As an adult, with many other things going on in your life, you may find it harder than other students to organise your life for study. Your family may be demanding your attention or you may have to hold down a job while you are studying. Household chores may seem to be never-ending and other people may be constantly interrupting your personal study time. However, there are several methods available for dealing with these types of problems. This chapter offers practical advice and guidance for managing your time effectively and organising yourself for study.

MANAGING YOUR TIME

For adult students managing time can be difficult, especially when family and work commitments make constant demands on what should be your personal study time. It may be the case that at some point during your studies you will need to be tough on your family. You will need to set ground rules about being disturbed, about being given enough quiet time to complete your work. Try not to feel guilty when this happens – remind yourself that your whole family will benefit from your studies.

Time management is all about taking control of your own time. You need to be able to make things happen in a way that will benefit you and your studies, and you need to stop other people controlling your time. This does not mean that you neglect family and work commitments. Instead, you decide when you will spend time with your children, on your work, in social or recreational activities and on your studies.

The following points should help you to take control of your time:

• Draw up a list or create a chart of non-negotiable activities, in relation to your course and your home life, that you must carry out each week. This will include attending lectures, seminars and tutorials, and any other essential activities such as collecting children from school. Make sure that your family or employer knows that these cannot be altered and that you are unavailable at these times.
• Set aside some time for private study. If family commitments allow you, try to do this at a time that suits the way you like to study. Some people find that they are more creative and motivated in the mornings, whereas others find that they can work better in the evenings. If you’re not sure which you prefer, try working at different times of the day for the first few weeks to see if you have a preference. If you don’t have the luxury of choosing your study time, still set aside blocks within the time you have available and make sure that everyone knows that you are not to be disturbed.
• You should avoid marathon study sessions – shorter sessions tend to be more productive, especially in terms of committing material to memory.
• Don’t work at a time when you should be sleeping – sleep is essential for your intellectual, emotional and physical health.
• If possible, set a clear start and stopping time for your study sessions. You will find that you begin to read faster, but do not lose any understanding of the material (see Chapter 4).
• Drop any worthless or pointless activities. You may not have many of these, but think about what you do during the day and consider whether there is anything you do that is wasting your time.
• Think of the most efficient way to carry out a task or cope with a problem. Many student hours are wasted trying to sort out a computer problem or to find a particular reference in the library. Rather than struggle on and waste time, ask someone instead. Contact the computer help desk, ask a knowledgeable friend or speak to a librarian. Never be afraid to ask, especially when it saves your valuable time.
• Recreation and socialising are important for your frame of mind and well-being. Make sure that you keep enough time spare each week for these activities, although you should make sure that you strike the right balance between these activities and your studies. Remember that work and play don’t mix – when you are relaxing don’t think about work, and when you are working, don’t think about what you will be doing on Saturday night.

Students over the age of eighteen were asked what they considered to be their worst time-wasting activities. These are listed in the box below, and will help you to think about your own time wasting activities as your studies progress.

COMPLETING COURSEWORK AND MEETING DEADLINES

An important part of time management when you are studying is making sure that you complete your work on time and meet all the deadlines you have been given. All assignments should be handed in on time. Some institutions are very strict about this and, unless you have a very good reason for missing a deadline, your work will be unmarked and may affect your final result.

The following points will help you to think about meeting deadlines and handing in your work on time:

• At the beginning of your course you should be given a timetable that includes all the assignment and project deadlines. Using a wall calendar (these can be obtained from Students’ Union shops) mark all assignment and project deadlines in red. Display your chart in a prominent place and refer to it often so that you become familiar with specific deadlines.
• Complete all assignments at least three days before the deadline. That way you should not be held up by unforeseen problems such as printer queues, computer crashes or family crises.
• Do not procrastinate. The definition of ‘procrastinate’ is ‘to defer, to delay from day to day’. Don’t put off your work. When you need to complete a piece of work for your course, start as soon as possible. Don’t find other things to do with your time, especially things that can wait or can be done by someone else.
• If you find that you really are having problems completing your work, stop and do something else for a while. You will find it easier to approach your work if you are refreshed. If you start each assignment early enough, you will have plenty of time to do this.
• Talk over problems with fellow students or your tutor. Often you will find another mind helps you to overcome your block.
• Hand in assignments on time, even if they are not perfect or complete. You will still get some marks and maybe they are not as bad as you think.

