Study Coaching Tips: Time Management

#1: GET RID OF ALL THE THINGS THAT ROB YOU OF YOUR TIME

SCENARIO:

You’re looking forward to your next learning session, but something is always getting in the way. You
simply don’t get to studying because either your smartphone rings or you realise that the window
could do with a bit of cleaning, or you just want to quickly like the latest post on Instagram. And
suddenly your learning time is over and it’s not coming back either.

1. Identify the biggest drains on your time!

Example: Your smartphone or your iPad.

2. Create a list with the biggest drains on your time!

3. Consider potential countermeasures to such influences.

Example: For example, place your smartphone (on silent) out of sight and out of reach, or
block access to social media on your iPad.

4. Write down your most successful (counter)strategies. Post the list in a visible place and
check your progress regularly.

#2: THE PARETO PRINCIPLE (THE 20/80-RULE)

SCENARIO:

You are starting with a new module and want to plan your week. You notice that your to-do list for
your studies is getting ever longer, and that the time available to you does not seem to be enough.

Definition: The Pareto Principle: With 20% of your (time) effort, 80% of the overall goal can be
achieved. This time management method helps to prioritise the most efficient 20%.

1. Identify a specific goal – What is the 100% of the goal?

Example: You’re working through Lesson 1 in your course book in one week.

2. Reflect on your usual learning behaviour.

Example: You’re studying with the lecture notes, watching videos on the module and working
through the relevant additional materials. Which approach isn’t really helping you and which
is effective?
 3. Identify the most efficient 20% of your learning effort and apply it.
With which 20% of your learning behaviour can you achieve 80% of your self-defined goal?
Example: You’re concentrating on working through Lesson 1 in the course book and are only
using the learning materials that suit you if something is unclear.

4. Realise that you can achieve 80% of the goal with this method.

#3: THE POMODORO-TECHNIQUE

SCENARIO:

You are starting with a new module and want to plan your week. Your to-do list for this module is
long and you can’t remember all the information. You’re also finding it hard to concentrate
continually on your tasks.

1. Note down and prioritise tasks.

Example: Create a to-do list and set an order for your tasks. Which of the to-dos should be
prioritised?
This can be helped, for example, by the Eisenhower Principle.

2. Estimate the time required and divide it into 25-minute work units.
For example, estimate the time required to read your next lesson in the lecture notes. For
larger tasks, it makes sense to break them up and sub-divide them. The time required is then
divided into work units of 25 minutes each, the so-called “pomodori”.

3. Analyse your time budget.

Reflect on your time budget: How much time do you have for your tasks today? Calculate
how many “pomodori” you have enough time for.

APPLYING THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE:

Step 1: Select a task from the to-do list and set the alarm for 25 minutes.

Step 2: When the timer goes off, tick off the completed task on the to-do list.

Step 3: Take a break of three to five minutes.

Step 4: Repeat points 2 to 5.

Step 5: After the fourth round, take a break lasting between 20 and 30 minutes.

A complete Pomodoro cycle, therefore, takes 2:25 hours.

#4: THE ALPEN METHOD

SCENARIO:

You’re starting a new module and want to plan your learning day – you just don’t know exactly how
to organise yourself. With the ALPEN method, you can effectively plan your own day.

1. WRITING DOWN TASKS, ACTIVITIES AND DEADLINES

You collect all the tasks and deadlines to be planned for the day and list them, in similar
fashion to a to-do list.

2. ESTIMATE THE DURATION

Next, estimate the approximate time needed for each task. Make sure that you calculate the
amount of effort as realistically and generously as possible. This will prevent you from taking
on too much and suffering stress or disappointment later on.

3. ALLOW BUFFER TIME

Avoid scheduling your entire day. Therefore, you should only work with 50 to 60% of your
available time. This allows you time for breaks and unpredictable events won’t mess up your
planning so quickly.

4. MAKE DECISIONS
Prioritise and set tasks that you need to complete by the end of the day. For example, you
can use the Eisenhower principle.

FOLLOW-UP CHECKS
The final phase is for self-reflection and harbours real learning potential. Here you can compare your
plan with the tasks you have completed. You should record and analyse any deviations, in order to be
able to plan with greater accuracy in future.
#5: THE MENU METHOD

SCENARIO:

You are starting with a new module and want to plan your week. It is difficult for you to estimate
how much time is needed. The MENU formula is both simple and effective.

Step 1 - M = Record MEASURES: Create a list of all to-dos – current tasks, as well as regularly
recurring and strategic tasks.

