I recently changed my major from social work to International Relations. As a sophomore I devised a plan to where I would be able to stay on track, which requires me to take 5 course per quarter. Now being the first day of the new quarter, I received all the syllabi and reviewed all the work. I realized I really underestimated how much work it would be. I have multiple papers due every week, four 10 page research papers due at the end of the quarter, in addition to reading from my Geopolitics class totaling roughly 100 pages per week. I feel confident I can get it done, but HOW? I’ve never been loaded down with work like this. Does anyone have any suggestions on time management? How I can do that many research papers at once?
Don’t try to think of everything all at once. That will overwhelm you. Plan your week one week at a time, and plan when you will do each assignment. For the big papers all due at the end, don’t wait until the end to write them. Break down the tasks for each paper over the weeks of the term and add time to work on each task to your weekly tasks. It will be hard, and you might not have much free time this term, but if you stick to a plan you can get through it.
I use two apps to help me: Todoist is a task management app, and Pomodoro Helper (or any Pomodoro timer) is a focusing app. Todoist allows me to put all of my readings and assignments into my calendar a semester at a time. Everything is “due” on my calendar one day before it is “due” in class. A month before major papers or a week before tests are due, I’ll also put a “task” in to schedule my study plan or writing process. The one thing I like about Todoist is that it allows me to visually see how much work is happening when. So last semester, my readings were front-loaded into the first-half of my week. With Todoist, I could see that and then force myself to complete readings early on evenings when nothing was due the net day (often almost a week in advance) so that everything got done on time.
I also use Pomodoro timer to help me focus, which is a 25 minute-5 minute timer. Setting a timer for 25 minutes makes me focus for “only” 25 minutes, and it allows me to be more productive.
Excellent suggestions @purplecorn.
My best suggestion for time management is to create a daily routine for each day of the week and follow it like your life depends on it.
Repetition and routine = success. Eventually, following the routine and studying will become first nature to you and it will be like clock work.
You need to know how many pages you can read in an hour. That will depend on the subject. Read for 15 minutes and time yourself. Be honest. Then divide pages by reading rate to plan your time. I also used the timer system. I’ve had to read 700 pages per week at times when I was in grad school. 55 minutes of reading 5 minute break. 20 minute break after two hours. Stop immediately and shake it out if you are not digesting the reading. Not all reading requires the same lever of comprehension so reading rate can vary by the goal as well.
You will learn to write papers efficiently but it will be tough at first. You will do this reading more slowly. Make sure to take notes. Cite as you go or your life will be miserable. Things like ProQuest have made this much easier. I like legal pads. Once you have researched enough to have a thesis and major point of the paper, I dedicate a few pages to each point and write down references, quotes, my thoughts etc. Actually sitting down and cranking out the paper is the easy part if you’ve been organized.
Last, see if your school has a writing center. Librarians can also be helpful as you are learning to research. Good luck!
Read the book by Cal Newport called “How to be an Straight A student”…The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less