A guide to how I organized my coursework as a person with multiple interests and passion projects

Why I Needed a Study Pattern

In my first year of uni, I jumped into everything — events, activities, clubs — and ended up studying in a very unorganized way. Eventually, I realized I needed a system to stay consistent and enjoy uni life.

Step 1: Get your Schedule in place

• Start with your class timetable + assignment deadlines.
• Add exam dates as soon as you know them.
• Use this as the skeleton to plan your study blocks

Step 2: Gather all your study material and keep it accessible

• Collect lecture notes, slides, textbooks, past papers, and reference material right at the start.
• Organize them by subject — physical folders or digital (Notion/Google Drive).
• Keep them in ONE place so you’re not wasting time searching later.
• Accessibility is key: the less friction → the more likely you’ll stick to studying.

Step 3: Just Start!

• Don’t overthink the perfect method — just begin by reading through your material.
• Focus on understanding the concepts, not just memorizing.
• Write a thorough set of notes: when you revisit later, you’ll have easy-to-digest chunks instead of rereading entire blocks of information.
• At the end of each module, map it out visually (flowcharts, mind maps, diagrams). This makes recall so much faster for revision sessions

Step 4: Active Recall > Passive Reading

• Flashcards, mind maps, and practice papers > just re-reading notes.