I just want to preface this blog post by stating that I understand that everyone’s week is different. Especially if you are a distance learner. In this blog post I am going to outline my average week with what my other commitments are along with the periods during the day with which I study. The days that I am busy regularly are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The commitments I have beside university work is my volunteer work which is twelve hours a week, my university ambassador job, any appointments I might have and any hobbies that I may have such as reading, writing and making YouTube videos.
This blog post is to give tips that I’ve learnt from both my undergraduate degree and the first term of my postgraduate about how I’ve been able to manage my time as well as being able to have time to look after myself and to relax. I hope you’re able to take something away from this and for it to help you in managing your studies.
Here are a few tips that you can pick and choose from to try out throughout with your own week. I understand, as I’ve stated before, that everyone’s week is different so some of these tips maybe helpful and some might not. Here are my top tips:
Make sure to have a dedicated space to study
It’s important when you are a distance learner to have your own place to study so that you don’t have any distractions. If you have a dedicated space in your house then try and make that into a study area. If you do not have a place in your house to make a study area then go somewhere else and make it your study area such as the library or a coffee shop. Having somewhere where you know you will be able to study will help motivate you in being able to study more.
A dedicated number of hours per week to study
Most courses will let you know a recommendation of how many hours you should study per week to be able to keep up with the amount of work on the course. This can either be for a full time or part time course. I was recommended for my part time course that I should study around 15 hours a week so I study 12 hours because of my other commitments. Make sure you spend enough hours on your university work to get the grades you want but also to make some time in order to relax from your studying.
Make room for other commitments and being flexible
Going off the previous point, you need to make time for your other commitments. Along with this you should be aware that you need to be flexible with your study since things can come up that are not planned and you need to be flexible to be able to accommodate this into your timetable.
Self-Care
You may have heard of this term a lot recently but it is important one to know and practice. Especially if you’re a student. You need to make sure you have time in your timetable for self-care so that you can take care of your mental health. It’s easy to get stressed with all the work a student has to do but it’s important to have a break if you need one. Remember that the work will still be there even if you need to take a break from it. Your mental health is more important than getting stressed over your work but self-care needs to be practised in order for you to do it regularly. Once you’ve established a routine with your self-care, you’ll find that the benefits will affect your course work since your mental health will improve. Make time for this and make sure you practice it if you want this to be successful.
As previously stated in the introduction, I understand that everyone’s week is different and that these tips might not be all relevant to you. However, after now reading them through I hope at least a couple of them have helped you in some way. These tips were always meant for you to use them to design your own ideal week as an on-campus student or a distance learner student. Remember that you need to look after yourself in order to be able to put your all into your university course and other commitments. Your health, mental or physical, comes first before everything else. I hope that this blog post helps you in some way and that this benefits your degree too.
Rachel Colley
MA Library and Information Services Management
This blog post is to give tips that I’ve learnt from both my undergraduate degree and the first term of my postgraduate about how I’ve been able to manage my time as well as being able to have time to look after myself and to relax. I hope you’re able to take something away from this and for it to help you in managing your studies.
Here are a few tips that you can pick and choose from to try out throughout with your own week. I understand, as I’ve stated before, that everyone’s week is different so some of these tips maybe helpful and some might not. Here are my top tips:
Make sure to have a dedicated space to study
It’s important when you are a distance learner to have your own place to study so that you don’t have any distractions. If you have a dedicated space in your house then try and make that into a study area. If you do not have a place in your house to make a study area then go somewhere else and make it your study area such as the library or a coffee shop. Having somewhere where you know you will be able to study will help motivate you in being able to study more.
A dedicated number of hours per week to study
Most courses will let you know a recommendation of how many hours you should study per week to be able to keep up with the amount of work on the course. This can either be for a full time or part time course. I was recommended for my part time course that I should study around 15 hours a week so I study 12 hours because of my other commitments. Make sure you spend enough hours on your university work to get the grades you want but also to make some time in order to relax from your studying.
Make room for other commitments and being flexible
Going off the previous point, you need to make time for your other commitments. Along with this you should be aware that you need to be flexible with your study since things can come up that are not planned and you need to be flexible to be able to accommodate this into your timetable.
Self-Care
You may have heard of this term a lot recently but it is important one to know and practice. Especially if you’re a student. You need to make sure you have time in your timetable for self-care so that you can take care of your mental health. It’s easy to get stressed with all the work a student has to do but it’s important to have a break if you need one. Remember that the work will still be there even if you need to take a break from it. Your mental health is more important than getting stressed over your work but self-care needs to be practised in order for you to do it regularly. Once you’ve established a routine with your self-care, you’ll find that the benefits will affect your course work since your mental health will improve. Make time for this and make sure you practice it if you want this to be successful.
As previously stated in the introduction, I understand that everyone’s week is different and that these tips might not be all relevant to you. However, after now reading them through I hope at least a couple of them have helped you in some way. These tips were always meant for you to use them to design your own ideal week as an on-campus student or a distance learner student. Remember that you need to look after yourself in order to be able to put your all into your university course and other commitments. Your health, mental or physical, comes first before everything else. I hope that this blog post helps you in some way and that this benefits your degree too.
Rachel Colley
MA Library and Information Services Management
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