Study Kit – Planning and Self-management

Why do I need to plan my work?

Over many years of seeing thousands of students through our degrees, we’ve noticed that those who organise themselves, and plan their work carefully, get better results and are less stressed.

This is because if you are a person who plans:

You keep to your deadlines, because you have mapped out when you will work on each piece of work ahead of time
There is plenty of time for fun, without damaging your work, because you’re in charge of what needs to be done
Other people are happier with you because you turn up to meetings on time, attend lectures, and reply promptly to emails
You are calmer, because – even though you have a lot to do – it is all under control, and you know how and when you will do it.

Here are some resources to investigate to find out more about planning:

Andy Hunt has written a book called Your Research Project: How to Manage it which contains lots of general advice about studying, planning & time management for students, as well as later chapters about planning projects, literature surveys, writing, presenting etc.

Several copies are available in the library, but you can see some of it on Google Books here, and download the Book Overview, Contents, Chapter 1 (Managing your work) and Chapter 2 (Time Management).

The University provides related resources on Perfectionism (failing to deliver because you think your work’s not good enough yet), Procrastination (never actually getting started on your work), and Anxiety (worrying so much that it affects your work).

Some very good general tools on Time Management from MindTools

See also the next section on using a diary / planner.

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