Planning your time well is key to staying on top of university life — from managing your classes and assignments to making space for independent study and rest. But with everything else going on, it’s not always easy to stay organised. This set of tools and tips will help you take charge of your study time with strategies that work.
How to start? We recommend:
You can then explore key time planning concepts and strategies:
Not going as expected? Try checking what to do if things take longer than expected.
Finally, you can download planners and templates to help you stay organised.
Building a routine that works for you can make your studies more effective, more enjoyable, and a lot less stressful!
Image credit: Canva
What works best when it comes to managing your time at uni?
Take this quiz to test your instincts, challenge common assumptions, and pick up practical tips to make your schedule work for you.
The rest of this page explores the key ideas raised in the quiz, with tools and strategies to help you plan your time more effectively.
A 19-minute pre-recorded lesson providing you with strategies to organise your independent study time effectively, including tips on how to set SMART goals for your independent study blocks.
Video: Managing your Time and Independent Study
At university, not all your learning happens in scheduled lectures and seminars. Independent study is the time you spend studying outside your timetable to deepen your understanding and keep up with your course.
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Use this time to:
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Your independent study hours will vary depending on your course, workload, and other commitments. As a rough guide, think of your degree as a 35-hour-a-week job, and check your module handbook for specific expectations.
Managing your independent study well is key to success. We recommend putting an independent study timetable in place for each term. Creating a weekly study timetable will help you build a routine, reduce stress, and stay on top of your workload.
Image credit: Canva
You can use an online planner or a paper one, similar to the image below (you can download it at the end of this box).
1. Firstly, add all your fixed commitments, for example your lecture and seminar slots to your weekly timetable template. Have a look at how much time you have left over in the week, you might be surprised!
2. Now, decide how many hours of independent study you would like to give to each module each week? (Check your module handbook for guidelines on this.)
3. Next think about when would be best for you to do independent study for each module. This is very individual and will depend on when you work best and the time you have.
4. Decide how long each block should be 1, 2, 3 or even 4 hours? You can split up your independent study time and do it in several blocks, whatever works best for you.
5. Now add this to your weekly timetable. It may look something like this. (IS = independent study)
Tips:
Creating a weekly study timetable is a great first step, but it’s even more effective if you know what you want to achieve in each study block. That’s where SMART goals come in.
Before you start a study session, ask yourself: “What could I realistically complete in this block of time?” Then write down 2–3 goals that are SMART:
Specific – Clear goals help you stay focused and avoid procrastination.
Measurable (& Motivating) – Choose goals you can tick off when done!
Achievable – Can you complete them in the time you have?
Realistic (& Relevant) – Do they make sense for this module and study session?
Time-bound – Have you set a time limit to complete them?
Don’t worry if you don’t complete everything—just roll any unfinished goals into your next study block. The important thing is that you’ve set a clear direction. Having specific goals reduces procrastination because you know exactly what to focus on, even if you don’t get through it all.
| Example of NOT-SO-SMART goals: | Example of SMART goals: |
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What do you notice about the good planner? The activities the student includes in the plan are Specific, Measureable (& Motivating), Achievable, Realistic (and Relevant), and Time-Bound!
🍅 Manage your time like a pro
Try the Pomodoro Technique to break your study into focused, timed sessions. It’s a simple but powerful way to stay on track, set clear goals, and avoid procrastination.
Stephen Covey’s Time Management Matrix helps you prioritise by looking at how urgent and important a task is. Download the matrix at the end of this box and have a go filling it!
This is an example of how the matrix could be filled:
The key insight? Try to spend more time in Quadrant II — tasks that are important but not yet urgent! That’s where things like planning, studying ahead, and building skills live. When you focus here, you stay in control and avoid last-minute stress.
Assignment coming up? You can use the same time management technique you have seen on this page to plan your time for assignment preparation.
To manage your time most effectively, use the ‘plan backwards, work forwards' approach rather than gradually working towards deadlines and running out of time as you get closer to them.
The approach works as follows:
Part 1:
Plot all your assignment deadlines in a semester planner. Please see the below attached template you can use. This planner can be very useful as it allows you to see all your assignment deadlines for every module on one page (see template at the end of this box).
Part 2:
Have you developed a great plan, but you are falling behind in implementing it? This happens! Here are some ways to respond with flexibility and care while trying to achieve your goals. But first of all, pause and reflect: take a moment to notice what’s happening. Understanding why something is taking longer helps you adjust your plan. Are you distracted? Going deep into something interesting? Feeling tired or unwell?
Image credit: ChatGPT
If you’re finding it hard to concentrate or keep going, that’s worth paying attention to. Is your environment distracting? Are you tired or mentally overloaded? Sometimes tasks take longer because your attention is scattered. See Attention Management for strategies to improve focus and work with your brain.
If a task is taking longer than expected, take a step back. Ask yourself: What can I realistically get done today, given my current energy and circumstances? You might need to adjust your expectations, simplify a task, or move something to later in the week. Focus on what’s most urgent or essential first. (You might find Covey’s Matrix helpful for deciding what to focus on.)
If you’re following a really interesting idea, that’s valuable! Just be aware of how much time you’re spending and whether it’s taking you toward your goal. If not, park the idea for later exploration.
Have you heard of the Planning Fallacy and Hofstadter's Law, which states "It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law"? No plan is perfect, and it is easy to underestimate the length of tasks. However, experience can guide you. When you notice patterns, like a certain task always taking longer, start adding buffer time in future plans.
Delays happen for all sorts of reasons. You might be dealing with health issues, low energy, or just one of life’s many contingencies. Treat yourself with compassion. There's only so much we can do. Whatever the reasons, remember that progress isn’t always linear, and that’s part of the learning process.
If delays are becoming overwhelming, or if you’re managing a condition that affects your energy or focus, don’t struggle alone.
