University of Reading
Making more hours in the day
A LearnHigher time management workshop
Notes for tutors
Like all LearnHigher resources, this workshop is freely available for use and adaptation for educational purposes under the terms of a Creative Commons Licence. These notes offer tips you may find useful when presenting the workshop. Many of the slides can be used individually as embedded advice or prompts for discussion in module teaching.
|Slide |Content |Notes |
|1. Making more hours in the day: Managing your time at university | |You are welcome to add your own university logo, but please leave |
| | |LearnHigher logo and University of Reading acknowledgement. |
|2. Overview of the workshop |This workshop looks at things you can do to make the most of the time you have available to | |
| |study. It includes: | |
| |Studying at the best time of day | |
| |Making study practices more efficient | |
| |Learning to prioritise – and to say no! | |
| |Poor time management is not a personality trait! It is a set of practices that can be | |
| |changed. This workshop aims to help you do that... | |
|3. Why do you need more hours?: Why is it so difficult to fit it all|Variety of commitments which need to be balanced |It’s useful to get this kind of information in early as students who|
|in? |New ideas and working practices = more time needed |have difficulties with time management can often believe that it is |
| |Planning for the unexpected |due to some fault on their part. They are reassured by having the |
| |Could you work more efficiently? |reasons time management can be difficult at university spelt out for|
| |Is there anything you could cut out? |them. |
|4. A bit of fun to start you thinking... What happens if you run out|“The dog ate my homework” is a classic excuse for submitting work late. Can you come up with |This icebreaker activity uses humour to engage students and start |
|of time? |anything better? |them interacting. Its starting premise is the excuses offered to |
| |Work in small groups: |tutors for late submissions. |
| |Come up with a plausible excuse for submitting your work late – the more inventive, the |Offering a small prize (e.g. bar of chocolate to share or small bags|
| |better |of sweets) to the winning group encourages engagement with the task.|
| |One person to present it to the whole group - a prize for the best excuse! | |
| |Feedback responses to the whole group | |
|5. Choosing best times to study: A simple way to use time more |When do you find it easiest to study? (Mornings, afternoons, evenings?) |Introducing a practical way to maximise the utility of study time |
|effectively |When do you find it more difficult to concentrate? |can help to build students’ confidence in the advice that follows. |
| |Plan to do more complex tasks in your good study time |Suggest that they write down which are their best and worst times to|
| |Plan to do more mechanical tasks (or chores, keeping fit, socialising, relaxing) in your |study – committing things to paper helps to make them feel like |
| |worst time for thinking |‘real’ things that ought to be acted on. A show of hands on which |
| |Make a brief to-do list each evening, so you don’t delay starting by deciding what to do |times are best and worst can be used as a prompt to show that all |
| |first |students are different, and that each must work this out for |
| | |themselves. |
|6. Working more efficiently: What do you need to think about? |How do you use your time now? |These questions are included on the worksheet for students to |
| |Are you studying at your best times? |complete as the basis for a brief self-assessment questionnaire. |
| |Are you spending too long on particular study practices? | |
| |Does it take a long time to get started? | |
| |Can you find everything you need easily? | |
| |Are you easily distracted? | |
|7. Breaking bad habits: What do you need to change? |Working in pairs: |This activity is directed at discouraging the notion that bad time |
| |Write the things that stop you from managing time effectively on your worksheet |management is an intrinsic quality, and showing that it is just a |
| |Choose one to share with your partner. Discuss possible ways to overcome or avoid this |set of bad habits that can be broken. Our research showed that |
| |problem. |students prioritise advice from their peers, so sharing strategies |
| |Share this with the rest of the group. If you hear other strategies that are appropriate for |offers the presenter a chance to comment on peer-led strategies. |
| |you, add them to your worksheet. | |
|8. Working more efficiently: Tips to plan time more efficiently |Have lots of small manageable targets, and reward yourself for achieving them |This and the following slides offer a change in learning mode to |
| |Have a to-do list for the week, and for the next day |something more like a lecture to offer variety and maintain |
| |Revise your to-do lists, study timetable and work schedule regularly to check they’re still |interest. There is a handout of tips available via the LearnHigher |
| |working for you |website which you can distribute at the end of the lecture. |
| |If you’re falling behind, check that you’re not trying to do too much – if you’ve been asked | |
| |to write a 1500 word essay, don’t do enough research for a 3000 word one! | |
|9. Working more efficiently: Tips to make reading more efficient |Decide on the questions you are trying to find answers to before you start reading. Then look|You may need to expand on the last tip, explaining that, when |
| |for the answers |reading on a new topic, getting a brief general overview provides a |
| |You don’t have to read everything on the reading list! Start by choosing three texts – then |framework to help make sense of more complex reading. |
| |add more depending on what else you need to know | |
| |Practise staged reading – start small and general then gradually get more detailed and | |
| |specific | |
|10. Working more efficiently: Tips to make note-making more |Think about what you’re trying to find out when reading, or what you’re hoping to find out | |
|efficient |from lectures | |
| |Leave your pen on the table when you’re reading – only pick it up when you find something | |
| |worth noting down. | |
| |Try making pattern notes or mindmapping – turns your notes into another learning process | |
| |Always add author, year and page no when you start note-making | |
|11. Working more efficiently: Tips to make writing up more efficient|If you spend more time thinking about what you’re going to write, you will need less time to | |
| |write it | |
| |Always make a plan – and stick to it | |
| |Break writing up into individual tasks that are each manageable | |
| |If you get stuck, choose an easy task to do next to get yourself going again | |
|12. Learning to prioritise… and to say no! |Working in pairs: |Students often treat studying as a luxury that can only be allowed |
| |Make a list - is there anything you can cross off now? |once ‘more important’ tasks are completed. This can be especially |
| |Prioritise your remaining tasks – now, soon, later |the case with mature students, who have multiple commitments and may|
| |Be ruthless and ask yourself - what would happen if you didn’t do x? Justify your decisions |suffer from low academic confidence after failure at school, making |
| |to your partner |them feel that they ‘don’t deserve’ to study. |
| |Take studying seriously - remember you’ve worked hard to get here and give yourself the time | |
| |you deserve to do well | |
|13. One last task… Decide what you are going to change |Working in small groups, or whole group: |Asking students to commit to changing one thing is the first step in|
| |Circle one thing on your worksheet that you’re going to change |changing bad habits and attitudes altogether. |
| |Share it with the rest of the group | |
| |Once you’ve said it, you have to stick to it! | |
|14. Any questions? | |It’s important to give students a chance to ask questions, but you |
| | |may want to restrict these to two or three during the session |
| | |itself. If you think you may not have time for this, it may be |
| | |better to shorten the activity on the previous slide by omitting the|
| | |group discussion. |
|15. For more on time management and other study practices… |LearnHigher time management webpages | |
| |For guides and exercises on all aspects of time management | |
| |learnhigher.ac.uk/learningareas/timemanagement/home.htm | |
| |The LearnHigher network brings together the expertise and experience of 16 universities to | |
| |produce research-informed support for study practices. learnhigher.ac.uk | |
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