Planning and prioritising

Make sure you are very familiar with your course.

• What is required to pass the course?
• When are the assignment cut-off dates?
• What are the learning outcomes?
• How much time do I need to allocate to study?

Planning your study time

• Plan ahead by creating a schedule that includes all your commitments relating to study, work, and personal or social life for the next few months. You could use your course calendar for this by adding the other commitments you have.
• Recommended study time is around 100 hours study for each 10 points of a course. So work out how much study time you need to put aside and review this regularly as you go through your studies
• Do the most difficult work when your concentration is strongest
• Take regular breaks, perhaps every hour
• Be flexible – reflect on whether your study pattern is successful. For example, if you are getting less done in the evenings than you hoped, try something different, perhaps by studying in the early morning.

I’m really a morning person, but I might think about doing a bit before dinner though if I’m home at a reasonable time. It’s worth studying for half an hour or so at a time – over a week it adds up.