Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n You guys know<\/em> I love a good goal-oriented plan by now. Well, guess where we\u2019re going to start today? That\u2019s right: goal-oriented planning, baby! Feels so good, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n This is a step that a lot of students don\u2019t spend enough time on. Trust me \u2013 in all my years as a tutor and learning advisor, I\u2019ve seen hundreds of you struggle with this part of the process! There are a few key things we need to look at when we\u2019re analysing the task:<\/p>\n Working from home with a disrupted routine, it is more important than ever <\/em>to create a realistic and goal-oriented timeline for yourself. So, get out your diary and mark some goals:<\/p>\n Notice how useful this is when you have multiple assignments around the same time? <\/em><\/p>\n This is another step students often don\u2019t spend enough time on (#notallstudents). You guys just love going straight into the horror of the blank page without giving yourselves a shot at beating it, don\u2019t you \ud83d\ude09 I like to call this the brain vomit part of the process. It\u2019s gross, but it\u2019s because this is where I literally just purge all the ideas and knowledge I have onto a page without restriction and see what\u2019s there.<\/p>\n So, here\u2019s some tips:<\/p>\n Now that you have an idea of what you want to write about, turn this into a provisional structural plan that will break down each key point and give you some guidance as you write. I consider this to be ***the most important step of the process<\/em>***<\/p>\n Here\u2019s one I prepared earlier. No I didn\u2019t, I made it specifically to demonstrate what a provisional plan might look like \u2013 I hope you appreciate the time that went into this arduous and not-at-all-procrastination-based task!<\/em><\/p>\n Research<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s rare that we can approach an assignment without doing any research. While you can\u2019t access the library physically anymore, the librarians are still hard at work and are available for bookings if you need help<\/a>, and the digital collection is still available.<\/p>\n You when you\u2019re trying to find that quote you forgot to reference in your notes. I have definitely never been this person \u2026 <\/em><\/p>\n Drafting <\/strong><\/p>\n Drafting is a super important step. What you submit should not <\/em>be the first thing you\u2019ve written \u2013 your tutors can tell when it is! Plus, the great benefit of drafting is that it helps us avoid cognitive overload. If you have a good plan, you don\u2019t need to stress about the content, evidence or structure of your writing, only the language.<\/p>\n Before you start writing, think about whether your research has changed or influenced any of your original ideas and revise as necessary.<\/p>\n Finally \u2013 yes, finally <\/em>\u2013 we can start writing. What you\u2019ll (hopefully) find is that now that we have a solid plan, the writing process becomes much easier. No more panic staring at a blank page!<\/p>\n Editing<\/strong><\/p>\n As a writer and former professional editor, I\u2019m here to tell you that editing and proofreading are not the same thing<\/em>! These are two separate processes with different objectives.<\/p>\n The structural edit is where you\u2019re looking to re-work the content and structure of the draft. It\u2019s more about the big picture than the little details. It includes:<\/p>\n I recommend checking your draft against the assignment rubric. How would you grade yourself? Have you met each criteria?<\/p>\n This is where you check for what we in the biz call \u2018copy errors\u2019. These are the little things that you\u2019ll find at the end. It includes:<\/p>\n If you struggle with this, I suggest trying to read your work out loud. Often our ears will hear what our eyes don\u2019t see!<\/p>\n Can I be a real nerd and admit that editing is my favourite part of the writing process? I know. I\u2019m sad for me too. <\/em><\/p>\n You\u2019ve made it so far, but we\u2019re not quite done yet! The last step is to check our references with a fine-tooth comb and run our assignment through TurnItIn to double-check for any accidental plagiarism.<\/p>\n When you get your TurnItIn report back, check the matches that don\u2019t look legit. This is important: TurnItIn is text-matching <\/em>software, not plagiarism-detecting <\/em>software. It will match your reference list, titles, common phrases, quotes and names. That\u2019s fine! Instead, check your report for poor paraphrasing and missing references.<\/p>\n Submit!<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s it \u2013 you\u2019re ready to submit!<\/p>\n I hope this has been some help to those of you who might be struggling with motivation or who are trying to figure out how to stay on top of their assignments while studying from home. It\u2019s much more difficult to stay on track when we\u2019re not engaging directly with our classes and so hopefully bringing some structure into your process will help.<\/p>\n But now, let\u2019s hear from Susie, Sean, Sideth and Indianna about how they\u2019re coping with their assignments!<\/p>\n Susie <\/strong><\/p>\n I think one of the most challenging aspects of keeping up with assignments while studying online is not being able to collaborate with other people in your class easily, or being able to ask the people who sit next to you for help if you don\u2019t understand something.\u00a0 Usually I would be able to ask my teachers if I was having trouble with a particular question on an assignment at the end of a class, but that\u2019s not really possible at the moment so I\u2019m finding that really challenging.