King’s College London Pre-Sessional Programme
Study Skills: Time Management for Academic Success
Virtue vs. Effectiveness
Studying hard is not the same as working efficiently.
1. Consider the table below which shows the study strategies of one student, Kate.
Kate feels she should get good marks because she works very hard: she studies 50 hours
a week and completes all her work by the deadline.
 Are you able to explain why each of these strategies is inefficient?
Kate’s Study Strategies
Kate feels virtuous...
...Yet her study strategy is inefficient
Kate reads every book on the reading list,
and searches the Internet constantly.
She reads every book from cover to cover.
She writes very detailed notes.
She writes her notes neatly and in full
sentences.
She works long hours with few breaks.
She locks herself away to work solidly and
alone
Cottrell, S (2008) The Study Skills Handbook. Palgrave Macmillan.
2. Now look at the completed table. Did you come up with the same reasons?
 Can you see why Kate’s marks are getting worse even though she think she is
working harder? Make a note of your thoughts.
Kate’s Study Strategies
Kate feels virtuous...
...Yet her study strategy is inefficient
Kate reads very book on the reading list,
 The same information is repeated in
and searched the Internet constantly.
several of the books. She does not
engage in a process of selecting one
book from another.
She reads every book from cover to cover.
 Not all of the book is equally relevant.
She has no reading strategy.
She writes very detailed notes.
 She has more information than she
needs.
 Her notes are repetitive and take a long
time to re-read.
 She doesn’t think much about what she
is noting down.
 It takes her a long time to find things in
her notes.
 She has to re-write her notes to revise
from them.
 She copies large sections – and then
copies these into her own work – which
loses her marks.
She writes her notes neatly and in full
 Using abbreviations would save time.
sentences.
 As long as she can read her notes and
find information quickly and easily, they
do not need to be neat.
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She works long hours with few breaks.
 She gets tired and cannot think as
clearly.
 She gets bored and loses interest easily.
 Her mind wanders and she forgets what
she has read.
 Sometimes she takes notes without
realising she has done so – with no idea
what they say.
She locks herself away to work solidly and
alone
 She misses out on other people’s
opinions, suggestions and perspectives.
 If you are honest with yourself, are you guilty of any of Kate’s strategies? Why do you
think you have adopted these strategies? How might you change your approach now?
3. Decide if the following examples are ‘virtuous’ or ‘effective’ or ‘neither’.
i. Thinking about how you can link new information to what you already know and
have studied.
ii. Learning difficult information ‘off by heart’ (without really understanding it).
iii. Copying passages from your sources – because the writer says it better than you
could.
iv. Questioning whether what you have heard is really true or representative.
v. Writing fast so that you can take notes on almost everything the lecturer says.
vi. Reading your essays and other writing slowly and out loud before you hand it in.
vii. Sitting down to work when you are already tired.
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Summary
Do you:
 feel guilty if you are not working?
 feel you are cheating if you don’t read a book from start to finish?
 worry if you can’t remember every detail of what you have learnt?
 worry that other people have taken far more notes than you?
STOP!
Instead, work out a strategy for learning in the most effective way.
Examples of ineffective learning
X working when you’re too tired to concentrate
X listening/reading without questioning/challenging the material
X letting your mind wander
X learning things off by heart without really understanding them
X not asking for help when you need it
X not making connections between what learn in different subject areas
X not relating your studies to real life
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Time Management
As a student in Higher Education, only part of your week will be formally timetable. This
means that you will be responsible for organising most of your study time.
What is time management?
The first step towards using your time in higher education constructively is to clarify
what is meant by good time management. It is then possible to decide what sort of
activities contribute to your own effective management of time.
1. With a partner, discuss which of the statements a-g best summarises what time
management is and explain your reasons.
Time management is...
a) completing and submitting assignments as quickly as possible.
b) knowing how to write an assignment the night before its deadline and still
manage to attend classes the next day.
c) developing a reliable system to organise and allocate time to tasks or situations
so as to use the time effectively and achieve objectives.
d) foregoing social activities in favour of study up to one month before and during
the examination period.
e) learning how to use one’s time more effectively to accomplish one’s own goals.
f) maximising time available to you by studying until late in the evening.
g) getting a friend or family member to remind you of deadlines and
appointments.
2. Decide which of the other statement give useful ideas for managing time and which
need changing! Discuss your ideas with your partner.
Adapted from Manning, A. & Wilding, E. (2007). Transferable Academic Skills Kit (Module 1). Reading: Garnet
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3. Consider how well you manage your time now.
a. Do I usually arrive on time?
YES/NO
b. Do I often cancel arrangements?
YES/NO
c. Do I usually fit in everything that I need to do?
YES/NO
d. Do I tend to procrastinate?
YES/NO
e. Do I find I often have to rush things at the last minute?
YES/NO
f. Do I meet my deadlines?
YES/NO
g. Do I plan time for myself and to relax?
YES/NO
h. Do I use my time effectively?
YES/NO
 What do your answers to these questions suggest about how well you manage your
time now? What do you think causes these problems? Do you need to change your
attitude to time in order to manage your studies well?
To manage time well it helps to do the following:







