How to time manage during the holidays

As we have just finished the Christmas break, I thought it might be useful to write a blog about time management during this holiday period. 

I am in my 3rd and last year at university so there is a lot of work to complete throughout the year and I want to ensure I can manage my time effectively to ensure I still maintain a good work-life balance, especially in the holiday periods. 

I created a to-do list for the Christmas holidays. This was a table on a word document and the headings of the table included: things to do, timeframe and complete. This was helpful to see what I had got to complete during the Christmas break.

From this, I then created another table with all the days of the week on and w/c of the weeks I had off from uni. I then filled the table out with what I needed to complete each day. 

I included days like Christmas day on my timetable, as this was a day I wasn’t going to complete any uni work. I also included any appointments or things that I had booked in on my timetable. In addition to this, it might also be helpful to include things you enjoy doing on your timetable like reading or watching television to ensure you have time for yourself to relax. 

On your timetable, setting achievement goals could help you to ensure things get done in a timely manner. Colour coding your timetable may also help to identify things you have completed or need to do. 

When working, it is best to work in an environment suitable for you. I have found I work best in silence or minimal noise while eliminating as many distractions as I can. This enables me to get more work done which will mean I have more time in the holidays for myself. 

Make sure to take breaks when working. I find setting a 25 minute timer on my phone and then setting a 5 minute timer for a break, helps me to make sure I take breaks when I am studying. 

Getting enough sleep is also really important to make sure you can concentrate when studying. I make sure I go to sleep at my normal time and wake up at a reasonable time to ensure my body is fueled for the day. 

Keeping fueled for the day also includes eating and drinking. Making sure you keep up with your meals and snacks throughout the day and keeping hydrated is really important when studying. I find it helpful to keep my water bottle filled up by the side of me when I am studying to make sure I drink enough throughout the day. 

Furthermore, prioritisation is really important to make sure you get everything done on time. When making a to-do list you could put this in order of what needs to be complete first to make sure everything is complete on time, or you could buy a prioritisation list to write on or jot them down on a piece of plain or scrap piece of paper. 

I hope this blog has been helpful! If you have any questions about Cardiff or Cardiff University please feel free to message me using the UniBuddy service.