Academic Councellor News

Self Management

In order to be successful and stay on track with academic goals, it is important to plan. This will provide direction and increase motivation. By breaking down subjects into work requirements and other important tasks, small, achievable steps will be the focus instead of huge, daunting ones!

It is important that different ways of managing time and ways to study are attempted. Some ways will work, others may not - it’s all about finding what works for the individual.

These planners from Elevate can be printed off and placed in a study space at home, or used electronically. Use one of them or all of them! Adjust and modify them to make them work. (Year 11 and 12 students will also have these emailed to them).

Remember, these are guides and it is important to be flexible as unplanned things will always pop up. Be kind to yourself, but make sure you hold yourself accountable so that work gets done!

There are four different types of planners:

1. Subject Assessment Planner - For each subject, fill in the work requirements that are necessary for successful unit completion (your teacher should have already given you these details). There is space included to include additional notes (e.g. breaking down tasks into steps, creating summaries, completing revision, goal results).
2. Term Planner (Long Term) - Fill in all of the work requirements for the term/ semester. Don’t forget to include other important dates and events (not only school related!)
3. Weekly Planner (Medium Term) - Make a study timetable by recording your activities for the week. This is a good outline for observing the time available for study. Include time to sleep, eat, exercise, socialise, watch Netflix etc. Do this on a weekly basis.
4. Daily To-do List (Short Term) - List tasks that need to be achieved during study time. Some of these will be teacher directed but others should be your own extra study. Think about pre-lesson planning, post-lesson planning, homework, chapter summaries, revision etc. Prioritise your tasks (number them) and focus on getting the non negotiables done. Don’t forget to cross the jobs off once they are completed!