Learning Support

Being disorganised can lead to unnecessary stress. Below are some tips to help you organise yourself and your college studies and work on your time management skills.

Time Management 
Use the 'How much time do I have?' timetable which will encourage you to start thinking about your personal organisation, in and out of college. Complete the chart to see just how much time you really are spending on sleep, college work, travelling, etc. Are there times you could be using better...?
Try the Identifying Priorities Exercise to start thinking about and reflecting on what you need to do and when.
Take a look at the Time Management Suggestions worksheet to learn how to schedule your time more effectively.

Organising your homework
All students are given free homework diaries on day one, but only some of you will still be regularly using them by the end of the first term! Some students like to use alternative methods to remind themselves about homework, tasks and other appointments - Outlook Calendar or Tasks can be a good system, and setting up To Do lists on Outlook could also be useful, as most (but not all!) of you check your emails regularly. In fact, combining your homework details and your emails could be a good way to remind you to look at both! Another good tip is to use your mobile phone if it has a good reminders app, and there are lots of free Android and iPhone apps to help with task management and scheduling. Whatever you use, it needs to be something you check daily!

One suggestion we always make in the Study Centre is to go through your timetable and work out when you get given homework and when it is due in each week. Then work out roughly how much time you spend completing each of the subject/tutor's homework. Now re-write your timetable to include these elements - you will probably find you have enough free periods in the week to complete the majority, if not all, of your homework!

Organising your files
Using folders and dividers is also a good start - check that you have enough and don't forget the college has a 'stationery shop' if they don't have any yet, or have run out.