Getting Organised Sara Steinke STUDENT ORIENTATION 2012

Aims of the session Identify what you have already achieved in terms of getting organised for studying at university (known as a study skills audit) Recognise key organisational strategies to help you to study effectively and efficiently at university – time management, prioritisation, establishing a study timetable Draw up your ‘to do’ list of organisational strategies to action in the next few weeks

Why get organised? Adult learners have many, often competing, demands on their time involving work, family and studying Poor organisational skills prevents students from achieving their best Related to other study skills – study space, time management, essay writing, presentations, exams, revision, reading, note-taking Helps you to achieve your short and long term goals

C - Creative have the confidence to use your individual strategies and styles, apply imagination to your learning R - Reflective sit with your experience, analyse and evaluate your own performance and draw lessons from it E - Effective organise your space, time, priorities, state of mind and resources to the maximum benefit A - Active be personally involved, do things, physically and mentally in order to make sense of what you learn M - Motivated be aware of your desired outcomes using short and long-term 'goals'

Think about the following 1.Have you created an adequate and dedicated study space? 2.Do you have all the equipment you need? 3.Have you thought about how you are going to organise your notes/books? 4.Have you identified the pressures on your time? 5.Have you thought about how you are going to fit in studying with your work and family commitments? 6.Have you drawn up a study timetable?

How well do I use my time?YesMay -be No 1. I use small pockets of time effectively. 2.I am well motivated to start work quickly. 3.I do enough rather than aiming at perfection. 4. I say ‘NO’ when I lack time. 5.I use a diary to prioritise my activities.

1.Small pockets of time – around 45 minutes – are more productive: short and frequent portions of time soon mount up 2.Recognise and deal with procrastination: identify your time wasters (self-inflicted and given); self direction and motivation by setting short and long term goals 3.Pareto Principle: 20% of our efforts deliver 80% of our results; 20% effort delivers an acceptable result, not perfect, but good enough 4.L’Oreal Principle – ‘because you’re worth it’: educate your family, friends and colleagues to respect your study space / time 5.Use one diary to create a ‘to-do list’: prioritise tasks; note deadlines; write down dates you must begin working towards the deadlines

Priorities: setting goals Have you thought about your a) academic b) professional c) personal goals? Have you broken your goals down into a)short (this year) b)medium (next year) c) long (3 years) targets?

Prioritisation

Creating an study timetable 1.Write down the three most important aspects of organisational skills that you have learnt/thought about in this session? How are you going to use these skills to create your study timetable? 2. Are there any areas for improvement in your organisational skills that you need to take action on? If so, what are you doing to do to improve this aspect of your learning?

Recap of session Undertaken a study skills audit of your preparation of studying at university – well done Identified organisational strategies to help you succeed at university – space, resources, time management, goals, prioritisation, study timetable Created a organisation ‘to do’ list for the next few weeks – vital for the first weeks of your course

Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study Skills Handbook, 3 rd Edition (London, Palgrave) chapter 4 ‘The C.R.E.A.M. Strategy for learning’ pp study/studyskills/learning/time. asp helpful information on organisational skills on the Skills4Study website studyskills/course timetable study skills workshops which deal with organisational skills – and other study skills – in greater detail services/facilities/support/time- management online resources on organisational skills available on the Birkbeck Library website get-ahead-stay ahead/skills/organisational-skills 20 minute interactive tutorial supporting this Student Orientation programme