Tips for time management? (1 Viewer)

[Miss-Indecisive]

Open discussion on ways Yr 11 and Yr 12 kids should manage and organise their time to excel in the HSC.
Any advice, tips, recommendations and experiences would be appreciated, as I personally need help with time management!
Anything you regret doing or not doing in your Prelim years that you wish you could go back and undo?


Everyone feel free to share!

 

[wannabesurgeon]

Study Timetable for each week and try to stick as best as you can with it! Been trialing it for the past 2 weeks and works a charm

 

[Miss-Indecisive]

Study Timetable for each week and try to stick as best as you can with it! Been trialing it for the past 2 weeks and works a charm

How would you do this if you don't know what tests, homework and assignments are coming up? Do you recommend studying for more than one subject per day or sticking to one sub per day?

 

[enoilgam]

I think the key to time management is getting on top of things early. With HS and especially uni, starting assignments and study early really helps ease the pressure on you as it prevents the work from amassing to the point where it is almost impossible to complete.

As for a study timetable, I didnt find them particularly useful because they are too rigid and inflexible. Like, if something unexpected comes up (which happens a lot), you have to completely rearrange your schedule. Also, some nights you might be in a more motivated and focused mood than others. With a rigid timetable, you cant take advantage of times when you are in a better frame of mind for study, nor can you account for times when you arent at your best. I tried to avoid pushing myself too hard when I wasnt on my game, because the result was often less efficient study. Instead of a rigid timetable, I found it better to set goals for each week and then organise things on a day to day basis to account for random life stuff and how I was feeling.

 

[wannabesurgeon]

How would you do this if you don't know what tests, homework and assignments are coming up? Do you recommend studying for more than one subject per day or sticking to one sub per day?

That's why you create a new timetable weekly so you can study for the appropriate number of hours for each subject to get what need be done. Well what I find is that if you do one subject a day it get's really boring and unmotivating so I like to change what I'm doing hourly or 2 hourly. Obviously if something needs more work I would do more of that thing like an assignment or test coming up for that subject.

Attached is a good template which tells you how to create a study timetable for those that need an idea or help.

View attachment preparing-timetable.pdf

But as enoilgam said, He didn't find much use for it and may not work for everyone. You just have to do what works for you

 

[Miss-Indecisive]

Good points, guys! Thanks

 

[timeslowsdown]

Prioritising is key. So you get home from school and you have a bunch of homework, some exams and assignments coming up. Break everything down by their relative importance. Personally, I think homework should be done first; you don't want to fall behind in it. Many people underestimate the importance of homework and do not consider it as a form of studying. But if you're up to date, your exam study will become much easier.

After homework, I think consolidating what's been done in class + homework is essential. Spend 10-15 minutes each day writing up notes for your subjects. This isn't formal study but means that when you have to start revising for exams, your notes will be up to date so you can focus on learning them. Only revise notes if you have the time; I think that keeping up to date with homework and notes is much more important.

With exams, give yourself plenty of time to familiarise yourself with what will be examined. I know this is easier said than done, but starting early makes things a whole lot easier. Personally for maths exams, I'd just stay on top of my homework, consistently make short notes on theory and do practice questions periodically. This meant that by exam time I didn't need to heavily study, I'd be doing past papers to consolidate.

With time management, there's no easy answer. People work differently so different strategies are going to suit different people. Making a timetable is useful, but I will tell you that it sometimes doesn't work. Because some days you'll get heaps of homework for a subject that's not listed on your timetable etc. So what I did was make a table of all my subjects and tally everyday I did 1 hour of study for that subject (this includes homework, making notes, revising). So I didn't have a strict timetable, but I could see if I was spending too much time on a certain subject. This really helped me spend equal time on all subjects.

I also recommend switching between subjects regularly. Personally I don't have a large attention span so I couldn't spend a long time on one subject. So do an hour of one, then change. If you can go for longer with changing, good but don't be afraid to leave a subject and go back to it later.

All in all, if you chip away periodically at your work and consistently study in small doses, you'll do very well. It's all about doing stuff now rather than later. Good luck