Have you got too much to do? Are you behind with the work? Are there a million and one things calling for your time? Are you beginning to feel a bit panicky and overwhelmed? Ok, you’ve got this! Just take a few minutes to read this blog. It might help set you on the right track.

One of the things that often makes students panic is getting behind with work. It can happen so easily. Perhaps you got Covid and struggled to get over it, maybe someone in the family was ill or needed extra help, or you could have been asked to do extra shifts at work. What seemed doable can fall apart very fast and before you know it you’re behind, the course is cracking along and you don’t know what to do.

So here’s a step plan to get yourself straight:

1. Can you drop anything out of your schedule? Just taking a decision to step back from something can help you to feel a bit more in control; it’s a great first step.

2. Go and speak to your tutor and explain your situation. Be honest, everyone struggles from time to time. Yes, everyone! Explore what help or leeway is available to you. You might also find that talking to Student Welfare of a Study Skills Advisor helps. Take advantage of anything going.

3. Don’t let yourself get any further behind. If you have work due to be done this week for tutorials or essays get it done. Make sure that this week you’re on track.

4. Put together a plan to get back on track. Don’t try and catch up everything in one week. How long do you have to catch up? How much time do you need each week to keep on top of your work going forward? How much time is left after this to start to tackle the backlog. Work this out and make a start. At the end of a week when you’ve kept up to date with the week and caught up a bit then celebrate that. You should be really proud of yourself.

Part of your success here is going to come from changing that panicked mindset (where you’re telling yourself all is lost) to the mindset that it’s all under control. You don’t have to sort the whole problem in one week!