FLY@UP Time Management Strategies

One bite at a time 

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! Bit by bit! Many assignments are too big to complete in one day. You need to break the assignment up into smaller tasks and tackle those! You cannot do the whole assignment at once. When you have completed enough of the smaller tasks, the whole assignment starts taking shape.

Anyone can survive anything for 5 minutes

You have a huge project that is scaring you to death. You have been putting it off for so long that the deadline is looming. Commit yourself to working on this project for 5 minutes. Then forget about it. It doesn't matter where or how you begin, just spend 5 minutes on it. Then stop. You can carry on later or even the next day. It will be surprisingly easy to resume once you have started.

Kill a mozzie

A mozzie (or mosquito) is a small irritating pest. It can keep you from sleeping well or concentrating on your work. Sometimes small things that ought not to take up our attention do just that. So, get rid of the small irritating things that worry you. Make a phone call, renew your library membership, post a letter, buy a diary, and complete your vocabulary book!

One for the road

If you have 70 problems to do for maths homework for next week, and you divide up the work into 10 per day - when you have done the 10 - just do one more, by the last day you will have reduced, maybe even eliminated, the amount of homework for that day. This is a good technique to remember for many aspects of your life. If you apply for bursaries - apply for just one more - it might just be the one you get!

If you are practicing swimming, for example, do one more length, if you are preparing for your book and magazine report - do one more than is needed now.

TIP:

It is important to remember that you have to balance your studies with your personal and social life. To successfully manage this you need to (Van Heerden, 2005:16):

  • Make a list of your daily activities,
  • Compile a weekly time table,
  • Prioritise your activities,
  • Set specific goals,
  • Focus on one task at a time,
  • Study on a regular basis, and
  • Put time aside for relaxing.

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