How Students Should Prioritise Their Workload

Despite what you might expect, course material is certainly not the most difficult part of school. Taken individually; the concepts, reading, papers, assignments, and tests are fairly straightforward. Of course, some subjects are more difficult than others, just as some tests require more preparation than others. But the true challenge that students face is time. Whether studying part-time or full, every student must juggle the obligations of their personal lives, their work, and their studies. If one could invest an endless amount of time in every academic task, university would be easy. But because they can’t, because deadlines and due dates are constantly looming prioritizing is absolutely necessary for every student. Unfortunately, however, this crucial task is one that schools simply don’t teach. To master it, you must teach yourself.
So to set you on the path to a more productive, efficient, and successful academic life; this is the essential student guide to prioritization.
When you make the decision to become a student, you must resolve to study daily. Even if you can only squeeze in a 20-minute chunk of reading or a half-hour to type up notes, daily practice is critical to success. When you know that you will be studying every day, you identify more closely with your work and arrange your schedule more responsibly around your course load. So the first priority for every student is to act like one! Until the day your course is complete, you must continue to invest yourself in it daily.

Know Your Study Workflow

Efficiency is another broad priority every student must embrace. Workflow refers to the time when you are at peak focus, concentrating intently on the task at hand and not being distracted by anything else.

To cultivate workflow, you need a quiet place where you are free of interruptions. Turn off that instant messenger, put your phone away, and get started. When you find yourself experiencing a solid workflow, mark the time. Do this over the course of a week, and then review your data to find out what time is most conducive to getting your best work done. Once you know when your mind operates at its peak, set aside the most challenging work for that time of day. In the hours when you often struggle to stay focused, get in the habit of doing less important work like answering emails or organising notes. Make it a priority to invest your best self in your hardest work, and you will see your productivity increase exponentially.

Define Actionable Goals

Prioritizing your workload is impossible without clear actionable goals. So set them for yourself, and then schedule all of your other obligations accordingly. Though we all have many goals, writing them down makes them tangible and real. Once you define yours clearly, you become conscious of the time you waste putting off the work it takes to achieve them. So find out what is most important, and invest the work needed to attain it.

Make Lists

This one is simple: lists clarify your priorities and give you a focused path to follow. So make a thoughtful plan, and stick to it.

Organisational Skills

Organisation is the cornerstone of prioritization. Everyone has their own method of staying organised, so find yours, and arrange your course materials and assignments accordingly.
When it comes to productivity, we are often our own worst enemies. We all-too-often waste time with meaningless distractions which only increase our stress and dissatisfaction. Cultivating self-control must be a number 1 priority for every student. The more often you force yourself to sit at the desk and study, the easier it becomes to invest long focused hours working toward your goals. So give yourself clear long-term goals, and focus daily on each tiny step that brings you closer to them. Get your priorities in order, arrange your life accordingly, and everything else will soon fall into place.

Source: The Telegraph (online)

The author of this article is Assistant Professor, Pioneer Institute of Professional Studies, Indore