4. Give yourself a buffer to avoid being like Benjani
Back in 2008, Benjani Mwaruwari was set to sign for Man City but, according to his former boss Harry Redknapp, Benjani fell asleep whilst he was in the airport and missed his flight! The next flight was cancelled and the final flight of the day was delayed, but luckily he managed to get to Manchester 45 minutes before the deadline and he signed on the dotted line for City.
So what can we learn from Benjani's almost-fail? Wherever possible, build a bit of a buffer into your plan! For example, if an assignment is due in on a Thursday, aim to complete it by Monday or Tuesday. This means if something comes up unexpectedly, and you’re unable to complete your task on the day you originally planned, you should still be able to get it done on time.
5. Don't cram like Fulham
In the 2018 -19 season, Premiership returnees Fulham spent almost £100 million on eight new players – a huge squad overhaul in just one season. Fulham were essentially 'cramming' and it didn't work – they were relegated at the end of the season, with pundits questioning their decision to bring in so many new players. Successful teams are usually built over the course of a couple of transfer windows, as Liverpool proved when they signed defender Virgil Van Dijk in December 2017, and goalkeeper Alisson in July 2018 before going on to win the Champions League in May 2019 and the Premier league in June 2020.
Just like building a great football team, a great way to make sure you get your homework or revision done on time, whilst actually maximising your learning, is to space it out. In our Study Smart series, learning scientist, Dr Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel, told us that instead of cramming all your studying into one very stressful last-minute study session, you should plan several, shorter study sessions over the weeks and months leading up to your exams.
This approach not only has the benefit of being way less stressful, but it also lets you keep your knowledge up-to-date because you revise the material as you go.