Study: how to get things done

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You download your first module and ... oh.

The finish line is suddenly a lot further away.

Welcome to success!

Successful study is less about being especially gifted and more about maintaining the energy to see things through to the end. There is power in plodding! It’s less about having a clear path to success, and more about continuing to shape your “life-admin” around that path. Which brings us to the root of ‘getting things done’ – time management. Time management includes things like prioritising, knowing when to ask for help, maintaining stamina and understanding how you work best.

How to get things done

Time Management is about carving out enough time to spend on the important aspects of your work. It's also about knowing how to navigate the many interruptions in our daily lives; the important and the not-so-important.

How to manage your time 

Time Management helps you get things done. Following is a range of “Time Management Tips”. While you may know many of them already, it’s handy to refresh your ideas around what makes good time management.  

1. Plan your study

Spend time looking at the overall goal. Skip overwhelm altogether by breaking a large goal down into sections, then each of those sections into smaller steps. The size of the steps is up to you. What do you think you can handle?

2.Keep a clear work space

Create a study area. Where ever you work, keep only the materials you need to get the job done in that space. This minimizes the distraction of looking for things – like a glass of water …

3.Turn off email

It’s well documented that when shifting your attention from one task to another it can take you 10 to 20 minutes to refocus your attention back to the first task. So, while checking emails can take seconds. It can interrupt your flow of thoughts for a lot longer and waste your study time.

4. Start on the thing you find most difficult first

Putting off the hard stuff doesn’t help; in fact it just makes overwhelm worse.

“Your “frog” is your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it.”    Brian Tracy

Be aware, when studying with ACCM, you will find your modules are set out in a specific order. This is done with the idea that layering the information in this way allows you to build on your knowledge in logical sequence.

So, do the first module first. Keep going - in chunks of time - until you’ve finished.

Soon enough, the sense of achievement that comes with seeing more and more of your course modules marked 'complete' will drive you on.

5. Ask for help

If you are stuck, stop and assess the problem. Perhaps you just need a break?

Nope, you’re really stuck.  That is OK!  At ACCM, if you are stuck, call your student advisor and let them talk you through it. Making that call will save you time spent worrying and feeling frustrated.

5. Beware your favourite tasks

Because we like some things more than others, it’s common to spend more time on than that we should. This usually means we are delaying things we don’t like and that is not the way to get something done. Remember the frog? You know what to do!

6.Review your time management regularly

Review your study plan regularly to keep yourself on track, or to get back on track.

Over booking your time sabotages your efforts to stay on track. Treating your study time as a priority will help you to consider your own study needs before committing to other things - especially if they don't need to be done right now, like being asked to volunteer your time for something. It’s okay to say no.

7.Understand how you work best

• • Do you work best in the morning? Perhaps the evening is best for you?

  • Do you like to read through your workbook first or look at the questions in the assessment first?

  • How long does it take you to establish your concentration on a topic?

  • How long can you study before your mind begins to wander?

  • Do you need to eat first?

Put some thought into when you would prefer to study, for how long at a stretch and under what conditions and see how you can work your life around that.

You’ll begin to see more and more of your course modules marked ‘complete’.

The sense of achievement that comes with this will help you maintain your stamina and focus until the day you are holding your qualification in your hand.

Completing a course of study gives you so much more than a Certificate.

It brings a working knowledge that you can achieve any goal you like.  

Welcome to Success!

Adapted from Achieving Your Priorities, a business module   For more information on how The Australian College of Commerce and Management can help you and your business with any training needs - Call 1800 111 700, email courses@austcollege.edu.au or visit – austcollege.edu.au