Good time management skills are important not just in your studies but in other areas of your life. Planning your objectives and goals within a specific timeframe will mean that you are more likely to reach your targets and complete tasks on time or even ahead of schedule. As a result, you will get more time to enjoy other things in life that are important to you.
However, managing your time is easier said than done. University and life can throw many obstacles at you: multiple deadlines, work, social commitments. Sometimes finding the right balance can feel like a constant battle, and this is where effective time management can help. So, how do you develop effective time management skills?
In this guide we’re going to identify some of the obstacles that might be stopping you from working smarter and recommend strategies and tools to help you overcome these obstacles. The end result: better organisation of your time and a healthier work-life balance.
The tabs of this guide will support you in managing your time. The sections are organised as follows:
Some things are more important than others. They don't necessarily need doing first - but they need time allocating to them first. Assessed work is the obvious example, but quite honestly it depends on your circumstances:
Whatever your goals and circumstances, at any given moment you will have to give priority to one task or another.
Reflecting on how you currently spend your time is a really important start. You can then begin to make the changes necessary to form an effective strategy for getting your tasks done on time. Some of these statements might be familiar to you...
If we just look at university work, your priorities will depend on questions like these:
Sometimes just answering these questions can be enough to help decide what to put where in the free spaces in your calendar/diary - if you are still struggling, think of using a tool like a to-do list or a matrix.
What are your priorities? As a way of mapping your time, take a look at the following matrix tool. Decide what is urgent and what can wait, then plan what you do first.
If this method works for you, try building it into your weekly routine. Be mindful that the same task might move between boxes as you head from one week into another. For example, carefully re-organising your desk is 'not urgent' and 'less important' as you needn't do this every day or week; however, that chore becomes 'important' if your desk is so chaotic that you can't focus whilst studying.
URGENT | NOT URGENT | |
---|---|---|
IMPORTANT |
Tutorial preparation for a looming deadline Exam revision Family emergency Last minute preparation for an event or presentation 1 |
Reading lecture notes Personal development Exercise / staying healthy Planning time / goal setting 2 |
LESS IMPORTANT |
Some meetings Some emails and phone calls Helping a friend with a relationship problem 3 |
Catching up with missed TV programmes Some phone calls Checking your social media messages 4 |
Adapted from the time management matrix as described by Covey and Merrill (1994) in First Things First.
Even when you know what your priorities are, you may still find you are distracted by other things. Avoiding what needs to be done or procrastinating can mean that you lose focus, and this can really soak up your time. To build better study habits think about some of the following:
The terms productive procrastination or procrastivity describe when we delay working on what's most important by instead tackling unrelated things (often smaller tasks with quicker payoff). If you have ever hoovered your entire flat or alphabetized your spice cabinet to avoid starting on an essay, that was procrastivity in action! Gently redirect yourself when this urge arises: remember that writing for 45 minutes will make you less stressed in the long-run than seeing some spices in alphabetical order.
Experiment with where and when you focus the best. For some people, silence and a tidy desk do the trick. For others, it's actually more helpful to sit in an environment with buzz and background noise, such as a cafe on campus. If it works for you, stick with it; if it stops working for you, try new arrangements until you find your study fit.
Use a new route to work or university to stimulate your brain and recharge your thinking powers. Do you have a study buddy you can start your work with? Sharing ideas and talking about your work with someone else or a group will make it seem less overwhelming.
Do you feel like you have taken on too much? Then share some tasks with others. You can return the favour later on when you have more time.
Remember that it is okay to say ‘no’ to other tasks or calls on your time – negotiate what you can and can’t do and be responsible for yourself. Saying ‘yes’ is a good thing, but saying it all the time can be counterproductive. Remember the priority matrix.
Before you start your work, switch off distracting apps/social media accounts on your phone for short periods if you can. Put your phone out of sight. You will have plenty of time to check it when you have done a chunk of study – think of this as a reward for spending time working.
If you are still having difficulty getting started, there are apps that can help you along the way:
Finish – A to-do list app for Apple users. This tool allows you to set short-, mid- and long-term tasks. The different settings allow you to look at everything at once or just focus on more pressing deadlines. A 'Bother Me' switch allows you to be bothered every hour to finish a task.
Microsoft To Do – A to-do list app available to all UoS students via Microsoft 365. You can use it in tandem with Outlook calendar and other 365 apps to streamline your time and task planning.
Mindly - Helps you organise your thoughts in a more three-dimensional manner than a to-do list. This app helps you create quick summaries, plan projects and add associations to keep you organised. It can also be shared with friends and colleagues.
We’ve looked at managing priorities and how to deal with some things that hold you back: now let’s look at how you plan your work within the time slots you have available.
Sound familiar? If you use a diary or a planner you can plan a week, month or a semester ahead. You might want to plan backwards from deadlines so that you can visualise exactly what needs to be done in the time remaining.
Some planner options include a portable printed diary, wall planner, online calendar, or downloadable timetable template. Use your weekly planner to map out your week and allocate time to the things that you need to complete. You need to include all activities as it will give you a realistic picture of how much time you actually have:
The list above starts with the activities most likely to be timebound (i.e., locked into specific slots) and ends with the activities most likely to be moveable. Keep in mind that your list might include different priorities as no two students are the same.
Colour-coding can be used to distinguish your formal tasks such as lectures and work shifts from informal tasks such as recreational sports and pub quizzes. Don’t forget to include the time for socialising, sleeping, eating, fitness, shopping, housework and part-time work – these timeslots can also be colour-coded.
