Life&Style writer Izzy Lee provides some helpful tips to plan your study time effectively.
We are steadily making our way through January, which means if you are anything like me in a coursework-heavy subject, you have just crossed off the last of your semester one assignments – go you! But let us not lie to ourselves, getting through work-heavy periods can be tough and burnout is a very real risk.
I’m talking endless doom-scrolling to delay the inevitable, the ominous blank word document staring at you accusingly, and before you know it you have two mammoth essays due in three days and you are frantically trying to write something to avoid a nasty mark deduction. We have all been there.
But what if there was another way? I have set myself the goal of leaving these habits in 2025 where they belong, and here is how I am going to do it (and how you can too!)
Plan Ahead and Set Small Goals
Set yourself small goals to achieve or set yourself rewards
The first step is to think about it ahead – do not let yourself bury assignments in the back of your mind or file them away for a later date. The key is to complete your assignments in small amounts, little and often, that way you don’t pile up with work when the pressure gets high.
It sounds hard, but setting yourself small goals to achieve such as ‘write 200 words’ or ‘read this piece of research’ makes a task that can seem stifling far more achievable.
Setting yourself rewards at the end of these tasks can also act as a great incentive e.g., ‘when I finish this task I can go to the pub with my flat’. This allows a tangible end point and a sense of accomplishment whilst making sure you maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Find what works for you
A key aspect in maximising your study time is eliminating distractions. It is all well and good sitting in the library with your laptop open, but if you pause every five minutes to check Snapchat, you are never going to truly lock in and achieve good progress. I sometimes find that working in a group setting with flatmates who do different courses is an effective way of achieving this (provided everyone mutually agrees they are going to work instead of having a yap session or a kitchen rave) as it takes away the pressure of seeing people make headway on the same task you’re struggling with.
If the option of a group session simply is not possible, it is still helpful to designate a specific area to study to separate your study and relaxation areas (please not your bedroom!).
Utilise Productivity Apps
There are also lots of productivity apps out there that are really effective at keeping you accountable when there’s no one else to make sure you cross things off your to-do list. My personal favourite has to be Forest, an app which rewards your focus with virtual plants, and gives you the option to plant real trees once you earn enough points from study sessions – it is both responsible and good for the planet!
Each essay is an opportunity to develop
It also gives you the option to lock apps like Instagram and TikTok that enable doom scrolling, or kill your plants if you lose focus, however I personally do not find this method of enforced productivity particularly effective as I spend the whole time worrying I will miss something important.
The most important thing is to try not to stress too much.
Yes, assignments and coursework are an important part of your course, but after all, mistakes are how you learn. Try to treat each essay you write as an opportunity to develop your writing and research skills, and learn from the feedback you receive – as long as you put steps into action to improve, there is nothing wrong with not getting everything right. That is just how you learn. You have got this!
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