KEEPING A LEARNING DIARY

Many adult students find it useful to keep a learning diary. Indeed, on some courses you will be asked to complete a learning diary as part of your coursework because it is useful to your learning. If you think about what you are doing on your course and regularly analyse what you are learning by writing a diary, you will find that you begin to understand better the content of your course. This will help you to remember and recall the information more easily at a later date.

Your learning diary can also be a record of how you feel on the course – the problems you are facing, the excitement of learning new things, the relationships you are developing with fellow students and with the tutors. It can be a useful exercise to write down your anxieties, fears and concerns because this will help you to work through them. It is also very helpful to record all the high points because it will serve as a reminder of why you have enrolled on the course.

Some students find it useful to record their aims and objectives, or to set their goals, within a learning diary. They find it useful to return to the diary throughout the course to see whether they are meeting their aims and objectives and to determine whether the course is meeting their needs. Others prefer to keep a record of everything they have learned.

The language within your learning diary should be kept plain and simple, and valuable and constructive comments should be made, rather than simple comments such as ‘it was good’.

Learning diaries can be very personal and you may not wish to share your diary with anyone else. The way that you make entries in your diary, what you decide to include and what you do with the diary at the end of the course is totally up to you. In the box below are listed various questions that you may wish to answer within your learning diary.

OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES WITH PERSONAL
ORGANISATION

During some research with adult learners I found that one of the main barriers to further learning was that people felt there was not enough time available to study. However, they pointed out that if their motivation levels were high enough, they were able to find this time, even though they thought it had been unavailable previously.

The students were asked how this time had been freed and their answers provide useful tips for other adults in similar positions.

Anne (39)

I really thought I had no time at all. I had to take the kids to school, pick them up, wash and iron their clothes, sort out my husband and his lunch and everything, walk the dog. The list was endless. But then I realised I was just making excuses. I enrolled on a course and I decided my husband could make his own lunch – it was no big deal. I even got him to do tea for the kids every now and again. I walked the dog when I took and fetched the kids and I did the washing only twice a week. The course fitted around school hours and then I told everyone I had to have some study time at weekends – three hours Saturday morning and three hours Sunday morning. I got up early while they were all still in bed. They thought it was a treat because they were allowed to play in their rooms without me nagging them to get dressed. In the end I realised no one was suffering at all. And I passed my course!

Ned (45)

Five years I used to say I’d got no time. Then I were threatened with redundancy and all of a sudden I thought, yes, I’ve got the time, even though I were doing exactly the same stuff. I think the hardest thing were going to evening classes in winter, though, oh it were cold. But I decided to buy a computer and the next course were online. It meant I didn’t have to go out. I worked from home in the evenings and at weekends. I made sure I had a comfortable room, nice desk and chair, that’s right important, that. I’d put answer machine on and not answer door. Then I could concentrate on what I were doing. I’d plenty of time as long as I sat down and just did it, you know, didn’t get distracted with washing-up and stuff like that.

Martha (58)

Bill just wouldn’t leave me alone when I was working, where’s this and where’s that? I wouldn’t be able to get anything done and then the day would be over. It was like having a two-year-old in the house. He’s retired and it was driving me potty. I decided while he was in the house I would be out of the house. I did all my work in the college library. It helped being with other students who all wanted to work. Bill could potter about at home to his heart’s content. Then we would spend the evening together and not get on each other’s nerves. I do all my work in the library now and they have computers which makes my life easier.