Planning and preparing for study

Determine your time commitments

Before you confirm your enrolment, you will need to assess how much time you have to commit to your studies.

• How much study time will you need to allocate per unit each week? As a general rule, you will need, on average, approximately 10 hours per week per unit. But this will vary for each student.
• What are your non-negotiable commitments? e.g. work, family. Are there other commitments you can adjust? Do you need to consider reducing your study load?
• Use this study workload planner to determine what your average study week might look like.

Get a feel for the trimester ahead

Once you have access to your unit sites, it can be useful to get an overview of the trimester ahead.

• What are the important dates this trimester? e.g. Week 1, Census date, Exam period.
• Have I read the unit guide? What are the unit learning outcomes?
• What are the assessment tasks and when are they due? Are there any assessments due at the same time? How will I plan ahead for this?
• What can I learn from browsing the weekly topics in my unit sites?
• Do I need to read anything before Week 1?

Use a trimester planner

It’s a good idea to plan your trimester using a calendar or planner and to ensure that it is highly visible during your day-to-day studies. You can use the Trimester and Weekly Planner (to print), your Deakin Outlook Calendar or any planner that works for you!

At the start of each trimester, add to your planner:

• The trimester week number, the holidays and breaks.
• Your due dates for assessment tasks. Highlight each unit using a different colour.
• Other work/personal events that may impact on your studies.

Once the trimester has begun, you may want to add further personal goals, e.g. your own deadlines for completing assessment task drafts.

Learn more about the steps to completing an assessment

Use the Deakin Assessment Planner to get a rough idea of much time to allocate for each step

Create a weekly study schedule

• Use a diary, weekly planner, or your Outlook calendar, to set regular study times for each week.
• Add your lectures, seminars and other class times. Then add times for your personal study (e.g. reading, reviewing, note making, writing).
• Reading will be the most time-consuming activity in your weekly schedule. Make time each week to complete unit readings prior to lectures, so that you have some context for key ideas being discussed, and can bring your own comments, observations or questions to share.
• Block out time for things that you love too, whether that is free time for exercise, gaming or catching up with friends. After a productive day, you deserve a break! In your planner you can see that you have something to look forward to! Looking after your health and wellbeing should be an important part of your overall study schedule.
• Be flexible as changes arise, but make sure you can still achieve your overall study goals.

Learn more about study routines and managing your study workload

Don’t lose sight of your goals

• What are your personal goals for this trimester? What skills and knowledge would you like to develop?
• Remind yourself why you have enrolled in this course and in these units.
• Return to the learning outcomes of your course and your unit – these shape your learning and will provide you with skills for your future profession.
• Reflect on what you have learnt, your achievements, and your assessment feedback, and apply that in planning for your next trimester. Discuss with your classmates.