Tips
for Non-School Leavers
Time Management for Adult Learners
When trying to organise your time you come up against two problems: finding
the time in the first place and then using it properly (Chamber and Northedge,
1997:9). If you don't do the second, there is not point in doing the first.
Luckily, your life and work experiences often mean that you are already
a much better manager of time than most school-leavers. You are used to having
too many things to do in too little time.
What can you do to manage your time?
Make Schedules
You need schedules for each week of the university Semester and for the Semester
as a whole. The weekly plan is where you set short term goals: what needs
to be done this week and so on. The Semester planner is where you plan your
work over the entire Semester.
Download a yearly planner (pdf)
Download a weekly planner (pdf)
Real Time
Calculate how much time you actually have, or could find, for your work.
Although there are 24 hours in a day, not all of those hours can be used
to study. After removing time for sleeping, eating, shopping and so on, you'll
arrive at a number that represents the 'real time' that can be devoted
to study.
More about filling in a study planner
Make the most of what time you do have
The idea that it's only effective to study if you have large chunks of time
is a common misconception. In fact, studying uninterrupted for hours on end
can be counter-productive in terms of concentration.
- Use small blocks of
time for completing minor study tasks.
- Break large tasks down into segments,
which are easily achievable.
- When you arrange a few hours to study, always
be ready to make the most of it. Save this time for thinking and
writing or focused reading.
Work out your optimum study method
Find out when, and under what circumstances,
you work most efficiently.
- Do you prefer to work early in the morning
or late at night?
- Do you prefer working on one assignment exclusively,
or several at the same time?
- Is it best to work at night
after the kids are in bed, or while they're doing their own homework?
- Do you need complete silence to concentrate, or do you find a background
buzz more conducive to effective study?
Working out your preferences makes you a more efficient and effective student
in the times you do have. Be honest with yourself about your preferences.
Don't plan to get up and study at 5 am if you're not a morning person, and
don't plan to study after dinner if you always fall asleep by 8.30 pm.
Be realistic
Realise how long various tasks actually take. Generally, academic
work takes longer than you think, certainly if you want to do your best.
If you are unrealistic about how long it takes to complete a particular task,
then you'll be frustrated by your inability to get things done on time.
Avoid perfectionism—you don't have time to make every single assignment
perfect. Also, if you spend all your time making one assignment perfect,
then it uses up the time that you need to complete all your other work.
Thinking time
Allow yourself adequate 'thinking time' when doing assignments. Students
are often aware of the time it takes to find research material, to make notes,
and to actually write the assignment; but what they don't always consider
is the time it takes to do the necessary thinking.
Prioritise your work
Start work on assignments well before they are due. Sometimes
you may have two or more assignments due on the same day, so leaving things
until the last moment is not recommended. Not only will this make university
a real chore, but you will not do as well as you are able.
Also: while an extension will help you cope with a single assignment, the
duration of the extension eats into time that needs to be spent on others.
So, an extension is not a ‘get out of jail free card …'!
Creating Time
Time is always a limited commodity for non-school leavers, so make the most
of it, and try creating some!
Can you think of ways to create time?
- Visit your local municipal library. They might have resources there that
you can use. This will save traveling time to uni. Your local library's
catalogue is likely to be searchable through the web too.
- If you are doing a library search on campus why not get the books for
two assignments at the same time?
- Make the most of time spent on public transport—can you read on the
train or bus? Can you read while you are waiting? If so, do so (reading
while you are driving is, however, discouraged!). If your reading material
is heavy or bulky, then perhaps you could photocopy some of the relevant
sections and carry them will you in a pocket or bag.
- Think about the timing of 'moveable' assignments. While most assignments
have a fixed submission date, others, like tutorial presentations and
tute papers, are more flexible. When choosing a particular presentation
slot, do take into account the timing of other assignments. Generally speaking,
it is good to do your presentations in the first half of the course if
you can (weeks 2-7) as it clears the way for the major assignments that
are normally submitted towards the end of the Semester.
- Make sure you attend your lectures, or at least listen to them online.
Although missing a lecture may seem like a way to save an hour, you'll
find that lectures are actually a very effective way to get to the heart
of your course. An hour saved in one week might lead to many hours of extra
work later in the Semester: skipping lectures is a false economy.
Studying with Children
Studying around the demands of a family will challenge your time
management, but won't make it impossible. Planning ahead is the key.
Here are some strategies to help you:
- Study at a regular time so that the children become familiar with your
routine: your routine will become part of theirs. Explain to them the
importance of what you are doing and tell them how the family will benefit.
- Plan ahead for your peak study periods. Plan activities to help keep
the children occupied, because if the children aren't occupied then
you will be.
- Consider getting a babysitter for those occasions when you just have to
get things done. For example, when you are studying for exams or when
you are trying to meet a deadline for a group project, you might 'outsource'
your childcare.
- Establish a Semester-long timetable so that, by taking on
primary child care responsibilities, your spouse, partner, friends
and family may help you create time for your academic work. The more notice
you give them, the more they are able to help you.
- Realise that things will take you longer and plan accordingly—and having
children to look after always increases the possibility of unexpected
occurrences and, therefore, interruptions to your well-planned schedule.
- Leaving things
until the last minute is never advisable, even more so when your
time is never totally your own. If you can't get it all done, get something
done. It is better to have achieved something rather than nothing. Give
yourself credit for what you have done, rather than what you should've
done.
Try not to feel guilty about the time you spend on your studies. Your family
will survive.
