How I Manage My Time
How I Manage My Time

(Image credit to ME: PLEASE DO NOT REPOST)
Hi all!
I’ve had quite a number of asks wanting some time management tips, so I thought I’d make a post about my time management plan!
1ST RULE: Break Long-term Tasks into Short-term Tasks
So on Friday evening, I sit down with a piece of paper and write down the heading: BIG TASKS, and list the major tasks for the weekend + following week under the heading.
Then I break each of these tasks into smaller pieces where I can. (Tests&essays are already planned for, using the study time planner I posted last week.)

Then I categorise each task as one of the following 4 categories:
1. Urgent and important 2. Important but not urgent 3. Urgent but not important 4. Not urgent and not important.
IMPORTANT task is something that has to be done. There are consequences if it isn’t done.
URGENT task has a deadline, and can’t be caught up with once the deadline has passed.
I made the following sets of questions to aid in categorising the tasks.

So from my example:
my philosophy essay is due on Monday; therefore it is urgent. If I don’t hand this essay in, I may fail my course; therefore it is important.
My mom’s birthday is soon, so I want to send her a card. This task is important, but not urgent; I can send it anytime, as long as she gets it before her birthday.
My dancing class is urgent; if I miss this practice session I can’t catch up later, since they move on anyway in the next session. But since I’m admittedly not committed to dancing, missing the lesson will not have huge consequences. It is technically not important.
My friends and I want to have a movie night sometime. This task is not important - it has no serious consequences attached to it even if it doesn’t happen. It is not urgent - we can throw it anytime we want.

I write the category number next to the task.
Once I am done categorising, I copy the tasks onto the following template:


Like this!
(If you guys want the time-square template, it can be found here, or here.)
2ND RULE: Task Decides Time
What I do next is assign X-amount of hours to each task. The number of hours I assign to each task depends on its category!
The minimum ratio that I have set between the number of hours assigned to the 4 categories is 4:2:2:1.
i.e. Category 1 tasks must take up AT LEAST twice as many hours as category 2 or 3 tasks, and AT LEAST quadruple the amount of hours for category 4 tasks.
This ratio, of course, varies from week to week. But as long as the ratio is bigger than 4:2:2:1, I’m happy.

This week being a test week and all, there is a lot of work to be done so category 1 is pretty full. (plus the birthday party contributed significantly to category 3)
Next step is to divide these hours over the days of the week. Obviously I have to put the deadlines into consideration, and my set schedules (like lectures).
I assign a task/part of task to each day, and a number of hours to spend on that task.
I don’t, however, specify the time.
I personally find that time-specific schedulers don’t work for me, simply because of the fact that I suck at sticking to the times. It means that if I don’t finish your task by the set time (eg. study maths at 11:00am), that task is left hanging because I have to move onto the next task for the next hour (write essay at 12:00pm). This creates a build-up of incomplete work and is simply NOT efficient. That’s why I don’t use them.
Everyday I keep my list of tasks in my head, and complete them one by one whenever I have the time.
The goal is to get all of the tasks done before I go to bed.
Unless there is a time constraint attached (eg. meetings, or closing times for shops), whether I complete the task (especially studying) during lunchtime or before I go to bed doesn’t matter too much.

I draw a weekly planner into my bullet journal page.

