Organised and not stressed!

We understand that your study, social-life and any other voluntary or paid work you may do mean that you are pretty pushed for time. Being in a P&P group doesn’t mean you have to run around like a headless chicken, or that any of these things should suffer. In fact it should help! Use the information below to help you prioritise your tasks and plan your personal time by forward planning.

Not stressed!

Case Study- KES

KES P&P group planned their ‘World Week’ activities in a spreadsheet. They knew what had to be done when, and who was going to do it. Forward planning and sharing of tasks meant that the events were a huge success.

  • Try to delegate tasks around the group.
  • Set time limits - work out how much time a task will take, and only take it on if the workload is shared between people who have time.
  • Limit the number of campaigns you take on, then you can do each properly.
  • Identify which bits of the campaign are most important , and which are ‘optional extras’
  • Plan things in advance so you can prepare in good time, allowing for exams etc.

Prioritisation

Tasks prioritised

Task

How long

Order of importance

Essay

8 hours

1st

Socialise

4 hours

2nd

Meeting

2 hours

3rd

Stall

1 hour

4th

Run

1 hour

5th

Prioritisation will help you manage your spare time and avoid stress. Write down a list of all the things you need to do, then make a note next to each with when it needs to be done by and how important it is to you. Then rearrange the list so its in the order in which you need to get things done.

For a typical week it might look like the table on the right. There are some important things to bear in mind when doing this:

  • Try and keep a balance so that you’re doing a range of activities.
  • Don’t always prioritise P&P stuff over your academic work.
  • Don’t take on too much, you’ll end up doing lots of stuff to a lower standard.

Planning your time

Its tempting to rush in and try and get everything done, but stepping back and planning what you need to do and when, will mean you get more done in the long-term. On the left is an example of a time-plan which you could use as a template for planning your week. Some important things to remember are:

  • Be realistic, don’t plan too much.
  • Make sure you plan plenty of time for each task. For example running a lunch time stall might seem like it only takes an hour, but what about getting everything ready for it?
  • Mix up your day so that you don’t get bored of one thing.
  • Write everything down - its satisfying to cross it off, and will make you feel more in control of your time.

Time plan

Day

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Monday

Essay 4-6pm

Plan meeting 6-6.30pm

Go for run

Tuesday

Working at shop

Working at shop

Working at shop

Wednesday

Meeting reminder 1-1.30pm

Essay 4-6pm

Plan stall 8-9pm

Thursday

Meeting 1-2pm

Essay 4-6pm

Socialise

Friday

Stall 1-2pm

Essay 4-6pm

Socialise

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