Staying Organized
- Use a weekly time audit to look at where you're spending your time each week. You should focus on spending a minimum of 15-20 hours on academic work outside of the classroom;
- Write all of your commitments into a planner and map out when you will work on each assignment;
- Set deadlines for yourself to ensure you have enough time to review your work with others: Writing Center, Oral Communication Center, Math Workshop, or Language Learning Center.
Hourly Planner
Research Project Calculator
Maintaining Motivation
- Prioritize the most important assignments first and identify what is most important with a prioritization matrix;
- Make a list of everything that needs to be done and assign how long it should take to complete. It will help you identify the things that are small wins and the tasks that need to be planned for;
- Use a pomodoro timer to keep you focused and indicate clear breaks in your study time – or another technique;
- Create your own incentives for completing projects;
- Stop multitasking! It takes extra time for your brain to refocus on different projects. Instead of being distracted, keep a notepad handy to jot down any ideas or thoughts that come unexpectedly.
Avoiding Procrastination
- Break up large projects into smaller, more manageable goals;
- Schedule time in advance to work on long-term projects using a syllabi tracker;
- Find a group of like-minded people to hold each other accountable for remaining focused;
- Avoid time-wasters by using technology to block online distractions;
