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On the next few screens you'll find a couple of tools that you can use to help with time management.

Semester plan

To keep all your planning in perspective, it isn't a bad idea to use a semester plan. This is as simple as using a large wall calendar to capture all your commitments for a semester.

On this calendar you can record important academic and non-academic 'dates':

• Birthdays, anniversaries, appointments etc.
• Assignment due dates
• Blackboard activities
• Residential schools
• Exams

A quick glance at this semester plan will allow you to see what is coming up, what times are busy, and what times are relatively free.

A semester plan is useful to record not only all the deadlines that have been set for you, but those you have set for yourself. For example, you may have an assignment due in May, which may seem a long time off at the beginning of the semester but when considered in relation to all your other commitments, will require good planning. To give yourself ample time to complete the various stages necessary to write a good assignment you may therefore set deadlines for such things as topic analysis, research, writing drafts, editing and proofreading (see Essay writing). This type of plan can therefore help you monitor your activities over the longer term.

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