Start by getting an overview of the mandatory activities in your study programme. Is there anything scheduled for the week in question? Use your course/module descriptions to see what is planned for each semester. You can also use your class page on ItsLearning or Moodle, where your lecturer has most likely uploaded a schedule or plan. Use a weekly planner, a calendar, Outlook, or any other tool you prefer. It can be useful to begin with a physical schedule. Here's how to do it: Start by putting in fixed or mandatory activities, such as classes, deadlines, student jobs, etc. Then add activities that can be moved around, such as group work, independent preparation, reading, etc. Add leisure activities, sports, social events, or family time. Remember to set aside time for breaks where there is no specific purpose or task. Finally, prioritise: Look at your week—is it realistic? Does it look the way you want it to, or does something need adjustment? You may need to reduce certain activities for a period to make your schedule meaningful. Remember that your weekly plan is a tool for managing the part of your time that you can control yourself. For some people, having lots of detail in their overview provides peace of mind, while for others it can feel overwhelming. Find out what works best for you and remember that you can always adjust your plan if needed.

Once you have an overview of your week, you can begin planning each day. Prioritise your tasks—what is most important today? Finish the day by creating a to-do list for tomorrow, so you always know where to start. Decide what you need to do and when. Be specific and set precise times to create a realistic schedule and order of tasks. Break tasks into sub-tasks with a specific focus to make them easier to manage. Consider when to schedule activities based on your energy levels throughout the day. Perhaps your most difficult task should be done when you have the most energy.

Create to-do lists with your tasks in order of priority. Remember to cross tasks off when they are completed. Work in intervals: Short work periods with small breaks are often more effective than long stretches. Identify where you work best: Are you more productive outside the home or at home? Alone or with others? Early in the morning or late at night? Break tasks into sub-task: They often become easier to manage. The 2-minute rule: If a task on your to-do list takes two minutes or less, get it done immediately. Get the difficult task out of the way first: For some people, it is motivating to get the most difficult task done first. Create a “parking lot” for ideas that arise while working, so you remember them later. This can be as simple as a note on a piece of paper.

A visual planning tool based on boards, lists, and cards. It works like digital sticky notes where you can add tasks, deadlines, and responsibilities. It is easy to use and provides a quick overview of what is in progress, completed, or still pending. Ideal for groups that want a simple and visual overview of their project.

A more advanced tool that allows you to build projects with tasks, subtasks, deadlines, and comments. It is flexible and provides list views, calendars, and timelines (Gantt charts). Ideal for groups that want to structure larger projects and closely monitor progress.

Planning

Your studies require good planning – of classes, group work, preparation, and coordination with others. With a clear overview and good habits, it becomes easier to make time for everything and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Here you will find tips on how to get started.

Key points

Create a plan that gives you an overview of your tasks and time
Make your work process easier with simple and effective methods
Make your work process easier with simple and effective methods

Get to know your energy curve and use it actively in your daily life
Use the Pomodoro method to work in focused intervals
Prioritise both study and leisure time in your daily life

Back to Study skills

If you want to stay on top of your studies and deadlines, it is important to maintain a good overview. An overview can be both long-term and short-term, but ideally it gives you a clear picture of what you need to do, how much time each activity will require, and when you can relax and take time off.

When you have a good plan that includes both study and leisure time, you gain:

- Greater calm and clarity in your everyday life

- Less guilt and stress

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A good place to start is by creating an overview of your week and a plan for each day.

Plan Your Week

Start by getting an overview of the mandatory activities in your study programme. Is there anything scheduled for the week in question? Use your course/module descriptions to see what is planned for each semester.

You can also use your class page on ItsLearning or Moodle, where your lecturer has most likely uploaded a schedule or plan.

Use a weekly planner, a calendar, Outlook, or any other tool you prefer. It can be useful to begin with a physical schedule.

Here's how to do it:

Start by putting in fixed or mandatory activities, such as classes, deadlines, student jobs, etc.
Then add activities that can be moved around, such as group work, independent preparation, reading, etc.
Add leisure activities, sports, social events, or family time.
Remember to set aside time for breaks where there is no specific purpose or task.
Finally, prioritise: Look at your week—is it realistic? Does it look the way you want it to, or does something need adjustment? You may need to reduce certain activities for a period to make your schedule meaningful.

Remember that your weekly plan is a tool for managing the part of your time that you can control yourself.

For some people, having lots of detail in their overview provides peace of mind, while for others it can feel overwhelming.

Find out what works best for you and remember that you can always adjust your plan if needed.

Plan Your Day

Once you have an overview of your week, you can begin planning each day.

