Skills to Succeed at University

University-based education requires students to enforce the learning skills they gathered before and gain the new ones to obtain the novel and apply the novel knowledge. The set of crucial abilities includes self and time management, teamwork, academic reading, writing, and listening. Moreover, universities offer a complicated educational structure with various types of works and projects that would not be completed without the mentioned skills. Students need to identify their strengths and weak points to discover where the additional work is required to improve their learning process. This paper aims to discuss note-taking, self-organization, and time management skills to reveal their importance to succeeding at university and evaluate personal ability to utilize those masters effectively.

Note-taking is a crucial skill that must be well-developed for a university student to succeed as it determines the effectiveness of gathering the information from lectures. Luo et al. (2018, p. 948) state that “hearing and writing material is better than simply hearing it because additional writing leads to more distinctive encoding and better memory for the lesson.” Note-taking skill is important for students as it forces them to think and analyze the information while recording it, therefore profoundly influencing the brain’s functionality. Besides, well-structured notes would help revise the material to prepare for exams and assignments.

My note-taking skills require improvement because, before the university, I did not deliberately apply any specific strategies for recording the information to learn. Moreover, recording data for the studying process is more effective when handwriting is applied instead of typing on a device (Luo et al., 2018). During the last two years of studying, I preferred creating computer-based documents for different subjects, and I plan to get back to writing at the university. I will improve my note-taking skills by applying strategies like lists segmentation, summarizing, and recording the material on paper while listening. Besides, I will develop the optimal analysis method for different subjects to select the information worth to be written effectively.

Self-organization is another proficiency crucial to succeed at university because it influences students’ psychological pressure to experience while increasing their educational level. The process is based on creating the most effective order for performing the tasks and requires individuals to set priorities and evaluate their abilities (Bratianu and Vatamanescu, 2017). In an educational environment, self-organization skills can help students achieve significant results with less effort and profoundly impact their personal development. Moreover, individuals capable of properly organizing their lives are better at adapting to changing circumstances that might often occur at university.

I am confident about my self-organization skills because I have always taken the time to set priorities correctly and craft the most applicable work structure to complete timely and without pressure. However, the complexity of projects required at the university level might require me to improve my planning ability and integrate it with my daily routines.

Receiving an educational degree is an opportunity to develop self-organization by structuring all assignments, identifying the most time-consuming tasks, and maintaining high grades throughout the course. While I can prioritize and work on the assignments effectively, I need to develop better approaches to motivate myself always to perform effectively. I will set some goals, create rewards, and identify what influences my willingness to study better to improve my self-organization skills.

Time management is a broadly discussed skill due to its importance in daily lives, companies’ operations, and institutions’ functioning. The ability to operate the tasks based on their due dates, priorities, students’ habits, and routines is also crucial to succeed at university. Time management is the concept of self-organizing with explicit attention to the period or due date criteria (Razali et al., 2018). Razali et al. (2018, p. 2) claim that “a university environment’s flexibility and freedom can derail students who have not mastered time management skills.” Indeed, they must have a well-developed time-operation ability to integrate their life with the courses’ schedule, avoid missing crucial events, and reduce the educational process’s stress.

I am good at time management because I know how many hours are necessary to sleep, eat, get dressed, and do other daily activities. Students frequently state that a course’s subjects’ programs are complicated to be properly operated simultaneously (Razali et al., 2018). Combined with the knowledge of my university courses’ schedule, I can plan my life to perform during studying successfully and pass all assignments on time. However, I plan to search for strategies to speed up some of my daily activities to free up more hours I would dedicate to education to improve my grades.

Students need to put a significant effort to succeed at university, and multiple skills, if developed well, can help them maintain excellent educational performance. Note-taking can improve the process of gathering knowledge by making lectures attendance more effective and assisting in preparing for exams. Self-organization is necessary for students to identify their weak points and create habits or routines to help support motivation to achieve educational goals. Time management is the self-regulation process based on specific periods and is crucial during studying at a university full of schedules and assignment due dates. The capability of integrating education into life activities, setting priorities, and choosing the most convenient approach to managing a day is required to succeed at university.

Reference List

Bratianu, C. and Vatamanescu, E.M. (2017) ‘Students’ perception on developing conceptual generic skills for business’, VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems.

Luo, L., Kiewra, K. A., Flanigan, A. E., & Peteranetz, M. S. (2018) ‘Laptop versus longhand note-taking: effects on lecture notes and achievement’, Instructional Science, 46, 947-971.

Razali, S.N.A.M., Rusiman, M.S., Gan, W.S. and Arbin, N. (2018) The impact of time management on students’ academic achievement’, Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 995(1), p. 012042.