When you are studying, tasks can quickly mount up, which usually means unnecessary stress. This is especially true around deadline time! Therefore, it is useful to draw on some basic strategies for managing your studies to try and make your journey more productive and less stressful. These tips can be just as equally applied to work and personal life.
Plan your day
This may sound all too obvious, but the best place to start is to plan your day. This can be done the night before, so that you wake up feeling organised and ready to go. The best approach is to aim to complete five keys steps each day that have shorter or more manageable deadlines.
Make a to-do list
We all love to-do lists! However, all too often these are only used when we are popping to the shops. However, to-do lists are also an incredibly useful method to help organise your studies, including prioritisation of tasks. A list of things to do each day will also allow you to break these tasks into small manageable steps. You will also experience that great feeling of achievement once you are able to tick things off!
Say no!
Another point that we need to be mindful of as distance learning students is that we cannot do everything all at once, therefore there need be times when we say no. This is especially true when it comes to less pressing commitments. There will be times when studying needs to take priority because of upcoming deadlines or important projects. However, it is of course also essential that we periodically allow ourselves time out from our studies.
Reflect
Finally, it is also a really good idea to reflect on your accomplishments whilst studying. All too often we get swamped in what we have to do, without looking at what we have achieved so far. Reflecting can also be a great motivator, as acknowledging our accomplishments makes us want to accomplish more.