Prioritise your tasks—what is most important today?
Finish the day by creating a to-do list for tomorrow, so you always know where to start.
Decide what you need to do and when. Be specific and set precise times to create a realistic schedule and order of tasks.
Break tasks into sub-tasks with a specific focus to make them easier to manage.
Consider when to schedule activities based on your energy levels throughout the day. Perhaps your most difficult task should be done when you have the most energy.

Get to know your energy curve

If you feel that your daily life is out of balance and becoming too stressful, try identifying which activities give you energy and which activities drain your energy.

You may find it useful to colour-code activities in your weekly planner according to whether they give or require energy, for example:

- Red (requires energy)

- Yellow (neutral)

- Green (gives energy)

Ideally, your week and day should not be dominated by red and yellow activities but should also include green activities to ensure a healthy balance in everyday life.

Get to know your Energy Curve

If you feel that your daily life is out of balance and becoming too stressful, try identifying which activities give you energy and which activities drain your energy.
You may find it useful to colour-code activities in your weekly planner according to whether they give or require energy, for example:
- Red (requires energy)
- Yellow (neutral)
- Green (gives energy)

Ideally, your week and day should not be dominated by red and yellow activities but should also include green activities to ensure a healthy balance in everyday life.

Example of Good Balance During the Day

Example of Poor Balance During the Day

Quick Tips for Your Planning

We have collected various tips and tricks that can make your planning process easier. Try them out and find the ones that suit you and your way of planning.

The Quick Tips

Create to-do lists with your tasks in order of priority. Remember to cross tasks off when they are completed.
Work in intervals: Short work periods with small breaks are often more effective than long stretches.
Identify where you work best: Are you more productive outside the home or at home? Alone or with others? Early in the morning or late at night?
Break tasks into sub-task: They often become easier to manage.
The 2-minute rule: If a task on your to-do list takes two minutes or less, get it done immediately.
Get the difficult task out of the way first: For some people, it is motivating to get the most difficult task done first.
Create a “parking lot” for ideas that arise while working, so you remember them later. This can be as simple as a note on a piece of paper.

Work Efficiently with the Pomodoro Method

With the Pomodoro method, you divide your work into intervals with scheduled breaks. There are many apps and variations of the method, but they all follow a few simple steps:

Decide which exact task you want to work on.
Set a timer for 25 minutes.
Work on the task for 25 minutes.
When the timer rings, take a 5 minute break.
After the break, set the timer again for 25 minutes and continue working.
When the timer rings again, take another 5 minute break.

Note: After completing four Pomodoro sessions, take a longer break of 30 minutes.

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A large part of both your studies and professional life involves working with others, which requires coordination and communication about working hours and tasks. This is important for working efficiently and making the best use of the resources within your study group or team.

There is no single “right” way to do it, but as you gain more experience, you will discover what works well and what suits you best. The most important thing is to maintain continuous communication so that you and your group avoid misunderstandings and duplicated work.

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Tips for Collaboration

A good way to structure collaboration is to make use of the following tips:

Review Your Overall Project Plan

Break the project into smaller milestones to ensure sufficient time has been allocated.

Schedule Activities in Blocks

Agree to meet on fixed days, for example, to reduce the time spent on transportation, planning, etc. Also consider where you will meet and whether online meetings are possible.

Set Shared Goals for Your Time Together

Agree on what should be accomplished during and between meetings, and review progress regularly to ensure you are staying on schedule.

Prioritise Tasks Together

Make sure everyone agrees on what is most important.

Planning Tools

There are also many online collaboration tools that can support your workflow. They require a little time to learn, but for some groups they can be extremely useful.

Trello

Microsoft Planner

Integrated with Office 365, making it an obvious choice if you already use Teams or Outlook. You can create tasks, assign them to group members, set deadlines, and monitor progress. Everything can be connected directly to your Teams channel.

Ideal for groups already working within the Microsoft ecosystem and wanting everything gathered in one place.

Asana

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What constitutes a good balance between work and leisure varies from person to person. You may be perfectly comfortable working 50 hours a week, while your partner or friend may feel stressed at 30 hours.

However, it is not only about how much time you spend working but also about how you spend that time. Some people are highly perfectionistic and find it difficult to let go of a project before they are completely satisfied, even if it means sacrificing sleep, family time, or leisure activities.

You may feel comfortable putting in extra effort during shorter periods, but in the long run everyone needs time to disconnect and find a balance between work and leisure.

For some people, it helps to completely switch off by turning off their phone, computer, and other devices. For others, meditation, exercise, or a coffee with friends may be what they need.

You can watch this video with English subtitles by clicking the CC button.