Wednesday 2 October 2013

Planning for the next six weeks


It’s the end of week 7 and you’ve made it past the half way mark this semester – Great work so far! Make sure you take a moment to congratulate yourself for your achievements!

There is one more week before you can enjoy your well earned mid semester break, but it is also time to start thinking about the final six weeks of the semester.
Staying motivated going into the break can be difficult, especially when you have completed so much work already!

 What’s your plan of attack for the next six weeks?

Make the most of this recess by planning the final weeks of semester. While on your break, you might like to think about how much time you’re allocating to:
  • relax and recharge your batteries
  • catch up with friends and family
  • your final assessments
  • preparing for your exams
Here are some useful ideas:

Study-work-life balance

As part of your six week plan you could:
  • Swap some shifts or request some time off work when major assessments are due or leading up to exams.
  • Think of some quick and healthy meal options, or prepare and freeze meals ahead of time. At the very least if you’re short of time you’ll be eating well.
  • Warn family and friends that you’ll be immersed in study for the next six weeks, and that you may be hard to live with. Also remind them that you’ll resurface eventually!
Establish a realistic schedule

Take a moment to make a realistic assessment of your time management:
Are you dedicating enough time to each subject, not just the one most interesting to you or the next assessment that is due?
Are you working too many hours each week to keep up with your reading or lecture material?
Are you more focused on every other aspect of your life rather than study?
Remember that most courses recommend three hours of study for every time-tabled hour in class. Take a realistic look at how much time you are dedicating to each subject and adjust your study or work schedule to suit. It is not too late to make a realistic study schedule and stick to it! Also make the most of the recess coming up and try to study in line with your normal lecture schedule.

Create a space and remove distractions

Assess what may be distracting you from sitting down and studying:
Have you established a distraction free space to focus on study?
Are you having trouble focusing on study at home with television, house mates or family around?
Creating a space, a room, a desk or quiet corner just for study will help you stay focused. It may also be better to find a space on campus if you can’t at home. If self motivation is an issue, meet up regularly with someone from your class each week to sit down and study together after lectures.

Create regular breaks and rewards

If everything seems too big and overwhelming to deal with, break each subject into small manageable tasks. Try writing a checklist of what you want to achieve each week. Take a break in between each task, like going outside for 5 minutes, making a cup of tea or going for a short walk.
Reward yourself with a rest or something enjoyable if you finish all of your weekly tasks early! Limit your social engagements until you have finished your weekly tasks, this will keep you from getting sidetracked and also be a great reward for finishing your work. Remember to also reward yourself for passing your assignments and achieving your goals. If you do something you enjoy as a reward for yourself it is extra incentive to keep achieving and doing well!
Remember to contact mySupport to talk to your Student Experience Officer if you are feeling overwhelmed or concerned with anything!

Happy break!

Kind Regards,

mySupport Team

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