Student life: valuable skills I learned whilst at uni

Hi, my name is Lexie and I'm currently studying BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy.

I hope my blog will help to provide some tips for developing those vital skills for university life and study.

Organisation and time-management

Get a calendar

A calendar or planner is an organisational must-have. You can use either paper-based or digital, whichever you prefer. I like to use the Google Calendar app.

Use your calendar to make note of your lectures, deadlines, appointments, and other plans.

Organise your study materials

The organisation of your study materials is vital.

For digital material, a great strategy is to use folders to group documents in the same topic area. It can be helpful to label each document with a date and a title.

Paper-based study material can be organised using physical folders and subject dividers.

A great way to use a to-do list is to colour-code the tasks. For example, you could have red for ‘this must be done today’, yellow for ‘this should be done today’, and green for ‘this could be done today’. Tackle the red tasks first, then the yellow and if you have time, the green.

People skills and socialising

There is so much value in interacting with the people on your course and forming lasting friendships. You will spend a lot of your time with your coursemates so having a few friends in your cohort will make it an enjoyable experience. Making friends isn't always easy but you could start by suggesting to go for coffee after a lecture.

Make the most of the social opportunities offered to you at university. This can be in the form of societies, sports groups, and events. There is something for everyone and societies can be a great way to meet new people with similar interests. You can find a full list of current societies and sports on the University of Bradford's Union of Students website.

Project management

When you first begin an assignment, you could start by creating mini-deadlines for each stage. For example, you might set a mini deadline for planning the essay, another for writing an introduction, another for a first draft, and so on. This will help you to stay on track with finishing each step of the assignment.

It's important that you use all the support available to you. The University runs many workshops to help students with different aspects of academic writing. 

Finally, if you have any questions about an assignment or need more specific guidance, your lecturers or tutors will gladly help. Don’t hesitate to ask; they are there to support you and help you achieve the best grade possible.

Motivation

Make sure you plan activities outside of academic study. I've found that it’s important to incorporate small things that I enjoy into each day to give myself a break from studying. It's exciting to have something to look forward to.

Celebrating your achievements is something I believe everyone should do. Whether you pass an exam or get a good grade on an essay, take a moment to feel proud and remind yourself that hard work pays off.

I hope that these tips are helpful for your journey to and through university. Remember that different strategies are helpful for different people, so it might take a few tries to find a method that works for you. Good luck, and keep on going.

Most students will need some support with their studies during their time at university. Find out what support is available to you.