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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn a famous letter, Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the USA, identified two certainties in life: death and taxes. If you\u2019re a university student, you can add deadlines to this list. During your university career, you\u2019ve probably experienced the slightly panicky feeling that happens when deadlines start to accumulate, and then snowball as November hits. With assignments large and small, essay plans, in-class tests, presentations: it\u2019s easy to find yourself overwhelmed by the number of deadlines you have to meet, and not knowing where to turn next. We\u2019re not going to lie to you: the ability to manage multiple competing deadlines is a skill you\u2019ll be learning your whole life. It is not something that can be mastered overnight. But you can set yourself on the right path by developing good habits from the very start! Read on for our tips on staying afloat in an ocean of deadlines\u2026
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlanning\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUnless you\u2019re blessed with an eidetic memory, you\u2019ll need to find a means of scheduling your tasks clearly and logically. Ideally in a format that makes sense to you. A plan can be anything from a scrawled set of notes or a wall full of post-its to a state-of-the-art automated electronic calendar, but the main thing is to make your plan work for you. It should be something that you can reference easily and that you can trust the information on it.
\nPlan visually, and in ‘analogue’In an era when smartphones and tablets have taken calendars electronic, and there\u2019s seldom any real need to write things down, it\u2019s easy to overlook the power and immediacy of a big, non-digital calendar containing a list of all your tasks. While apps that track your time, tasks and deadlines are a godsend \u2013 and if you consult them often enough and keep them up-to-date and set timely reminders, it\u2019s possible they\u2019re all you\u2019ll need. They have one major drawback: they\u2019re far too easy to ignore. Let\u2019s say an alert goes off while you\u2019re in class, or at a bar with your friends. You acknowledge it; maybe you snooze it, or perhaps you dismiss it altogether. The rest of the time you keep the app running in the background but it generally remains invisible until it sounds its next alert.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy task type: mark long essays (say, 1000 words or more) in one colour, short written assignments in another colour, in-class tests for which you need to prepare or revise in a third colour, online exercises you have to submit on a certain date in a fourth colour, and so on. This is a useful type of scheme because it gives you a rough idea of the size of each task, as well as just telling you it\u2019s due. If you assign red to long assignments that are going to take quite a while to write, and you\u2019ve got three red deadlines within a span of a week starting a month or so from now, you know you need to get to work on at least one of these immediately!
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy module: colour-coding your tasks by module helps to distinguish between your to-do items and avoid seeing an intimidating, undifferentiated mass of tasks on your calendar. This type of scheme won\u2019t do much more than help your tasks be easy on the eye and less overwhelming at the start of the term, but it will come into its own once you\u2019ve got a sense of how your modules are going. If you know assignments for one of your modules are particularly difficult, or always take more time than you think they will, you can adjust your planning accordingly. But be mindful not to fall into the trap of identifying, say, blue tasks as ones that are especially unpleasant, and start putting them off\u2026
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhatever colour scheme you use, remember to reserve a couple of colours for non-academic items. If you\u2019ve got fixed social events coming up \u2013 an arena show with friends, or a pre-arranged overnight trip, make sure you add them to your calendar. You might appear to have a big empty space between your two big essay assignments, but if you\u2019re out of town for a chunk of this time you need to know you can\u2019t use that time!
\nAdd tasks to your plan as you get themThe key to effective deadline management isn\u2019t just having all your tasks listed in one place,. It is being able to fully trust and rely on your planning system. If you can\u2019t glance at your calendar and know that it accurately reflects everything you\u2019ve got to do and the dates by which you have to complete it, you\u2019re going to end up in trouble sooner or later. And even if you use a fully automated planning system with lots of bells, whistles, and scheduled reminders, you need to give it reliable input so that it can do its work! The one area in which no planning tool, however robust, can help you is the simple act of entering your tasks in the first place. If your schedule doesn\u2019t know what you\u2019ve got to do, it can\u2019t help you get it done!
\nSo this is the one place in which you need to exercise absolutely impeccable discipline. The second you know about a deadline, add it to your wall calendar, your scheduling app, or both. That will often be at the very start of a module: read the outline, take a look at what assignments are required through the term, and add them. If smaller assignments are added later, make sure you\u2019re diligent in noting it down and adding it to your calendar. Be proactive in looking for dates that likely won\u2019t be finalised at the start of term, like exams or lab assessments. Add them to your calendar as soon as you know of their due date.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat better way to manage your deadlines and prepare for your assignments than with an essay plan, written by an expert in your subject area?
