STUDY // University organization (and the dreaded dissertation!)

Hello!

Hands up if you've got a research project or dissertation due in. Hands up if you're freaking out because it's nowhere near finished and the deadline is lurking ever so closer. Hands up if you know you'll have to do one and are freaking out for this time next year. Okay, you get it. Every university student has to do one at some point - a really, really long piece of work that will take a ridiculously long time and you'll be so fed up with by the end that life won't be worth living anymore. However, don't fret! With the start of my research project (ooh keen!) I have come across with some seriously handy tips that may make your life that little bit easier. Feel free to read on if you want my tips/want to procrastinate some more. Honestly, either is fine.

1. Get yourself some reference management software.

Honestly, I did not know these existed until one of the post docs in my lab told me about them. I don't know if this will apply so much so Arts students but if you are a scientist who has to read a lot of journal articles you need to get some reference software asap. My software of choice is Mendeley (which is free!) and enables you to highlight and annotate journals in your collection. You can click through to references mentioned directly from the software and instantly save papers with the click of a button. Even better, they have an iPad app so if you like to read journals on the go and your annotations are synced between all machines. (Of course, everyone is different and may like different software. Feel free to try others that are available!)

2. Get yourself a planner and actually use it!

I have had a planner every year and usually get about 2 weeks in and forget to look at it ever again. I started a bullet journal this academic year and have found that I am so much more productive. I just write a list of things I need to do and can tick them off when I do them. There is an abundance of Pinterest articles on Bullet Journals and I'm going to do a post on mine in a few weeks. Keeping everything short, succinct and achievable makes me feel so much more motivated to get things done. I have seen my productivity increase at least a tiny bit since using the bullet technique.

3. Plan in advance

Whilst having a planner may be obvious, planning in advance may not be. If you have a set word count and set deadline, make sure you even out your workload so you don't rush at the end. There's nothing worse than looking at how many minutes in the day and how many words you need to write and knowing that it is physically impossible. If you set something as small as 200 words a day/50 pages of reading etc. and don't stray from the path too far you'll be amazed at how much you've written two weeks later.

4. Leave time for re-writes

This is 100% coming from personal experience of every extended piece of writing I have ever done. Always, and I mean always, leave enough time for you to be able to re-write you're entire paper (or at least the vast majority). I have not given in a piece of writing that hasn't been re-written 3+ times and this usually happens the night before until 3am. Once the essay/paper/project has been written and you scan through it, there may be the chance that you realize that the entire thing is awful or you've not answered the question or even completely misunderstood your topic. If you have 2-3 days spare you will feel significantly less stressed than you would the night before the deadline. Just saying.

5. Do re-read your paper and check for grammar/spelling

Again, something which seems obvious but, granted, I never do for shorter projects (e.g. less than 10 pages). If there are spelling and grammar mistakes, it's a lot less likely the marker will mark in your favour and do you really want them to mark you down? Well, I'd rather not and it's just irritating to have the comment 'Check spelling and punctuation. Doesn't always make sense' at the end of your work. 

6. Keep up with all deadlines

At the beginning of the semester, write down all of your deadlines. Granted, for us in the UK that isn't always very many, but check them on a weekly basis so you know what is going on. Lecturers are known to forget about an assignment/test until a week before and when you know you've had lots of spare time to revise before then, it's a little infuriating. Whether you use your phone as a reminder or keep writing it in your planner every week, making sure you're aware of all of your deadlines will help you feel more in control and help you combat stress like a pro.

Are you working on your research project right now? How's it going? Are you fretting over deadlines? Let me know!