'Prioritising' simply means arranging your work in order of importance. Have you ever thought: 'I have so much to study, I'm not going to be able to get it all done'? I'm sure most of us have. The key is to prioritise your work. Failure to prioritise is one of the reasons many people get stressed about exams. Prioritising your work is critical to your success and to reducing your stress levels. Here are a few tips on how you can prioritise what you have to do: Make a list Every Sunday, write down everything that you need to do in the coming week. When you get new homework during the week, add it to the list. You can split the list up into homework, study and other activities. State the amount of time you expect each thing will take. Make sure you include time for travel or research. Don't try and keep the list in your head. Write it down on a piece of paper. This will help you see what needs to be done. Example Homework: Maths - two hours Science - one hour Study: Revision of day's work - one hour per day Revise digestive system and brain for science exam - two hours Revise probability for maths exam - one hour Other Activities: English tutorial -1.5 hours Tennis lesson - two hours Tea with friends - 1.5 hours Rank in order of importance Some things are more important than others because, for example, they are due before others. Number things according to their importance, giving the most important things in the list a '1'. That way, you can get the most important or most urgent things done first. Draw a timetable Now transfer your list to your daily timetable. Your timetable should include all your activities on it. Start your timetable from the time you get up in the morning and end it at the time you go to bed. Block out the time you are at school, and schedule in study and dinner breaks. Then schedule in your homework and study according to priority in the hours that are left. Reprioritise As new bits of homework or revision come up, reprioritise your list as necessary. Enjoy your week of learning to prioritise your work.
