How to Write Better Essays

Organising your Time 129

have a certain amount of time in which to complete the work, after

which we give ourselves a reward for hard work. We might arrange to

have a coffee break with friends, or a session down at the gym or in

the swimming pool. And, of course, at the same time we are free of

that nagging conscience each time we have a break, telling us that we

shouldn’t be here, we should be back at work. With a well planned

timetable we know that our time has been pre-planned, our relaxation

as well as our work, and we have no need to worry because it’s all

under control.

Practice exercise 10

The personal weekly timetable

Before you organise your timetable it helps to have a clear idea of how

you use your time at present. We need to know how well we do this and

where we can make improvements.

Take a normal week and work in your usual way. On the timetable

on p. 130 record accurately what you do in every hour. If you’re

working, record the subject and the activity – note-taking, reading,

planning, and so on. If you’re relaxing, record what you were doing.

Record enough detail to give you an accurate picture of how you use

your time.

At the end of the week, analyse the information you’ve recorded by

counting up the hours you’ve devoted to studying, relaxation, social

activities, travelling, sleep, meals and any other activity you may have

recorded. It will also help if you break down the time spent studying into

the subjects you study and into the activities of study, like note-taking

and reading.

This will give you an accurate account of how you use your time. It

will make clear to you where the problems are and what you need to do

to solve them. Most students are shocked that they devote much less

time to their work than they thought they did. They realise that there are

demands on their time that cannot all be met if they are to complete

their studies successfully. They also come to realise that the way they

manage these competing demands at present is not the best way. They

tend to go with the demand that is most pressing at that particular time,

which in the long run may not work out to be the best way to apportion

their time.

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