Second-year BSc Management student, Leyre Marazuela is back with another blog. She shares how to manage your Management degree in 5 easy steps.

It might sound like a paradox, but organisation and juggling priorities are often a challenge for LSE Management students. In fact, successfully making it through your degree is pretty good evidence that you’ve got the skills to become an effective manager!

Keep reading for some useful tips and advice on how to best approach your studies.

Step 1: Know your course structure

In your first year, you’ll have nine ‘half-courses’, covering topics such as finance, economics, qualitative methods, leadership and operations management. You’ll also study LSE 100, which “introduces you to the fundamental elements of thinking like a social scientist”. All together, this will equate to around 12-18 hours of lectures, classes and seminars.

It may not sound like much compared to your school timetable, but this doesn’t include all the independent study that you’ll be expected to complete.

At university, independent learning is the name of the game! I found it useful to create a Google calendar with all my scheduled sessions. I then blocked out specific times for independent study, which gave a helpful structure to my days.

Step 2: Pick your extracurricular activities wisely

There are over 200 societies at LSE, covering every possible topic that you can think of. When I first arrived on campus, I wanted to join them all!

How could I possibly choose between the creative network, pulse radio, or Amnesty International?

But whilst such a wide variety of choice is fantastic, it’s worthwhile spending some time thinking about what you actually want to do (and what you actually have the time to do). The taster week is a great time to do this, giving you the opportunity to sample a society before really committing.

Once you do decide which ones you want to join, whip out that Google calendar again and add in any meetings or conferences that you know of in advance.

…whilst such a wide variety of choice is fantastic, it is worthwhile spending some time thinking about what you actually want to do…

Step 3: Take a break from the library

Anybody who’s ever seen an LSE Management reading list will know that there’s no limit to the amount of time you can spend in the library.

But actually, there should be!

You’ll never tick all the books off your to-do list, and you’ll soon learn the level of independent reading that is needed to prepare for your seminars. When that’s done, it’s time to get some fresh air.

London is an amazing city, and whether you’re a native city dweller or a first-time visitor, there is tons to explore. My favourite way to relax after class is by visiting one of the city’s 3,000 parks – it’s hard to believe it, but they cover almost 18% of London!^[1]

Step 4: Make time for a social life

Spending time with fellow management students outside of the classroom is a great way to build relationships and forge friendships – two invaluable resources when it comes to group assignment time!

It’s also important to make friends from other courses or universities, as they can bring a fresh perspective to your studies. Finding the balance between work and play is a struggle for everyone (including experienced managers), but it really is essential for the health of your body and your mind.

Step 5: Listen to your tutors

If you want to get the best possible marks in assignments, then you have to listen. By paying attention to what is said in class, you can pick up lots of hints and advice on what they expect to be included on an assessment. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing: producing an excellently worded essay that doesn’t answer the question won’t score you the top marks.

…producing an excellently worded essay that doesn’t answer the question won’t score you the top marks.

I hope these 5 steps were useful – good luck learning to manage Management!

Bio: I’m Leyre, a 2nd-year Management student from Madrid, Spain. My interests include entrepreneurship, strategy, and helping other students out.

Check out my previous blog – Four ways to survive the pandemic as a student

^[1]https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/parks-and-green-spaces#:~:text=With%203%2C000%20parks%20of%20varying,by%20railways%20and%20roads%20combined