Step 2 - E = ENVISAGE priorities: Prioritise your listed tasks. By doing so, you can see which tasks
need to be completed first.

Step 3 - N = Estimate the NECESSARY TIME: Estimate the approximate time needed for each task. If,
after completing the task, you realise that your assessment was wrong, reflect on this and
incorporate your findings into the next planning phase.

Step 4 - U = UPDATE your time planning: In the last step of this method, you should update the list
you created at the beginning. In doing so, you can determine which tasks have already been
completed and which ones you can (or must) postpone to the next day or potentially until next week.

#6: LEARNING ACCORDING TO YOUR BODY'S OWN RHYTHM

SCENARIO:

You’re starting with a new module and want to concentrate on your lessons and use your learning
time effectively. But you’re often very tired when you study.

Study according to your own body’s rhythm and plan your day to suit you, because successful
studying requires maximum concentration and activity.

Step 1: Analyse your day and categorise it into highs and lows.
For example, ask yourself the following questions and make a note of your observations:
Are you more of a day person (a “lark”) or is your performance peak more in the evening or at night
(an “owl”)? Or do you have a midday low?

Step 2: Evaluate your observation.

Example: I like to get up late, study best at night and start important tasks only after my “midday
low”.

Step 3: Match your learning times to the highs and lows in your performance.

#7: PLANNING “ME TIME”

SCENARIO:

The festive season, vacation or simply the weekend are approaching and you have just completed a
difficult module. Now you want to kick-start the next course immediately. But actually, that’s far too
stressful for you.

Step 1: Plan your own “Me Time”

In Study Coaching, we always recommend planning consistently: Semester planning, module
planning, planning your daily learning routine and much more.

So don’t forget to take a breather and plan consciously to take a short break from studying, learning
and planning for the academic year. Breaks are valuable and help us to recharge our batteries.

#8: FOCUS WITH THE 5/25 RULE

SCENARIO:

You set yourself new goals at the beginning of the year with abundant energy and now you don’t
know how and what to start with – prioritising your work load seems impossible! Warren Buffett’s
5/25 rule helps you to filter out your most important goals. It’s best to implement each step directly
without reading the following one.

1. WRITE DOWN 25 GOALS

Take a moment’s time to make a list of 25 goals. The number may seem a little high at the
beginning, but once you start, you’ll come up with one goal after another – you can choose
the areas of your life, as well as the size and type of goals.

2. HIGHLIGHT 5 GOALS ON YOUR LIST

Which of these 25 do you really want to achieve? Highlight 5 goals on your list. Highlight
them in colour and, if you wish, write them down again separately.

3. FOCUS ON YOUR 5 MOST IMPORTANT GOALS

Focus specifically on these 5 goals and ignore the other 20 for now. At this moment, it’s time
to plan and implement the things that are most important to you.
Feel free to use the planning templates in the Study Coaching area, as well as one of the
methods already presented from previous Study Coach Tips.

And here too, the same applies: Practice makes perfect!

#9: THE $25,000 METHOD

SCENARIO:

You’re starting with a new module and want to use your learning time effectively and work on the
lessons in a concentrated way – but you often find yourself unfocused when learning. If this situation
sounds familiar, check out the $25,000 Method*

Step 1: At the end of each learning session, make a list of the most important tasks for the next
learning session.

Step 2: Now classify these tasks according to their priority.

Step 3: In the next learning session, start directly with the first task, without letting yourself be
distracted.

Step 4: Once you’ve completed the first task, check again the priorities of the remaining items on
your list. If necessary, add, sort or delete tasks from your list.

Step 5: Now continue by doing the (new) task with the highest priority on the list.

Step 6: Repeat this process until the end of your learning session.

Step 7: Finally, create a new list for the next learning session and transfer any remaining, unfinished
tasks from the old to the current list.

Please note: If you sometimes don’t manage to complete all the tasks on a study session list, that’s
perfectly OK. Just put them on the list for the next learning session. And remember: you’ve already
done the task with the highest priority!

*Excursus: Why is it actually called the $25,000 Method?

The $25,000 Method owes its name to a true event that happened roughly one hundred years ago.
An American steel magnate hired a consultant to optimise his work processes. After three months, the
consultant presented the method described above, saying that he should be paid what his work was
worth to him.

Apparently, it was valuable: He was presented with a cheque for $25,000 for the development of his
method, hence the name “$25,000 Method”. To clarify the scale here: $25,000 was a fortune in 1918,
and today would be equivalent to roughly $600,000.