You might think it odd to discuss notemaking in a guide about time management, but trust us: notemaking practices can make or break a student's schedule! Spending just a few minutes each week organising your notes can save you hours in the long run. Consider doing it on a Sunday afternoon, for example, and think of it as rebooting to start each week fresh.
Our assignment planner is a step-by-step guide to help you plan, organise and find the resources you need to complete your assignment. It will help you to break down the different assignment stages for an individual assignment across the time you have available. You can set your start date and hand-in date, and the guide includes information about researching, drafting, writing, proofreading, and writing up your references within the timeframe.
If you are working on your dissertation then our dissertation planner is the tool to use. The planner is a step-by-step guide to help you write a dissertation, from starting to think about your question through to final submission. At each stage you will find useful tips and support. Our Writing the Dissertation: Overview and Planning guide provides support specific to the start of the dissertation process, including tips on organising your research, establishing communications with your supervisor, and more.
Above, we talked about organising notes and labelling files during your downtime. This can be a helpful activity that will improve your productivity later on. Having well-ordered storage areas can save you time and unnecessary searching. You might want to colour-code folders, use dividers and tags within box files, or use different coloured sticky notes to label articles you want to refer back to in your notes.
If you prefer online organising, try the following apps which may help:
Lastly, think about planning a 'landing area' at home for when you come in, and don’t forget things as you leave the house. It can be a set of hooks or trays that hold your keys, phone, calculators, shoes, textbooks/notes, rucksack, memory sticks, headphones, etc. This a simple but effective way of ensuring you don’t waste time trying to locate your important 'stuff.'
By this point, we have explored some top tips and best practices for managing your time. Let's now pivot to some common mistakes students make, how to avoid them, and what to do if a mistake happens.
Poor time management can lead to late submissions. Using a planner will allow you to set enough time to go over your work thoroughly before a hand-in deadline. Additionally, you can set up automatic calendar notifications via Outlook to receive reminders of upcoming deadlines by email alert. Remember, in many cases you need to leave enough time to submit your work online via Turnitin or e-Assignment. See the guidance on Turnitin for Students to find out what steps you need to take around the submission process.
Taking responsibility for managing your time well and organising your work, keeping records of your sources and fully acknowledging the work of others, are key to ensuring that you follow good academic practice. Poor time management could mean you miss noting the correct references, or copy a quotation or source incorrectly simply because you were rushing to finish an assignment. Giving yourself time at the end of the writing process to check your sources thoroughly will help you avoid both plagiarism, and breaching the University of Southampton regulations and guidance on academic responsibility and conduct (ARC).
After deciding on a planning tool or diary that works for you, start to think about your environment. Your time management can be negatively impacted if you try to get work done in spaces or at times that aren't conducive to how you, individually, operate.
Generally, it's advisable to keep it varied: most of us eventually lose focus and grow uninspired if we're always working in the same environment. If you need to complete a project with friends or colleagues, then try using a group study area (virtual or physical) so that you can discuss ideas and practice presenting. If you need to travel regularly between sites, work, and university, think about using time on the bus for reading or drafting a mind map for an essay, or, if you are driving and need to concentrate, listening to a useful podcast/audio book.
Environment can mean not just physical space, but time of day. Recognise times when you feel tired and use these periods to do low-energy work, such as labelling folders and organising notes. Do high-value work during times when your energy levels are at their peak – you will be much more productive.
Many students make the mistake of scheduling in study sessions that are too long and lack sufficient breaks. This is a terrible idea for productivity and efficiency!
Break larger projects down into smaller, manageable goals. Think about 'chunking' similar tasks together, starting perhaps with background reading and notemaking work, then a writing task, followed by a break, and then computer-based work. Decide how long the small chunks of time will last before you break. Try the popular Pomodoro Technique which uses a pattern of 25 minutes of work followed by a 5 minute break; use a small reward to recharge before you start work again.
If you struggle with juggling a number of deadlines or tasks, try Personal Kanban. This technique allows you to visualise the amount of work you have, and the way that work is carried out. Personal Kanban is also scalable. It can work with just you, or with your family or even with work groups.
There may be times when you feel you are overwhelmed by your workload, you are feeling stressed and can’t concentrate, or something out of your control has happened in your life which has affected your work. There are many people in the university who can help and support you.
Tme is a limited resource, but you have the power to make changes in order to get things done more effectively. Recognise that when it comes to time management, the goal can never – and should never – be perfection. The goal is instead to make progress, as managing time just a bit better can make a world of difference to your stress levels. This guide should help you take control, reach your goals and achieve a better work-life balance.
Here’s a final recap of the main points:
Plan your work over a week, month or semester. Include assignment deadlines, exam times and lectures. Be realistic and include work and social or free time.
Set clear, realistic goals and split larger tasks into manageable ones. If there are things you don’t like doing, try putting these at the beginning of the work/study session. Get them finished while your energy levels are high.
Decide what is urgent and what can wait, then plan what you will do first.
Recognise the calls on your time and make changes. Remember saying ‘yes’ all of the time can be counterproductive. Take responsibility for yourself.
Try to vary your work and chunk like tasks together. After longer periods of work, review what you have done. If your concentration is flagging, stop and do simpler tasks that are useful but can be achieved during periods of low energy. Take breaks and learn to relax – find out what helps you relax and add it to your planner or diary.