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How to manage your university workload

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Worrying about your workload can bring on stress and anxiety so it’s important to know how to manage it. Everyone does it differently; here we give you our advice on how to deal with your university workload.

Create a study plan

Once you find out all of your deadlines for essays and exam dates, it’s best to write them down in your planner. If buying and using a physical planner is not your thing, just update a calendar on your phone so you can find all the dates whenever you want. It would also be a good idea to put any extracurricular activities in the planner, and holidays as well. As long as you plan ahead, you will never be surprised by upcoming deadlines. If you think that you might forget about the planner or not check your phone calendar, sticky notes might work as you can put them anywhere in your home, and you'll notice them which will actually force you to plan ahead.

 

Start your work early

It goes without saying, but start working on university essays or assignments as early as possible. Having a planner is worth nothing if you don’t respect it. It’s much better to have control over your assignments, because if they are in control of you then expect late nights and stress levels to go up. And imagine, if you start working early on your assignments think about all the free time you will have once deadline dates approach while all of your friends will be in panic mode. Unless they read this article of course.

 

Don’t overwork

When the time comes to study hard, make sure you don’t exhaust yourself. Take a small break every now and then not only to reward yourself, but also to recharge your batteries a bit. On the other hand, if you are looking to be a part of several societies and/or be involved in a sports team, be sure that you prioritise. If you don’t, you will be constantly exhausted which might lead to poor wellbeing.

 

Be happy

It’s not about working hard all the time. Sometimes, you can relax as well. Studying a degree can be stressful so it’s only fair to replace that stress with a little bit of fun from time to time. At the end of the day it’s important that you are happy because you don’t want to go through your youth being miserable and sad. Go out with friends, buy yourself something nice, binge-watch your favourite TV show or just allow yourself to sleep longer from time to time if you don’t have any lectures. Enjoying your life will also motivate you to do your best at university, but don’t overdo it.  

 

Establish a routine

Have a coffee in the morning, exercise in the evening or have a couple of drinks every other weekend. It’s hard to predict your life and sometimes you will not be able to keep to your routine, but you will to stick to it more often than not if you establish it.

Anyone can experience thoughts and feelings that are distressing or affect their ability to concentrate on their work/studies: anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, bereavement, issues of sexuality, relationship difficulties, family conflict, homesickness, or problems arising from studies.

We have a team of health professionals who offer an accessible and supportive service for all students experiencing emotional and mental health difficulties which are impacting upon their studies and/or daily lives.

Our Wellbeing service is for all students, full time, part-time, international or home. Our services are confidential and free of charge.

 

Published: 28 August 2019