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Time management

Time management is an important skill needed for both your daily life and to manage your study. The resources on this page provide you with a practical tool kit to help you succeed in your studies.

Managing your time

This short animated video gives you an overview of time management and some practical suggestions on how to effectively manage your time to help you with academic study.

When it comes to your studies, it really pays off to stay organised throughout the semester. One method for keeping on top of your homework, assignments, and exam study is to use a planner. At RMIT, free semester planners are available at the Study and Learning Centre.

To use your planner effectively, it’s a good idea to write down important dates, such as assignment deadlines, milestones, and dates of tests and quizzes. Another method is to use your student diary to plan your study. Or, if you prefer, the RMIT Learning Lab offers a weekly study timetable that you can fill out online and then print.

If you find yourself not getting much done during study sessions, try setting yourself goals. Break down an assignment into small, achievable tasks, and each time you complete a goal, reward yourself. A 3000-word essay can seem a bit overwhelming at first. But if you break down the assignment into small goals during your study sessions, such as “Write 500 words”, or “Write introduction”, this makes the assignment much more manageable.

Remember, focus first on the assignments that are worth the most marks. Have a look at the subject’s course guide for a breakdown of assessment marks.

Google Calendar is another good tool to use to stay on top of your studies. You can add important dates and set yourself reminders. This way, you’ll receive automatic notifications on all of your devices. Download the RMIT “Important Dates” calendar, which imports important dates such as week numbers, census dates, graduation dates, and so on.

For more information about time management, try the tutorial. Thanks for watching.

Time management tools

By structuring your study time on a semester, weekly and daily basis you will gain control over your time and avoid the distraction of unimportant activities. To successfully organise your time you need to work out how much time is available and how you can best use this time. There are several useful techniques that will help you plan your time.

Assignment Planner

The RMIT Library has a great assignment planning tool that is easy to use and provides you with step-by-step plan, withs links to lots of resources to help you stay on task.

Online calendars

Microsoft Outlook is available to RMIT students and includes an online calendar which can help you organise both your day-to-day activities and your entire semester.

Map out your semester: With the Outlook calendar, you can easily input all your assignment due dates and exam schedules. The calendar can be viewed by month, week, or day, allowing you to see both the big picture and the finer details.

Plan your days: Use the daily view to schedule your study sessions, classes, and personal commitments. This helps ensure that you allocate enough time for each task and avoid last-minute cramming.

Set reminders: Customise your reminder settings to receive notifications well in advance of deadlines. You can set reminders to alert you a month, a week, or just 15 minutes before a task is due, helping you stay on top of your responsibilities.

Collaborate with classmates: For group assignments, you can share your calendar with your classmates. This feature makes it easy to coordinate meeting times and ensure everyone is on the same page.