Long, medium and short-term time management

A good way to get started on your master plan is to create two lists:

• A list of all the assessed tasks for all of your units during the teaching period. This will allow you to balance your commitments across units, as it’s common to have multiple assignments due in the same week.
• A list of the topics you will learn in each unit. This will help you to keep track of what you have learned, and provide you with a big-picture overview of the material you need to master during the teaching period. It will also make revision less overwhelming.

Once you have created your lists, you can start noting topics, due dates for assessments and other important information in your calendar or e-planner. The following steps can be useful:

1. Write down the due dates for assessments, including final assessments (e.g. exams).
2. Estimate the time required to complete an assessment or prepare for an exam.
3. Working backwards from the due date, fill slots in your diary or e-planner with tasks associated with an assessment, until you have filled all the time estimated for the tasks. Do not forget to add contingency time in case you run into any unexpected difficulties!
4. Repeat for all assessments for the teaching period.

Watch the short video below for an example of how to create a study plan by putting together a master task list and revision list, and what to do with it once you have all the information in one place.