Time management

Forty-five hours a week is the average amount of time you spend studying, writing essays, taking classes, etc., if you take a full-time programme of 60 ECTS study points.

At Hasselt University, there is a certain amount of time for independent learning between lectures. So even if you don’t have any classes scheduled, you still need to study autonomously, individually or in a group setting.
It is essential to manage your time effectively.

These tips and tricks will give you a head start!

Add structure to your day.

A fixed daily schedule gives your days a basic structure to hold on to. It creates space in your head.
You can plan your study work, tasks and appointments around this structure and keep flexible to unexpected changes.

Some ideas on structuring your days:

• Get up at about the same hour every day and sleep at about the same hour. This ensures a regular biorhythm.
• Install routines and habits. Habits make recurring things go by themselves. They save energy and protect your focus.
  • Learn how to build good study habits (video, 9’)
  • Look at this example of how a study routine might look like (image)
• Give certain activities that come back daily or weekly a permanent place in your day or week.
  e.g. student job on Saturday
  e.g. Skype with family every Sunday evening
• Check your course schedule daily for alterations.
• Look at your education as a full-time job of 40 to 45 hours/week. Even if you don’t have many classes, you still need to do a lot of autonomous learning to work through the subject matter.
• Make a clear distinction between your study time and your leisure time. Don’t text or go on Facebook while studying; focus on your course material and take a break afterwards.
  • Discover why multitasking is tempting but inefficient (video, 4’)
  • More about why multitasking isn’t working (video, 5’)
  • Do you feel like multitasking? Read this! (Infographic)

Making a schedule makes you think about how you wish to spend your time. It helps you do what you want to do more effectively.

There are different ways to schedule or plan your studies.

The to-do list

You write down some tasks you want to complete in a to-do list.
You can make a to-do list per day or week.
If you opt for a weekly variant, mark your daily goals every morning.

• This is how you write an effective to-do list (video, 2')
• Find more detailed instructions about writing to-do lists (website)
• Six quick tips for making a to-do list (Infographic)

Write down your to-do list on paper or in an online application.

• Some simple to-do list templates to print
• More advanced to-do list template to print
• Do you prefer a digital list? Try one of these apps:
  • Google Keep
  • Google tasks
  • Trello
  • Remember the milk
  • Todoist
    

Difficulties with prioritising your tasks?

• Discover the Eisenhower matrix to help you prioritise your to-do's (website + video, 7')

Maybe working with a to-do list provides enough structure for you to start working and manage your time effectively.
Others might need more detailed planning, for example, a weekly schedule.

The weekly schedule

A weekly schedule gives you an overview of your entire week. It is a way to structure your tasks and organise your days effectively.

• When do you want to start studying? What task will you be working on?
• When is it time for relaxation? Which evening will you have time to watch Netflix?
  → it's all there!

Ready to make your weekly study plan?

• Build your weekly schedule in 6 steps (document)
• Make a good study plan with this video (video, 4')

Tips for building weekly schedules:

• Make your (daily and weekly) goals workable.
  Set efficient goals via the SMART principle (Infographic)
• Involve your environment. Tell your housemates about your plans. That way, they won't bother you while studying and might motivate you to push through when things get complicated.
• Keep some 'buffer time' in your schedule, and be ready for the unexpected. In 'buffer time', you don't plan anything: no study, no fun stuff.
  If your planning goes well, the buffer time becomes extra free time.
  If your planning gets behind, no problem. You can use your buffer time to keep up.

Helpful apps for making weekly schedules:

• Google Calendar (check the manual)
• Trello (check the manual - video, 16')

Handy downloads:

• Blanco weekly planner (document)
• Blanco monthly planner (document)

Like your smartphone, your brain also needs a 'charging moment' now and then. Pausing energises your brain so you can continue studying efficiently.
A 'good' break gives you energy so you can keep going!

- The effect of taking breaks at a glance (Infographic)
- the effect of taking breaks, illustrated by an example (website)

Things NOT to do during a break:

• Staying behind your desk / your computer
• Watching TV series or movies, losing yourself in social media (do these things after you have reached your daily target)
• Keep repeating what you have learnt in your head
• Thinking about what you're about to do

But what could you do then?

Things you can DO during a break:

• Move
  e.g. go for a walk, ride your bike, do a workout, do yoga, do rope skipping
• Do something that relaxes you
  e.g. take a shower, listen to music, call a friend
• Meet others
  e.g. have a talk, lunch, or walk together.
• Go outside and get some air (leave and ventilate your room!)

Get some inspiration

• Concrete ideas for breaks from 5 to 30 minutes (infographic)
• Inspiration for 50 big and small study breaks (Infographic)
• Instructions for a 4-minute active break (video, 4')

Do you tend to postpone essential tasks and study work?
Do you visit procrastination island (image) regularly?

Autonomous learning education gives you a lot of freedom. That can lead to postponing study tasks time and time again.

• Learn more about the mechanisms of procrastination (video, 3’)

How can you beat procrastination?

There are various ways to tackle procrastination:

• Read this step-by-step guide to stop procrastinating (website)
• Check these five simple ways to stop procrastinating (Infographic)
• Make an appointment with your student coach

Tip
The Pomodoro technique helps you to start and keep studying with a fixed schedule:

• Blocks of 25 minutes of non-stop study time
• Followed by a short break of +/- 5 minutes.
  
  
• Discover what the ‘Pomodoro technique’ is about (video, 2’)
• Read everything about the Pomodoro technique (website)
• Check this visual summary of the Pomodoro technique (Infographic)