Feel like you’re always racing against the clock to submit assignments? Check out our top tips for keeping on top of your workload and never missing a deadline again.
Make a note of your deadlines
Write down the submission date as soon as you get your assignment. Keep all your deadlines written down in one place, whether that’s in a diary, on your phone, or on a wall planner.
Writing down your deadlines will help you keep track of what you need to do and when you need to do it. You’ll avoid panicking on the eve of an assessment you would’ve normally forgotten about.
Organise your work and your time
Start by listing what you need to do for each assignment and prioritise your work by importance and urgency.
Breaking your assignments down into small, manageable chunks means you’re less likely to be overstretched. One method to achieve this is by working backwards from a deadline and dividing things up into stages, setting yourself an internal deadline for each stage of the research and writing process.
Save yourself study time by cooking extra portions of food so that you can reheat it the next day, rather than having to cook meals every day. This gives you more time to focus on assignments and give yourself much-needed breaks.
Start early
Researching your assignment as soon as you hear about it may seem daunting, but starting as early as possible means that you’re less likely to need to do an all-nighter the evening before your deadline.
The earlier you start, the more time you’ll have to develop your ideas and amend your conclusions if necessary. You’ll also get first dibs on any books or resources you’ll need from the library, which can be extremely helpful when you’ve all been assigned the same topic.
Know when to say no
One of the hardest parts of working on assignments is avoiding the temptation to socialise too often. It’s important to strike a good work-life balance for your physical and mental health, so be sure to take breaks and give yourself little treats. Just don’t forget to prioritise your work when needed.
One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to set yourself goals to work towards, because this will incentivise you to work hard, and you’ll have stuff to look forward to when you finish a task.
Follow these tips and you’ll never miss a deadline again!
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