be aware of your own time management
be aware of how much time it takes you to complete each type of study task
be aware that many aspects of study take much longer than expected
set yourself realistic goals
schedule time for unforeseen tasks/events
schedule time for relaxation and leisure
be very specific in your time-planning
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4. Everybody works differently, but you might like to try some of the following
strategies to help improve your time management. You will find the materials you
need for each one on the next few pages of the handout. Adapt these for your own
use.
A. If you are not sure where your time goes, record everything you do for a few
days. Work out how much time each day you spend on sleep, lessons, study,
exercise, leisure etc. and complete a time circle to illustrate this. Decide if you are
happy with this (p8-9)
B. Reflect on your study time by keeping a study time record sheet so that you can
see exactly how you spend your time (p10).
C. Consider what strategies would best improve your use of time by completing a
time management sheet (p11).
D. If you have difficulty in setting priorities, use a priority organiser to help organise
the order in which you do tasks (p12).
E. Try working backwards from set deadlines to plan your work and break it down
into more manageable chunks (p13).
5. Review the Time Management Tips at the end of the handout (p14). Which ones are
you going to try?
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Time Circle
Use the circle on the next page to illustrate how you currently use your time OR how
you would like to use your time.
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9
Study Time
Use this sheet for each study period until you are happy with how you use your time.
Column 1 (fill out during study)
Column 2 (fill out after study)
Date:
Were the conditions, time and place the
Where:
best possible? Could I improve anything?
Time I am starting:
Study conditions:
How long am I going to study for overall?
How long did I study for?
How many breaks do I intend to take?
When did I take breaks?
Times of breaks?
Did I stick to the break time? If not, what
Length of breaks?
do I need to do to get back to study?
Interruptions that occur
Type of interruption
Length
How could I prevent these interruptions?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Actual time spent really studying:
5.
Time finished:
Total time worked:
Thoughts and observations about my study habits and time management
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Time Management Strategies
Analysis:
Strategy:
How well do I spend my time?
What will I do to improve?
1. Do I use time efficiently?
2. How do I waste time?
3. What or who distracts
me from studying?
4. Do I need to plan my
time for:
-the term?
-the week?
-the day?
-each piece of work?
5. Do I waste time getting
started?
6. Do I make the most of
spare moments?
7. Do I find time passes
and I don’t know where
it’s gone?
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Priority Organiser
Column A Rate how important it is to
Column C Subtract the score in
Highlight the task you will do
do this at all (6=unimportant;
column B from column A. The
next. When it is complete,
10=essential)
highest scores in Column C are
draw a line through it.
the most likely to be priorities
Column B If this has to be done at
Column D Number the order
all, how important is it that you do it
for completing the tasks, and
soon? (1=must be done at once; 5= it
the time and date to do each
can wait)
List of things to do
A
B
C
D
need to do
do now
(A minus B)
order of
(6–10)
(1–5)
priority/when
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Working Backwards from Deadlines
How long will
When will I do
Reflect: How
it take?
it?
long it actually
took
Preliminaries

Early brainstorming, reflection and
discussion with others

Working out what is required
Research

Working out what information/data I
need

Finding my sources and reading relevant
sections

Digesting and reflecting on the
information read
Organising the Content

Grouping and organising information

Deciding on my position

Selecting what to include and in what
order
Writing Draft Versions

Writing a first draft

Thinking about how to improve a draft

Likely number of drafts
Completing the Task

Writing up the references

Writing the final draft

Proofreading

Writing the cover sheet

Final deadline
Use this information in planning your next assignment
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Time Management Tips
Not every planning system will work for you, but make sure you experiment until you find one that does,
and then use it! The following information will give you some ideas to help you organise your time.
1) Find out what you need to do as far in advance as possible and start doing it as soon as possible!
A little every day is far easier than trying to do huge blocks of things at the end.
2) Plan ahead for lectures and assignments – if you have the reading list, do the relevant reading
before, rather than after the lecture. This will give you a much better idea of what the lecturer is
talking about and might lead to you asking some interesting questions.
3) Have regular breaks and try to do something in your breaks which is different from study. Find
out how often you need breaks – some people work better if they take a 5 minute break every
half hour, some people are able to concentrate for two hours before they need one. At least 10
minutes an hour is a good rule. Allow time for longer breaks every few hours too, and again try
to do an activity which is completely different from your study.
4) Plan time for things other than study too and stick to this!
5) Make the most of the time between lectures, waiting for meals in your hall of residence etc. You
can achieve a lot in 15 minutes! (take books back to the library, find sources for your next essay,
put your washing on...
6) Remember that you can’t do everything perfectly; you have to do the best job you can in the
time you allocate to it (and allocating more time doesn’t always mean you do a better job!).
Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion”.
7) Be realistic – despite the best intentions, few people manage to stick to their plan perfectly.
Allow time to catch up on things which you didn’t do. Also be flexible regarding unpredictable
events – if your hockey match is cancelled because of rain or your lecturer is ill, use that time
productively doing something else!
8) Remember that “being busy” does not mean you’re using your time efficiently or effectively!
9) If you tend to procrastinate (put things off) then try to motivate yourself by promising yourself
rewards - a trip to the cinema when you’ve finished the first section of your essay, for example.
10) Procrastination often comes because we find a task so huge it’s overwhelming. Try to break
down tasks into sections which are as small as possible so that these are more easily achievable.
11) Try to have everything you need (pens, paper, lecture notes, water) to hand, but avoid cluttering
up your desk. You should have plenty of space to work.
12) Don’t work anywhere too comfortable (i.e. in bed) – you’ll probably fall asleep!
13) Try to be active whilst studying – it’s difficult to concentrate on a task i.e. reading for long unless
you’re producing something at the same time (i.e. taking notes).
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