Transition Skills

Managing self-study time, prioritising and

planning
 Managing self-study time - 
 prioritising and planning
• Do you know that effective independent learning is a
key requirement for success in higher education?

• Do you know that managing your self study time and

prioritising and planning your academic work will
promote effective independent learning?

If you answered ‘no’ to either of the above, you could benefit

by developing your skills to manage and to get the most out of
self-study time.
 Managing your self-study time

A key characteristic of UK higher education is the

emphasis placed on the responsibility of the student
for their own learning (QAA 2015).

In higher education, a higher percentage of your time

is left for you to manage and this is called self-study.
The degree to which that self-study is directed varies.

Simply attending all of the classes on your timetable

will not be enough for you to be a successful learner.
Try this activity: creating a baseline time tracker

In all aspects of your life it is important to manage your time. Now that
you are studying in higher education more of your studying is done
outside of class meetings on your timetable. This self-study may be on
your own or with other students.
1. Using the handout or activity, consider yesterday (or another day
of your choice) and add into each of the 30 minute slots what
you were doing, for example, sleeping, eating, travelling, studying,
in class, reading, surfing the internet with friends, watching telly,
working, with family, exercising etc

2. Work out the totals and then what percentage is spent per activity?

3. Identify how much time is not allocated to anything and consider how
this time can be harvested for self-study.

15 minutes
Some facts about using time in higher education

A full time student is expected to study for 35-40 hours per week.
Subtract the time that you spend in class meetings from this
number to get an estimate of the total amount of time that you
should study.

A significant amount of time in higher education is allocated to

self-study and independent learning. This is sometimes referred
to as notional student effort.

Time spent sleeping, working, exercising and relaxing is just as

important as time that you study and this will help you to maintain a
healthy study life balance.
Prioritising and planning your time and activity

Think about
Think about your
your week
week ahead
ahead as as an
an empty
empty jar
jar
which you
which you are
are going
going to
to fill
fill with
with tasks
tasks and
and activities.
activities.

Given that the assumption is that your overall

objective is to be a successful student, every task
and activity can be reviewed to decide if it is very
important, important or not important.

Very important Important Not important

Prioritising very important tasks
Try this activity: creating a time management grid
A time management grid can be used to help you to prioritise and
manage your tasks and activities. Using this tool will help you to make
sure, for example, that you don’t miss deadlines for coursework but
you also plan ahead to make time to properly review your academic
work and make time for longer term objectives such as end of year
exams. Use the template provided and complete the following steps:

• Identify everything you need to do in the coming 4 weeks. This is

effectively a task or ‘to do’ list.

• Consider the urgency and importance of each task and then type
each of your tasks into the appropriate quadrant.

• Re-order the tasks in the urgent and important quadrant so that

the most urgent task is at the top of the list.

15 minutes
Try this activity: time management grid

Quadrant 1 Quadrant 2

Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4
Supporting effective independent learning
By adopting a good strategy to manage your time and by prioritising
and planning ahead using some of the tools provided in this workshop,
you will better equip yourself to become an effective independent
learner. Being an effective independent learner is a key requirement
for success in higher education.

Deeper Understanding: By managing and Deep

planning your independent study time you understanding

can develop deeper understanding of the

subject material because you find out more
than you are told in class.

Skills Development: Graduate capabilities

and employability skills can be enhanced. Independent
Learning

Sense of Belonging: A sense of belonging

to the academic community and the institution Sense of
belonging
Develop
skills
can be developed along with networking with
fellow learners.
 Strategies for independent learning
Use these strategies to improve your time management, prioritising and planning skills
Organise your self-study
time to make it effective
Some things you can try
• Short time periods of 30
to 50 minutes can be
very productive
• Don’t confuse being
busy with being effective
• Consolidate your
learning by using
strategies for review and
recall
Start by increasing your
awareness of how much time you
need to spend on self study and
how you currently spend your
time. The first place to look for
more time is in time that is
currently wasted
Never underestimate the
importance of leisure time
Developing skill in dealing with
urgent tasks can be very
useful but after a deadline is
met, always reflect on how
you could have better
managed achieving the task
Plan your academic work
and prioritise the most
important tasks and
activities
Some things you can try
• Create task and to do
lists
• Revisit these lists to
keep them dynamic
• Plan to complete ahead
of deadlines to give
yourself some wriggle
room
Enhancementthemes.ac.uk

enhancement@qaa.ac.uk

+44 (0) 141 572 3420

© The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education 2019

Registered charity numbers 1062746 and SC037786