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOur academics know how to construct the perfect essay plan to help you achieve the results you need. They’ll provide you with a model essay for you to study and build upon so that you’re ready for that submission date.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMultitasking\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAt university, the chances are that you\u2019ll be exposed to the challenges of multitasking either for the first time or to a far greater degree than previously. If you\u2019re the kind of person who likes to diligently work through a to-do list one task at a time and check it off when you\u2019re done, you may find it quite disconcerting to have multiple projects on the go at once. Here\u2019s how you stay sane:
\nUnderstand and minimise context-switching\u201cContext switching\u201d is a term derived from computing, where it refers to the need to save the state of an application or process that\u2019s part-way through and resume it later from that state. A computer processor has finite resources, so when a processor-intensive task comes along that\u2019s more important than whatever task it was running before, the computer has to save its progress on the less important task to memory and finish it later. As you\u2019ll have seen when your laptop starts to \u201cchug\u201d because you\u2019ve had it turned on for days and have all your Office programs plus forty-odd browser windows open, context-switching comes at a cost. The process of storing the progress of a task in memory consumes time and resources, as does the process of subsequently restoring the task from the point at which the computer left off. The analogy is a good one to apply to your brain, and it\u2019s increasingly used by theorists of productivity to explain where our lost time goes when we\u2019re multitasking.
\nIf you\u2019re new to multitasking and managing multiple deadlines, as many undergraduates are, context-switching is likely to be one of the main ways in which you lose time even when you feel like you\u2019re working flat-out. Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve got three assignments due on the same day. You\u2019re anxious about each one and you feel the need to make progress on all three. While working on one you get momentarily distracted by an idea for one of your other assignments that you were struggling with earlier. So you immediately minimise the window containing your first assignment, open up the second assignment, and decide you\u2019re going to add in the thought you just had. Only before you do so you\u2019ve got to remind yourself of the structure of that assignment,. Try skim-reading it to find the place where you want to insert your new idea. Once you\u2019ve added to your second assignment, return to your first assignment, and reread that as well to remind yourself of where you were.
\nIf you\u2019re in the midst of multiple assignments, the chances are your unconscious brain is processing a lot of content that\u2019s distinct from what you\u2019re working on consciously at any given moment. This can be a really useful thing provided you know how best to keep on top of the mix of ideas that it keeps throwing at your conscious brain. But if you allow yourself to follow every thought right through to its conclusion the second it occurs to you, you\u2019re going to work very inefficiently, even if all your interruptions are work-related. With disruptions caused by phone calls, text messages, emails, and social media notifications, it\u2019s more than possible that you\u2019ll never work on a single task for more than a few minute. Next thing you know you\u2019re interrupted and have to use valuable \u201cprocessing power\u201d to remind yourself where you left off. Indeed, so taxing are the demands on us to repeatedly context-switch that, according to this fascinating blog post from the makers of productivity app Trello, we temporarily lose IQ points during bouts of heavy context-switching.
\nSo how do you combat the context-switching impulse?
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGo into \u201coffline mode\u201d while working. Turn off your phone, disable email notifications, and do your best to minimise distractions for, say, 25 minute chunks of work (see the section on procrastination, below, for why this is a good number), and reward yourself with five minutes of online time after you\u2019ve completed a work block.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKeep a notepad beside you as you work and use it to jot down any ideas that come to you about tasks you\u2019re not supposed to be working on at the moment. These notes will help jog your memory and ensure that valuable unconscious brain activity doesn\u2019t go to waste, while minimising the \u201cprocessor cost\u201d of keeping your place in what you\u2019re doing right now.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTackle any small, easy-to-complete tasks or stresses before you start work on a larger task. If your brain is nagged by small administrative things you need to get done, calls you need to make, or emails you need to send, these things are likely to distract you repeatedly and pull you away from your main task. Even if you have to spend a whole morning, afternoon, or evening dealing with small potential distractors before getting to that big chunk of work, you\u2019ll be rewarded with a more productive and efficient environment when you do get to work. An important caveat, though: don\u2019t go looking for small tasks that you can busy yourself with just so you can avoid having to tackle bigger, more challenging chunks of work!
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLearn to identify saturationAlthough unscheduled context-switching is taxing on your finite mental resources and will slow you down considerably, it\u2019s important to recognise that you don\u2019t always have to see one task through to completion before embarking on another. You might be familiar with the 80\/20 rule, which suggests the first 20% of time we spend on a given task is where we get 80% of our useful work done (with the corollary that we spend the remaining 80% of our time doing the last 20% of the work!). This happens because, after spending a certain amount of time on a given task, we become saturated, and cease to be able to apply ourselves efficiently to this particular process. Saturation feels a lot like boredom, and indeed feeling bored or frustrated with a task you\u2019ve been working on for a while can be a symptom of saturation. (It\u2019s also perfectly possible that the task is just tedious.
\nIf you\u2019ve become saturated with a particular task, set it aside and focus on something else. Whether that\u2019s a well-deserved break or tackling another task you need to start. If the new task is sufficiently dissimilar to the previous one, you should find that your mental saturation doesn\u2019t carry over, and the new task enables you to \u201cfreshen up\u201d mentally. Recognising and managing saturation (and distinguishing being legitimately unable to spend any more time on a task from simply not feeling like doing it) is one of the most important skills you can develop as you learn to multitask effectively. Saturation is also one of the main reasons to start work on your assignments well before they\u2019re due. If you start work on an assignment that\u2019s due tomorrow and reach saturation point, tough luck! You\u2019re going to have to drag your sluggish brain to the finish line no matter how inefficiently it\u2019s working.
