Staying organised whilst at University

There are two types of people in the world; ‘to-do list’ fanatics, and other people. As much as we love to laugh at our Type A friends, we also have to love them for their organisation skills.

Organisation does not come naturally to everyone, however, when there are multiple assessment deadlines looming, classes to attend, sporting events, and extracurricular activities on your plate, it is certainly a lot easier to juggle your commitments in an orderly fashion, honestly, you might just feel like you’re only getting into the groove. Rest assured, there are methods to the madness!

Here are our hot tips for staying organised at university;

Create a time budget

A few years ago, we spoke to the Academic Mentor for UNE’s Sports Academy, Lisa Rice. Lisa mentioned how effective time budgeting is to student life.

“A time budget puts your commitments into perspective. Unlike money, there’s no credit card to give you a few extra hours to get you through the day”

We only have 168 hours in a week. This might seem like a lot, but when you work out how many hours a day you spend sleeping, studying, training, and/or working, you’ll find there might not be as much time in your schedule for the other activities you enjoy doing.

To create a time budget, write down all the activities you do in a week, this also includes eating, sleeping, showering, etc. Then work out where you are lacking in time and see where you can adjust this. It could be as simple as trying to get out of bed earlier or cutting back some hours at work.

Have a planner and study diary

This might seem like a pretty basic method to organisation but keeping a planner and study diary are super important in making sure you keep with your time budget and knowing when priority tasks might clash. We like to write down all our assessment due dates and deadlines in our calendar at the beginning of the trimester so we can make sure to begin preparing far in advance. You can get yourself a calendar and diary from The Shop on campus or online (Psst… students get 10% – you’re welcome 😉)

Attend a study gym session

If you are struggling to manage your workload, or finding the motivation, we could not recommend attending a study gym session at UNE more! Study gym sessions are a short half-hour session run by our counsellors who are qualified in helping students advance their study skills. They can be done over the phone. You can do as many as you like! One suggestion would be to do a study gym at the beginning of the trimester to help with your time budget, and one closer to the end of classes so you can set yourself up a solid study plan leading into the exam period. You can book a study gym here.

Keep to-do list

Tune into your Type A personality because to-do lists really do help with organisation. Have one above your study area with each task you need to complete in the week/or day. Once you complete a task you can scratch it off – it ends up being a great motivational tool too. If you find yourself getting overwhelmed with a long to-do list to complete, try breaking it down and choosing your top three priorities to get done, once those are complete, move on to your next top three.

Keep calm!

I know, I know, “Easier said than done” – but trying to cram everything in will leave you with major burnout. The more organised you are, the calmer you will feel. Sit down and start writing that to-do list, it really does help to see everything set out logically in front of you.

Everyone has different ways they approach their studies, and so our list is not exhaustive. But do remember to get plenty of sleep, eat a well-balanced diet, seek support if you find yourself overwhelmed at any point in your studies.

If what you are feeling has been impacting your well-being and you need someone to speak to support is
never far for our students and staff at UNE.

Our team at Advocacy and Welfare offers confidential support to students! You can contact them here.
Student Success also has confidential counselling for students, you can find them here.
Lifeline is also a 24/7 hotline and you can call them on 13 11 14