Then I divide the tasks among the days!
I then transfer these tasks onto my daily bullet journal pages throughout the week.
3RD RULE: Leave Room For Compromise
I’m only human. I always end up doing something wrong and leaving some tasks incomplete during the week.
To compensate for this, I do 2 things:
1. Abandon low-priority tasks
If I had category 1 and category 4 tasks left incomplete for example, and I simply had no time to do both things, I’d give up the category 4 task and give my undivided attention to the high-priority task! I have to know what I need to sacrifice for the greater good.
2. Integrate “catch-up time” into your plan
Sometimes you can’t give up any of the tasks. CRISIS! To prevent situations like this, you should plan some “free time” into your week so that you can use them to catch up with things you are behind with. So my plan should technically never look full.
This has been another long post…
I hope you guys foundd this post helpful! Inbox me if you have any questions :)
-Gia
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Hey, Nicole! To anyone struggling putting some volunteering work on their applications, there's a great website called 'help from home (.) org' that lets you 'micro volunteer' from the comfort of your own home! There's a bunch of stuff you can do and it's really helped me bc most of my local charity work opportunities dried up!
Thanks for sharing, anon!
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hey guys!! i’ve been meaning to make this for a long while + it’s a holiday today so i decided to [finally] make it. this is a masterpost with all the resources i’ve used through my years studying english [especially the past year whilst studying for a-levels]. i hope this helps you a lot!!
language
writing a summary
the discursive/argumentative essay
the narrative + descriptive essay
alternatives for commonly used words
words people get mixed up
synonyms!!!
who/whom
lay/lie
rare words
an editing checklist
literature
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how to annotate
how to study for english literature
making notes for literature
approaching poetry analysis in an exam
catergorising poems
tone vocabulary list
guide to reading literature
describing voices
reading a textbook quickly + effectively
short stories you should read
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literature masterpost [2]
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annotations + note-taking
analysing poems [1]
analysing poems [2]
sparknotes
litcharts
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cliffsnotes
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lovely literature prep sheet
beautiful chart of characters
aesthetically pleasing literary devices
essay writing
writing a great essay
how to write an essay
how to write an essay when you don’t know where to begin
transition words for essays
guide to essay writing
word guide
planning an essay that you can write in half an hour
synonyms for ‘suggests’
tips for thesis writing
an essay checklist
writing an unprepared text essay
a website that checks readability
a website that checks your spelling + grammar
a website to rate your papers
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+ all my masterposts
notes, studying, and self-study resources
self-study resources
supplies
igcse resources
improving your handwriting
how to studyblr
literature masterpost
organisation
aesthetically pleasing notes
annotating
studying a foreign language
really great apps
math
college + uni
motivation
biology
space!!!!
chemistry
physics
summary writing
the discursive/argumentative essay
the narrative essay + the descriptive essay
+ more
hope you guys liked this!! feel free to message me or request a masterpost whenever, ily lots <3

For @kkkkkelsy who asked;
Hello!☺️ It’s so nice to visit your studyblr. I think your studyblr and notes are so awesome. 😍 And I wonder how to take notes with color pens. Because my notes are always too colorful to review but if I only write in black, I can’t find the key point easily.
Hey! Oh god yes, sometimes I’ll be so engrossed with annotating or highlighting with different colours that when I step back to review my notes, it looks as if someone’s vomited a rainbow over my page.
Here are my three tips to avoid looking like your page has been destroyed;
1. Create a legend
Useful for
Note taking
Annotating articles/notebooks/journal articles/ cases ○
Language Study
Speed reading large chunks of text
Method
Assign a label to each colour
Each colour will correspond to a category of information
This will help you find all the key points related to a particular topic
(So if you write in black, you can write all your keywords/ definitions in colour)
Examples
Here: yellow=section, blue = grammar structure, orange = particle, pink = new vocabulary, green = things I already know.
Here green = legal issue , yellow = legal principle, blue= argument, pink = application to facts
2. Limit the colours you use
Useful for
Review sheets
Chapters/ large topics
Method
Pick 2-3 colours for each chapter
Write all the sub points in the other colour / black or blue pen
When you change chapter, change to different set of colours.
The key is to limit the colours you use per page, thus making it easier to read
Useful for exam revision - in theory, the headings are used as memory prompts
Example
Here: three branches of government, three different colour schemes for each one
3. Colour each section or heading in a completely different colour
Useful for
Comparing /Contrasting perspectives
Timelines
Essay plans
Method
Colour each paragraph/chunk of notes/ section in a completely different colour
Each viewpoint has a different colour
Each time period has a different colour
Examples
1. Compare and Contrast: orange = viewpoint 1, blue = viewpoint 2
2. Timeline: each event has a different colour
3. By Topic: each new grammar structure has its own colour scheme
Which one should I use?
The method I choose will depend on the subject, the type of content, and what I’m going to do with those notes (e.g. use them as revision, exam notes, or use them to write an essay). I will also combine two methods.
Why bother colour coding?
It may prompt your memory. When you have 200+ pages of notes for exams, its easier to locate key points. It makes it easier to organise and plan an essay.
What if I don’t have colourful pens?
Don’t fret! Got a pen and a pencil? Alternate between the two. Underline key points. Write keywords, headings etc in UPPERCASE and associated points in lower case. Experiment with different handwriting styles and sizes.
This is all nice and well, but I type my notes!
So do I! The heading options, customising my keyboard, shortcuts and the ToC have been my bffl throughout law school. Seriously.
Other tips I have found useful:
Legends for your notes by @academicmind
How to take notes by @academicmind
Aesthetically pleasing notes by @areistotle
Note taking tips by @studyclear
This example by @sonotalive-x
Masterlists by @study-read-study
In the end, its not the sheer number of colours you use but the ease of access that’s important.
If you have any questions about this feel free to ask here!
Hope this helps!
- fuckstudy.
*the notes supplied are for demonstrational purposes only. TL;DR these notes are old as fuck, there will be errors, and are used for example purposes only










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good luck w ur studying !! :]