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Time management

I’m tackling multiple subjects at once for a resit and need to know: how do I manage my time good enough for success.

I struggled learning this at GCSE and just leaned towards subjects I liked. This consequently led me to have problems with time management at alevels where I ended up not doing so well.

I will be surprised to see students achieve all 9s, As and A*s but i’ll never understand how they do it.

Is it my study technique? Or is it that I’m just not fit to learn whatever I’m learning?

Please help me!!

Reply 1

BCU Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I’m tackling multiple subjects at once for a resit and need to know: how do I manage my time good enough for success.
I struggled learning this at GCSE and just leaned towards subjects I liked. This consequently led me to have problems with time management at alevels where I ended up not doing so well.
I will be surprised to see students achieve all 9s, As and A*s but i’ll never understand how they do it.
Is it my study technique? Or is it that I’m just not fit to learn whatever I’m learning?
Please help me!!

Hi @Anonymous

I think the most important thing for managing your time and ensuring that you revise all subjects is having a plan or schedule. You could either decide that you will revise a couple of subjects a day for a few hours each, or study more subjects for less time. I found that making to do lists for each subject was a good way to ensure that I revised everything that I wanted to. I also used to find that mixing up my revision techniques made it a lot more interesting and helped to keep my motivation levels high.

Hope that helps!

Sophie.
BCU Student Rep.

Reply 2

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I’m tackling multiple subjects at once for a resit and need to know: how do I manage my time good enough for success.
I struggled learning this at GCSE and just leaned towards subjects I liked. This consequently led me to have problems with time management at alevels where I ended up not doing so well.
I will be surprised to see students achieve all 9s, As and A*s but i’ll never understand how they do it.
Is it my study technique? Or is it that I’m just not fit to learn whatever I’m learning?
Please help me!!

Hi!

The best way to manage your time is to plan im advance. A study timetable was a game changer for me at GCSE and A level - it doesn't have to be anything fancy, just sit down and say to yourself that you'll study a certain subject for a certain ammount of time, then another subject for another ammount of time, and so on. This can be adjusted so that the subjects that you're finding the hardest have the most time spent on them, and those that need less of your attention get less time.

I find a timer app like Forest really helps me! It keeps you off your phone, and also has a second timer built in after the first one goes off that allows you to take a break for a set ammount of time, which will make you wayy more productive. You could even do this just with the timer on your phone, too.

In terms of time management in exams, I emphasise with this a lot - time management was never my strong suit in exams, and even by my actual A levels, it was atrocious. However, the only thing that I found that helped me take it from catastrophic to just atrocious was past paper questions under strict timing at least once a week, and exercises to help me write faster.

Hope this helped! :smile:

Best,

Amy (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

(edited 5 months ago)

Reply 3

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I’m tackling multiple subjects at once for a resit and need to know: how do I manage my time good enough for success.
I struggled learning this at GCSE and just leaned towards subjects I liked. This consequently led me to have problems with time management at alevels where I ended up not doing so well.
I will be surprised to see students achieve all 9s, As and A*s but i’ll never understand how they do it.
Is it my study technique? Or is it that I’m just not fit to learn whatever I’m learning?
Please help me!!

Hi!

It is a common issue to struggle with time management when trying to study multiple subjects at once so do not worry you are not alone! Like the two other responses you have received have said, a timetable or schedule is the best thing for time management! There are various apps that can assist with this or you can go traditional and create your own one on paper!

Make sure your timetable is flexible and includes things like the amount of time you will study each subject for, subjects you want to focus on more, and breaks (short 5-10 mins or longer 30 min breaks). All of these things will ensure you have a suitable timetable to effectively manage your time!

After a few days of studying using your timetable it would be a good idea to review how well it has worked and if there are any tweaks you might need to make to it for the future! Things like spending too much time on your best subject or underestimating how long certain tasks take are common things people might fall into but that can be easily solved with a quick review!

I hope this response has helped, I found a revision timetable helped me massively when studying for both GCSEs and A-Levels and by looking at the other responses to your question it has helped other students too! Let me know if you have any other questions, I am more than happy to help!

Thanks, Matt 🙂
Official LJMU Student Rep

Reply 4

LancashireRep5

Official Rep

Original post

by Anonymous

I’m tackling multiple subjects at once for a resit and need to know: how do I manage my time good enough for success.
I struggled learning this at GCSE and just leaned towards subjects I liked. This consequently led me to have problems with time management at alevels where I ended up not doing so well.
I will be surprised to see students achieve all 9s, As and A*s but i’ll never understand how they do it.
Is it my study technique? Or is it that I’m just not fit to learn whatever I’m learning?
Please help me!!

Hey there 👋

My name is Siobhan and I’m a recent physiotherapy graduate from the University of Lancashire 👩*🎓 I want to start by saying that you’re definitely not alone in this and I totally get how you're feeling right now. I used to be the same as you, only focusing on the subjects I liked and then falling behind in the others. This is definitely not due to you not “being fit to learn”, everyone has their own way of learning and you might still be finding yours!

When at uni, I was able to learn how to study more efficiently and manage my time as well, not because I’m suddenly more capable, but because I did a bit of trial and error to see what best suits my style of learning. Here’s what helped me (and what I wish I knew earlier):

Set a REALISTIC timetable:

•

Try and set specific time and day where you will dedicate to revision. For me it was during my free lessons/time between lectures and half an hour to an hour after school/uni in the library. Don’t do crazy 5 hour straight revision sessions after school because it’s not something you can maintain. If you do smaller sessions re everyday then you can get into the habit of revision and it will become second nature.

Do the harder thing first:

•

I like to start with the tasks I am putting off and chip away at it even a little bit so that I know I am being productive and it’s not always in the back of my mind. For example, at uni, I couldn’t stand doing research so I would do this first before revision anatomy which was the thing I actually enjoy doing.

Breaks

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Make sure to set time for breaks and separate home life from work life. The best piece of advice I can give you is when you are done with revision, you are DONE for the day. Go home and relax to help your body and mind reset for the day after

Focus apps

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I use opal or forest when revising to limit my distractions from gadgets! These work wonders and really help me maintain my productivity when i need to revise.

Environment

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A massive thing for focus is environment. I can’t focus at all in my bedroom so I would always go to the library or a cafe to revise as it puts me in a “revision mood”.

Start earlier

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I really struggle with time management and prioritisation so I found that doing tint bits very early on add up and make a huge difference. This might mean, mind mapping what you’re going to do, doing a draft of an essay plan or timetable. Whatever it is, the earlier you start, the less overwhelmed you’ll feel when the deadlines start to come up.

Remember!!!

•

It’s not about working harder, it’s about working better. Once you build your system and routine, it gets easier (still tough, but manageable). Keep going, reflect on your progress, and try new approaches till something sticks 😊

I hope this has helped you and please let me know if you have any more questions at all!!

Siobhan (Student Ambassador for the University of Lancashire)