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New Year, New UniSkills!
? 4th-10th January 2021 ?
There’s no better time than January to start afresh and set some study goals for the year ahead. From action planning your feedback to productivity techniques and perfecting your mindset, we’ve put together a timetable of webinars to boost your motivation and make semester 2 your best yet.
Let’s get to it…
Monday 4 January
*New* Set Your Study Goals in 2021: 11am-12pm
This session looks at the power of goal setting, how to align your environment to support you and online tools for creating vision boards.
Turn your idea of success into clear, actionable goals with a measurable outcome. Along with looking at different ways to visually represent your goals to keep you motivated, this webinar will cover the science behind “goal stacking” and how this can help in your journey towards achieving them.
Tuesday 5 January
*New* Study Smarter in 2021: 11am-12pm
Jam-packed with hints and tips to help you avoid procrastination, revise effectively and find a note-taking method that works for you.
Introducing techniques such as “eat the frog” and the “Pomodoro”, this webinar looks at ways to manage and prioritise your time, as well as looking at why waiting for motivation can hinder your progress. It will also introduce participants to the Cornell and Flow methods of note-taking, as well as different productivity apps to supercharge your studies.
Wednesday 6 January
Grow your Academic Resilience: 3pm-4pm
Come along to this webinar and discover the importance of being academically resilient at University.
A webinar to equip you with practical tools to nurture your own academic resilience, help you recognise the qualities of those with a ‘growth’ as opposed to ‘fixed’ mindset, and help you feel confident in dealing constructively with feedback.
Thursday 7 January
Develop Your Academic Writing: 12pm-1pm
Recognise and understand assessment criteria, apply critical reading and analysis and the importance of integrating referencing.
Building on previous experience learn to recognise and understand assessment criteria, apply critical reading and show critical analysis in your writing and the importance of integrating referencing. This webinar is aimed at students who have some experience in academic writing.
Friday 8 January
How to Action Plan Your Feedback (Bitesize): 11am-11:30pm
Break your feedback down into digestible targets, and learn how to create an action plan that will keep you on track to improve.
We know that receiving academic feedback is not always easy. You might not have received the grade you hoped for, or you don’t fully understand what all the comments mean. This session looks at how to make the most of your tutor’s comments so you can approach your next assignment with confidence.
PLEASE NOTE: You will need to have received some academic feedback prior to attending this session. Please bring along one assignment with academic feedback to the session (this is for your use only).
Here in the Student Engagement team we’re so excited to welcome you back, but in the meantime, let us know which sessions you’ve booked on to, or even your own New Year Study Resolutions using the hashtag #NewYearNewUniSkills.
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Catalyst at Christmas ?
The days may be getting colder and the term winding down to a close, but here in Library and Learning Services we’re still here to support you through the festive period. While Catalyst’s opening hours are a little different, the good news is you can still access help and information via our online web pages and handy knowledge base, Ask Us.
Opening times for Catalyst and Helpdesk support this Christmas
Friday 18th December – Catalyst is open 8am-8pm
Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th December – CLOSED
Monday 21st – Wednesday 23rd December – Catalyst ground floor is open 10am-6pm
You will be able to access PCs, study space and printing. Virtual helpdesk support is also available 10am-6pm via our online knowledge base Ask Us and email.Thursday 24th December – Monday 28th December – CLOSED
Tuesday 29th – 31st December – Catalyst is closed but virtual helpdesk support will be available 10am-6pm via our online knowledge base Ask Us and email.
Friday 1st January – CLOSED
Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd January – Catalyst is open 10am-6pm
From Monday 4th January onwards – new opening hours
Monday to Friday: 8am-11pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10am-6pmChanges for 2021
New for 2021 and in line with COVID-safe guidelines we have:
- Extended Catalyst opening hours from Monday 4th January and will stay open until 11pm Monday to Friday
- We have opened up more study spaces, including the huts on the ground floor
- We have increased capacity in the building to allow more students the opportunity to study and use the space
- We have bookable individual silent study spaces available on our 3rd floor with the option to have a PC or a larger desk
- Our coffee shop 53.3 Degrees has extended it’s opening hours and will now be open until 6pm Monday to Friday
From everyone in Catalyst, we’d like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2021!
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#SleighYourStudies with motivational tips and techniques from your Student Advisor!
Hi, my name is Charlotte and I’m a Student Advisor in the Student Engagement Team, providing peer to peer support within Library and Learning Services.
The holidays can be a really great time to get ahead and sleigh your studies in preparation for any assignments or studying that needs to be completed for your second semester. But with the days getting shorter and the weather getting colder, it can be really hard to keep motivated during Winter.
Here are some of my best tips and techniques which help me to stay motivated:
Keep Organised
The holidays are a period where there is a lot of free time, but time is really easy to waste. Creating a timetable or a to do list is a great way of constructing a schedule at home!
Making a to-do list will help you see what you are working towards achieving over the holidays, knowing what your goals are will really help to keep motivated while working towards your end goal. There is brilliant software available to do this such as ‘Microsoft To Do’, which is a task management app available on most devices.
Creating a timetable will allow you to dedicate a few hours a day to studying, which will help you to keep on top of what you need to do while also allowing you to schedule in time to do things you enjoy and to take a break! It will allow you to break down your to do list into more manageable chunks while also providing a routine to stick to during the holidays.
Have a look at the useful guides and toolkits on the ‘Getting Organised’ section of the Edge Hill Uniskills webpages for more time management hints and tips .
Find a cosy workspace
For many of us, we will be returning back home during the holidays and one of the most important things to do is to create a cosy workplace. Doing your university work in a designated study space can help you to separate your workspace and social spaces in the home, make sure you choose a space with minimal distractions, to ensure you can stay really productive while you are studying!
Another really important way to stay motivated to sleigh your studies is to stay warm, being cold can make you feel tired which will reduce your motivation, so make sure to wrap up with a fluffy jumper or blanket!
Use the Pomodoro Technique
The pomodoro technique encourages you to study in short bursts of 25 minutes with no distractions, and then to take a short break of 5 minutes. Sometimes it can be really hard to start studying but sitting down but spending 25 minutes to complete something on your to do list can make starting your studies a little easier. A short intensive burst will help you gain momentum and make you feel motivated to complete your task! There are loads of apps which use the pomodoro technique, my favourite is Flora, it locks your phone during the 25 minutes and begins to grow a tree, the more you use this technique while you’re studying the more trees you grow!
Get outside and enjoy nature
Going out for a walk is really good for staying motivated and to keep your mind and body healthy during the holidays! Starting your day this way will set you off on a really productive track for the day and you’ll feel like you have achieved something before you have even opened your books to start studying. Or you can venture out into your local area during one of your study breaks, this will help you to clear your mind and help you to produce endorphins, which will boost your mood and your motivation!
Reward Yourself
Using rewards is a great way to motivate yourself to keep on studying, by doing something you enjoy every time you complete a task on your to-do list, you can customise this to whatever you like, it could be catching up on your favourite TV series or having a sweet treat! Make sure you take time out during the holidays to reward yourself for all the hard work you have completed this semester as well, by spending time with family or roommates to celebrate all you have achieved or by treating yourself with something you love!
Keep an eye out on the Library and Learning Services Twitter and Instagram pages throughout December for more of our Student Advisor top motivational study tips.
