Transcript Getting Organised - Birkbeck, University of London

STUDENT ORIENTATION 2012
Getting Organised
Sara Steinke
Aims of the session
• Identify what you have already achieved in
terms of getting organised for studying at
university (known as a study skills audit)
• Recognise key organisational strategies to help
you to study effectively and efficiently at
university – time management, prioritisation,
establishing a study timetable
• Draw up your ‘to do’ list of organisational
strategies to action in the next few weeks
Why get organised?
• Adult learners have many, often competing,
demands on their time involving work, family
and studying
• Poor organisational skills prevents students
from achieving their best
• Related to other study skills
– study space, time management, essay writing,
presentations, exams, revision, reading, note-taking
• Helps you to achieve your short and long term
goals
• C - Creative
have the confidence to use your individual strategies and
styles, apply imagination to your learning
• R - Reflective
sit with your experience, analyse and evaluate your own
performance and draw lessons from it
• E - Effective
organise your space, time, priorities, state of mind
and resources to the maximum benefit
• A - Active
be personally involved, do things, physically and mentally in
order to make sense of what you learn
• M - Motivated
be aware of your desired outcomes using short and long-term
'goals'
Think about the following
1. Have you created an adequate and dedicated study
space?
2. Do you have all the equipment you need?
3. Have you thought about how you are going to
organise your notes/books?
4. Have you identified the pressures on your time?
5. Have you thought about how you are going to fit in
studying with your work and family commitments?
6. Have you drawn up a study timetable?
How well do I use my time?
1. I use small pockets of time
effectively.
2. I am well motivated to start work
quickly.
3. I do enough rather than aiming at
perfection.
4. I say ‘NO’ when I lack time.
5. I use a diary to prioritise my
activities.
Yes
May No
-be
1. Small pockets of time – around 45 minutes – are more
productive: short and frequent portions of time soon mount
up
2. Recognise and deal with procrastination: identify your time
wasters (self-inflicted and given); self direction and
motivation by setting short and long term goals
3. Pareto Principle: 20% of our efforts deliver 80% of our
results; 20% effort delivers an acceptable result, not perfect,
but good enough
4. L’Oreal Principle – ‘because you’re worth it’: educate your
family, friends and colleagues to respect your study space /
time
5. Use one diary to create a ‘to-do list’: prioritise tasks; note
deadlines; write down dates you must begin working
towards the deadlines
Priorities: setting goals
• Have you thought
about your
a) academic
b) professional
c) personal goals?
• Have you broken your
goals down into
a) short (this year)
b) medium (next year)
c) long (3 years)
targets?
Prioritisation
Creating an study timetable
1.
Write down the three most important
aspects of organisational skills that you
have learnt/thought about in this session?
How are you going to use these skills to
create your study timetable?
2.
Are there any areas for improvement in
your organisational skills that you need to
take action on? If so, what are you doing
to do to improve this aspect of your
learning?
Recap of session
• Undertaken a study skills audit of your
preparation of studying at university – well
done
• Identified organisational strategies to help you
succeed at university – space, resources, time
management, goals, prioritisation, study
timetable
• Created a organisation ‘to do’ list for the next
few weeks – vital for the first weeks of your
course
Cottrell, S. (2008) The Study
Skills Handbook, 3rd Edition
(London, Palgrave) chapter 4
‘The C.R.E.A.M. Strategy for
learning’ pp.70-79
http://www.palgrave.com/skills4
study/studyskills/learning/time.
asp
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/
services/facilities/support/timemanagement
online resources on organisational
skills available on the Birkbeck
Library website
helpful information on
organisational skills on the
Skills4Study website
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/
get-ahead-stay
ahead/skills/organisational-skills
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/
studyskills/course timetable
20 minute interactive tutorial
supporting this Student
Orientation programme
study skills workshops which
deal with organisational skills –
and other study skills – in
greater detail