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Don’t panic!!
Have you got yourself into a work snowball? You missed one assignment and then didn’t manage to catch up with that one before another one came along and then another and then another and before you know it you’re in a work avalanche and you haven’t a clue where to start?
If you have, you are not alone. You are not the first and you won’t be the last. But you do have to face it. We all know that when we get ourselves into this situation we feel ashamed, and because we get ashamed and embarrassed, we feel that we can’t come clean and approach our teachers/lecturers. You will worry that they will think less of you; that they will dislike you; that they will be unhappy that you’re in their class. None of these things are true. But a student who comes forward and says, ‘I’ve made a mistake, can I have help?’ is one to admire.
Don’t hide!
So the first thing to do, is face it. Hiding away from it hasn’t helped – it’s still there and it’s not going away until you sort it out.
What exactly have you got to do? What have you neglected? Make you self a list and see if you can prioritise. Start by thinking about which is the most urgent, which will take the longest, which you think is the hardest, which you know you’ll probably enjoy and put them in order. For help with this order, speak to your lecturer. (Remember they’ve probably been either a teacher for a while and have seen this before, or perhaps even a student themselves!) They will definitely understand.
Some people think focusing on one subject/unit until you’ve finished it is a good way to go. If you know you have one aspect of your course that you’ve not done enough in, this would be a positive way to start.
Work smarter not harder
Try to put on your list only the things that are really important and urgent. Things that you don’t have to do, (I mean things that won’t directly affect your grade) don’t have to be done right now.
Break the tasks down into smaller chunks and give yourself deadlines. (And keep to them!)
For example: Write an essay on the causes of the French Revolution.
1. Task one: read through lecture notes/stuff on teams/VLE. Complete by 11am on Wednesday.
2. Task two: read Chapter Three in ‘Revolution: Causes and Consequences’ by Kurt Oiffe-Yurhed. By 3pm on Wednesday.
3. Task Three: Create Essay Plan. By 5pm on Wednesday.
Now by the end of Wednesday you have something to be really proud of, as you’ve at least started! Give yourself a reward!
Work in a good environment
It is lovely to lie in bed and do your work isn’t it? It’s nice to have the TV on in the background or the radio. You need your phone next to you, of course, in case someone important texts you. It’s wonderful when your dog rest its chin on your knee, but all these are DISTRACTIONS! Go and work in the dining room, in the library at college, the local library – a place that is quiet and away from distractions! Find out where you work your best.
Find what works for you. When do you produce the best work? 6am? 1am? 7pm? And use that to your advantage.
Get a tomato!
There is brilliant method called The Pomodoro Technique (Spanish for tomato) where you give yourself 25 minutes to complete a task or a range of tasks. You then have five minutes break where you must move around and leave the area you’ve been working in and then you have another 25 minutes of working where you try to match or improve on your previous accomplishment.
There are plenty of apps available on Google or Apple Store to help you work like this. Twenty five minutes in not that long, it is an achievable amount and you fill proud of yourself for completing your work. There is also an element of competition with yourself that really spurs you along!
Reward yourself!
Every time you achieve something give yourself a reward: A sweet, your favourite song at max volume, five star jumps. Anything that you know you enjoy.
Top tip – Don’t let this reward be any of the following:
An episode of your current Netflix binge (you’ll just get caught up!)
A Youtube video (have you seen how long some of those rabbit holes are?!)
Facebook, Insta, Twitter, Snapchat or any of your favourite social media won’t help you
A game of any description
Friends
Some of your friends won’t be behind. Some of them will manage to keep up, some of them will have masses of hints and tips about how to do work. So ask your friends! What works for them, how do they stay motivated and on top of the work?
Going forward
Try to avoid it next time – the person you are torturing is yourself. You are the one who has to live with grades that aren’t as good as they could be. You are the one waking in the middle of the night. You are the one is terrified every time the phone rings that it’s your lecturer calling to ‘tell you off’.
So get into good habits from the word go…
- Sort your folders out on Onedrive. Have the name of your teacher/lecturer and under that the Unit Name and Number (if appropriate) and then the different tasks and all your notes. That way you can access your work at home and at college and it is so clear where to find the relevant information when you need it.
So get into good habits from the word go:
1. Sort your folders out on Onedrive. Have the name of your teacher/lecturer and under that the Unit Name and Number (if appropriate) and then the different tasks and all your notes. That way you can access your work at home and at college and it is so clear where to find the relevant information when you need it.
2. Set yourself weekly targets.
3. Speak to your teachers and build good relationships with them. Let them know what is going on with you.
4. Be kind to yourself. We all make mistakes from time to time, lose motivation and procrastinate – none of this is a reason to be cross with yourself.
Top tips
- Face it and own your mistake.
- Talk to your teachers. (Promise they’re not scary and they may have made this mistake themselves in the past).
- Write a list of things to do.
- Set yourself deadlines.
- Reward your accomplishments.
- Be kind to yourself – don’t let unnecessary stress build up.
- Try to avoid it next time!
My favourite apps
Trello – a great to do list app but you can add pics and links and all kinds of things – you can also share with friends.
My pomodoro app is for apple users and is called BeFocused – it’s not fancy at all but it works well for me!
For android users there is Engross and Forest. Clear is also a great ‘To do list’ app!
Online places for help
(sorry it is American!)
Students giving advice
A few apps reviewed: