‘HOW TO’ GUIDES
HOW TO MANAGE YOUR TIME & STRESS
Here are some tips for overcoming the most common barriers to effective time management
and for learning to cope with stress.
TIME
Learn to recognise when you are procrastinating.
Procrastination
Find a way to encourage yourself; an icecream, or breaking the task into manageable chunks.
Work your way into the task by starting small and building up; just get any words on the page.
Lack of
motivation
Lack of
confidence or
fear
Focus on some long-term goals – what am I going to be able to achieve eventually by doing this task?
Find something to motivate you, even if it is a negative thing, e.g. I’ll have to retake if I don’t work now.
Make your study space more attractive or try studying in a different place – the library or a café.
Psyche yourself up with positive talk. Remind yourself of your strengths.
Don’t let past criticism hold you back, especially if it was in a different context, e.g. at home or school.
Look at the good points in your past feedback.
Accept deadlines as a way of drawing a line under a task.
Perfectionism
You may have some errors and omissions in your work – it’s not the end of the world!
Remember that the purpose of assignments is to LEARN, not to be judged.
Find a friendly critic, one who builds you up instead of increasing your anxiety!
Excessive
embellishment
Give yourself a deadline for a task and stick to it; do not go back to it unless all other tasks are complete.
Too many
important
commitments
Have an honest think about what you’re trying to achieve in life; what can or can’t be sacrificed?
Negative
mindset
Remember that to get a 1st you need 70%, not 100%!
Ask for support from friends and family – sometimes just one small thing can make a huge difference.
Learn to say ‘no’ to new commitments or ask for time off from something you have already arranged.
Remind yourself of previous successes.
Think instrumentally, e.g. how will achieving this task benefit me?
Recognise your negative thought patterns and challenge them (see overleaf).
If you struggle to manage your time, it’s very easy to become stressed. Have you felt any signs of stress or negative thinking?
Thoughts
-racing thoughts
-constant worrying
-imagining the worst
-going over and over things
Feelings
-irritable
-anxious
-low in self-esteem
-low in mood
Behaviour
-lose your temper easily
-drink/smoke more
-talk more or talk faster
-change your eating habits
-feel unsociable
-forgetful or clumsy
Body
-headaches/muscle tension
-stomach/bladder problems
-sweating
-dizziness/breathlessness
-dry mouth
-sexual problems
Can’t:
Must/Have to:
Generalising:
“I can’t cope with
all this pressure”
“I have to do
better this time
round”
“That essay was
so hard
– I’ll never be
able to write
essays”
“I can’t
understand”
“I’ll never be able
to get through
these exams”
“I must prove
myself”
“I should have
worked harder”
See overleaf for ideas on helpng you to cope
Student Engagement and Skills Hub
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STRESS
Get things
into
perspective
Filtering out
the positive:
Do something to get away from your study environment for a couple of hours eg. a
walk or a film.
Get away from the university for a weekend and return refreshed and reminded
that grades are not the centre of everything (do NOT do this if you have left your
coursework so late that you only have a couple of days).
Friends: beware friends who make you feel worse because they seem so in
control.
Get
support
from
others
Family: especially talk to those who have been through exams recently – older
siblings or cousins.
“I passed by
fluke”
All or nothing:
Doctor: find out about the Student Health Centre at http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/
shc/
“If I don’t get a
first it won’t be
worth it”
Eat a balanced diet. Eating well will make you feel better.
Drink plenty of water (and remember alcohol dehydrates you).
Do some form of exercise, even if it is only a short walk or 10 minutes of
stretching.
Use rewards to keep yourself going, such as nice cakes or an evening out with
friends.
Listen to the things you tell yourself and see if you recognise any unhelpful patterns.
What are they and how often?
Try to change these thinking patterns by:
- Recognising them as ‘the old you’ and that now you have acknowledged your
patterns, you can move on.
- If you are telling yourself you’re going to fail, physically say “no”.
Change
unhelpful
thinking
habits
“I only did well
because it was
easy”
Counsellor: understand the reasons you may be over-stressed and help with
changing negative thoughts. University student counselling services are at http://
services.exeter.ac.uk/counselling.
University chaplains: to talk through issues and get confidential support. You do not
have to be religious. http://www.exeter.ac.uk/chaplaincy/aboutthechaplaincy/
Keep fit
AND spoil
yourself
“I did so badly in
that coursework
– I’m useless”
- Imagine the message is coming from a radio and you are going to turn it
down so that you eventually can’t even hear it. Try saying “Click” and mentally
switching it off.
- Change the message to a new one like “I can be successful”.
- Make fun of the negative thought pattern– give it a silly voice and tell yourself
that it is being stupid.
- If bad exam experiences from the past keep coming back, remind yourself that
you have the power to learn from those experiences and improve.
- Draw on past successes and tell yourself about them. Remember – you
succeeded in getting to university, so there is no reason why you should fail now.
“I’ve got to be the
best”
“I’ve always
scored in the 70s
before
-anything less is
Labelling
yourself
negatively:
“I’m rubbish at
everything”
“I should never
have come to
university
-I don’t belong
here”
Have you seen the
other Guides in
this series?
How to…
Read effectively
Write essays & reports
Try some
new ways
of relaxing
Try joining a yoga class, learning to meditate, walking/cycling along the canal/beach,
switching off from all your online activity, trying a new fitness activity or the guided
audio relaxation activities at http://www.exeter.ac.uk/wellbeing/resources/onlineresources.
Reference & avoid
plagiarism
Manage exams
Give presentations
Manage groupwork
For further information, please go to ELE -> ‘Student Resources’ -> ‘Undergraduate Skills’.
Student Engagement and Skills Hub
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