\nProactively plan task switching and downtimePart of the art of mastering multitasking lies in being realistic about what you can and can\u2019t do with your time. Although unplanned context-switching will hit your productivity hard, you should plan to switch regularly between tasks. Do not allow any one to consume you at the expense of the others. Plan to spend four unbroken hours on the same assignment and the chances are you\u2019ll reach saturation point long before you reach the end of your allotted time.
\n Similarly, plan on working seven days straight without a day off anywhere in between and you\u2019ll end up disappointing yourself, feeling inadequate, and possibly giving up on your plan entirely. Recognise that your brain will work best if you devote at most an hour or two to any given assignment (unless it\u2019s due tomorrow, of course!) and stay fresh by moving over to another and coming back to the first assignment after a break, or the next day.
\nAnd if you decide not to work, make it a proactive decision. If you have a vague plan to work and don\u2019t manage to get anything done, you\u2019ll feel guilty and your time not working won\u2019t have been put to good use. Make a positive decision to relax and let your hair down, and you\u2019ll feel your downtime is an earned reward and go back to your work all the fresher for it.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProcrastination\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYou probably have a pretty good idea of what procrastination looks like, and that\u2019s probably something like starting up your laptop to work on an assignment and then spending the morning surfing the web, looking at your social media feeds and posting on your Instagram account. But the key to minimising procrastinating behaviour is understanding that it takes many different forms, and that not all procrastination looks the same. Sebastian Bailey, the co-founder of the corporate productivity consultancy firm MindGym, identifies five different types of procrastination, among them complacency \u201cthat\u2019s easy; I can always do it later\u201d, avoiding discomfort, fear of failure, emotional state (\u201cI\u2019m just too stressed right now\u201d), and action illusion.
\nThis last form of procrastination is particularly worthy of note if you\u2019re new to balancing multiple deadlines,. This is because it can lead us down a dangerous path even when we\u2019re working diligently towards our goals \u2013 or at least we think we are. Action illusion procrastinators tell themselves work must be getting done because they\u2019re working hard\u2026 on something. If you\u2019ve got assignments due in four different modules it\u2019s easy to tell yourself you\u2019re working flat-out because you\u2019ve done all the extra reading for one class, or because you keep polishing up an assignment you\u2019ve really enjoyed working on, while other assignments sit there unstarted. Or you might spend all your time obsessively working and reworking your task plan without ever starting on the tasks themselves!
\n Forcing yourself to focus on the unpleasant stuffOnce you\u2019ve identified where you\u2019re procrastinating \u2013 whether it\u2019s by avoiding work altogether or just focusing on the pleasantest tasks on your list \u2013 there are various ways you can discipline yourself, and force yourself to focus on tasks you really don\u2019t want to face.
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTimed methods: There are numerous methods of tackling procrastination that advocate you allot a certain amount of time to an unpleasant task, and reward yourself with a break, or an opportunity to do something else.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe popular Pomodoro method, originated in software development. It advocates working in blocks of 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break, with a longer break after every fourth working block.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMindGym advocates a \u201cstrive for five\u201d rule for exceptionally unpleasant tasks or those causing a substantial mental block. Spend just five minutes trying to get to grips with your task, then re-evaluate. After five minutes, decide if you\u2019re going to continue. If the task still overwhelms you, come back later and spend another five minutes on it. If it now seems more manageable, spend another five minutes and re-evaluate again. The idea is that you\u2019ll gradually pick up the momentum you need to spend longer on the task and get it done. Even if that takes a while you\u2019ll chip away at it in five-minute increments.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRewards and incentives: Set yourself an achievable goal for a study period and reward yourself. Treat yourself to your favourite TV show, social media session, some gaming time, or a drink with friends \u2013 after you\u2019ve completed it. This method works well if you can break down a task into clearly manageable chunks and have a good understanding of what constitutes progress.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVisualisation: Visualise yourself in 24 hours\u2019 time. How does that you feel having completed the task? Elated? Relieved? Unburdened? How does that same you feel having failed to complete the task? Frustrated? Anxious? Self-loathing? Doing the best for future-you can be a powerful way of working through your mental blocks and accomplishing unpleasant tasks!
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In a famous letter, Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the USA, identified two certainties in life: death and taxes. If you\u2019re a university student, you can add deadlines to this list. During your university Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179,77,180,181,182,183,184,185,1,186,187],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-429784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deadline","category-essay-help","category-multitasking","category-plan","category-student","category-study-hacks","category-study-skills","category-tips","category-uncategorized","category-university","category-writing-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429784\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}