information on organisational skills on the Skills4Study website

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/studyskills/course timetableacademic skills workshops which deal with organisational skills - and other study skills - in greater detail

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/services/facilities/support/time-management online resources on organisationalskills available on the Birkbeck Library website

http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/get-ahead-stay ahead/skills/organisational-skills

20 minute interactive tutorial supporting this Student Orientation programme