<\/p>\n Sean <\/strong><\/p>\n The hardest part of keeping up with your assignments while being stuck indoors all the time is having the motivation to actually get to your class without being distracted by all the millions of things you have in your house, or the other things you need to do. When you\u2019re at uni, it\u2019s easy to connect, but when you\u2019re in your lounge room and there\u2019s the option of watching Netflix or watching your lectures, it\u2019s much more challenging. With the various complications of not being able to work or go out places, it\u2019s really tempting to lean into doing so many other things. Keeping on track is so challenging at the moment.<\/p>\n One thing that I\u2019ve found is getting myself in a separate room where I can be away from everyone that I live with just so I can focus on study. But the other thing that works is the exact opposite \u2013 watching lectures with my housemates and we can laugh about the things that are discussed and take them in together. So if you\u2019re hanging out with another student in your family or various other people who might be having to watch online content as part of your career or study, you could always do it together so you have someone keeping in check with you.<\/p>\n Sideth<\/strong><\/p>\n So before the lockdown, I would go to the university to attend lectures two days a week. I could ask lots of questions to my lecturers and to my friends about my assignments. Since we\u2019re staying home, I\u2019ve lost that opportunity. It\u2019s very challenging, honestly, but you know what? There\u2019s plenty of supports that I use to overcome this challenge. I use the service from the Student Learning Centre \u2013 they have guided me to help me understand more about the questions, understanding more about what ideas should be behind that question, and when I create a draft I can use the service from Studiosity. This kind of support makes me feel like we\u2019re being taken care of. It makes me feel like I\u2019m not alone and helps a lot with my mentality.<\/p>\n From my side, I start doing my assignments early. The first time I get the Statement of Assessment Methods, I write down all the deadlines and put it into a Google Calendar. Ten, let\u2019s say, it\u2019s a regular lecture or class I put it in green. IF it\u2019s a deadline, I colour code it in red. Whenever I grab my phone, it syncs all my devices \u2013 my computer, my laptop and my phone \u2013 and I can see at a glance this week, three weeks, or four weeks in a row. If it\u2019s green or if it\u2019s red, I know my deadlines are coming.<\/p>\n Indianna<\/strong><\/p>\n Online study has forced me to create new routines and habits. I\u2019ve been a lot more proactive about setting daily goals and stuff I want to get done because I know that if I don\u2019t do that, no one else is going to do it for me. I\u2019m usually pretty prone to leaving things till the last minute. I\u2019m known for procrastination, for sure!<\/p>\n Lately, I\u2019ve surprised myself and I\u2019ve been quite proactive. I\u2019ve just been setting myself really, really small tasks. Usually, I would want to sit down and smash out a whole bucket load of work all in one sitting, but I put off that study session so much that it ends up happening in the last day and, obviously, a stressed assignment isn\u2019t ideal! You aren\u2019t putting as much effort and love into it as you want to.<\/p>\n Whereas right now, I\u2019ve been doing small things for each assignment to set myself up, have that base level of knowledge and understand the task that I\u2019m doing. Each little thing that I\u2019m doing along the way makes that end product seem so much more achievable.<\/p>\n I set three small achievable tasks for myself daily. This is my little whiteboard that\u2019s above my desk and I use this for my goal-setting for the day. This is where I set myself things that I want to do. Sometimes I\u2019ll put more than three, but usually I won\u2019t get more than three done in a day. I also have this list of things that I\u2019m grateful for and I think that\u2019s great to look at and it helps re-centre you and remind you of why you\u2019re doing what you\u2019re doing and what your values are.<\/p>\n I love Indy\u2019s goal-orientated white-board. Amaaaaaze!<\/em><\/p>\n If I don\u2019t get all of these done for the day, they\u2019re still really helpful because they\u2019re framing my priorities for the day. They make me aware of tasks that I\u2019m avoiding because if I see that one thing has stayed up on that board for a few days, I\u2019ll go, okay, why am I avoiding this task and what can I do to make it less daunting? You also get satisfaction when you get to cross them off and celebrate the smallest wins \u2013 even if it\u2019s putting up there that you want to have a bubble bath or a pamper session.<\/p>\n Those are my time management tips but they\u2019re still in the works with how they\u2019re going to turn out, but my stress levels have been managed quite well because I\u2019m doing these things.<\/p>\n Next week, we\u2019re chatting with some folks over at Flinders Sport and Fitness, and from Nutrition and Dietetics about how to maintain your physical wellbeing in iso. After that, we\u2019ll tackle procrastination and chat to Dr Gareth about some more stress management strategies, so don\u2019t panic, the conversation about staying on top of your assignments isn\u2019t over yet!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/89\/2020\/05\/Like-a-boss-6.jpg\")
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