Getting organised

Learning and working style

Reflect on how you work best and take charge of your learning
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Organisation and Time Management

Develop routines that can make you more productive and less likely to procrastinate
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    Top Tips
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    Know yourself

    • How, when and where do you study best?
    • What motivates, rewards and distracts you?

    Priority Matrix

    • Put tasks into a ‘Priority Matrix’. 
    • Know the difference between 'important' and 'urgent' tasks.

    Use calendars and planners

    • Colour code your week and allocate slots for studying.
    • Break big projects into smaller tasks, each with a deadline.

    Try the Pomodoro method

    • Working in 25-minute bursts (with a 5-minute break in between) helps with concentration.

    Use technology to help you

    • Calendars, productivity apps, reminders and to-do lists such as Drop Task and Wunderlist.
    • Get started by looking at 'No DSA software? No problem'.

    Routines are more powerful than willpower

    • But they take time to establish. So get started!
    Resources
    Forest screenshot showing trees growing after a productive studying session

    Forest

    Available as a mobile app for iOS and Android and also a Chrome extension, Forest helps you put down your phone and get productive!

    Screenshot of a Trello board with cards in lists

    Trello

    A free online tool to help you manage tasks and projects, using visual boards. Create lists with draggable cards, then add links, colour coding, checklists, reminders and more.

    Screenshot of Tomatoi.st, a simple Pomodoro timer, counting down.

    Tomatoi.st

    A simple online Pomodoro timer, which counts down from 25 minutes, or shorter break times. Find out more about the Pomodoro technique.

    Screenshot showing how OneTab extension cuts down memory use by combining open tabs in one page

    OneTab

    If you have lots of open tabs, OneTab extension for Chrome and Firefox will convert them into a single list, freeing up memory and speeding up your computer. Click to reopen tabs or save and export.

    Screenshot of Stay Focused showing site blocking options

    StayFocusd

    Chrome extension which helps you limit or block distracting websites.

    Skills for success: The personal development planning handbook

    This book will help you to think about personal, academic and career goals and to plan a path to success.

    teamgantt

    Teamgantt is a simple online software for creating gantt charts via drag and drop.

    Tomato Timer

    Free online Pomodoro timer.

    Productivity 101: A Primer to The Pomodoro Technique

    Great guide to getting organised with the Pomodoro method.

    Organising yourself - University of Sheffield

    Interactive, audio-led guidance and information from the University of Sheffield. Learning styles, time management and memory are covered. Contains drag-and-drop practice exercises.

    Procrastination and the Pomodoro technique

    YouTube video about how to beat procrastination using the Pomodoro technique

    Focus Keeper Free

    Free Pomodoro timer for iOS.

    Focus Matrix – Task Manager

    Free Priority Matrix app for iOS.

    Footnotes VMT

    Footnotes is a Visual Multilayered Thinking process developed by Oliver West.

    Get focused - 13 tools to eliminate distractions today

    A round-up of some of the most useful tools and apps for cutting down on distractions.

    Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

    TED talk by Tim Urban – inside the mind of a master procrastinator.

    6 things productive people do every day

    Most Productive People: 6 Things They Do Every Day - tips from Eric Barker's 'Barking up the wrong tree' blog.