To become an effective independent worker, you need to know your own strengths, weaknesses, make the most of opportunities and recognise potential risks or threats to your success.
Undertaking a SWOT analysis can be a helpful start.
Strengths – Consider your starting position. What do you know about your subject area and skills that you may already have?
Weaknesses - Which of your skills do you think you are weak at? Try to be honest with yourself. Admitting it is the first stage in seeking help and advice. You can then look for online for help, as you are doing with this guide, or you could attend one of our workshops. You will not possess all the skills you need when you start at university, but you can develop these skills throughout your student journey.
Opportunities - Being an independent learner allows you to seek out opportunities to develop your own interests and ways of working. You can find ways of learning new skills that suit you and the way you work. You have already made a great start by reading this guide!
Threats – Working independently, without structure, may mean that you do not always get things done. This may be through lack of motivation, or you may be procrastinating over a piece of work. If this is the case, be honest with yourself and seek ways to remedy it. We have a great guide on Procrastination (see side bar menu) which will help you to make a fresh start with a difficult task.