h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

1. For additional funding, try local (parochial) charities. There is one in our village established about 200 years ago to benefit the local needy, and the trustees routinely give out £100 to every student in the village for books or anything essential to the course (eg special clothing or equipment).

2. Make effective use of the college library and you may not have to buy any books at all! This is particularly true of arts subjects.

3. Time management is critical. If you are looking at working in snatches of two hours, you will have to organise yourself thoroughly beforehand, otherwise you will take half an hour working out where you'd got to last time and what your train of thought was, and that's 25% of your study session gone. Stop working ten minutes before you have to, and plan what you are going to do next time, and write it down for yourself, so that when you are next back at work you have a head start. If you have one whole day a week for study, don't waste it travelling back and forth - set up shop in a suitable place (college library perhaps) and plan your day to include regular (but short) breaks. Getting started is the hardest part of most things in life, and if you pack up with the intention of finishing off at home, chances are that home life will interfere and you won't do it.

4. Review your progress. At the end of your study session, when you've worked out what you want to cover next time, just jot down in a diary what you've achieved this time. This will help you when you are feeling low: you will be able to see what progress you've managed so far.

5. Kids. If you have kids, you will need time completely free of them in which to study at home. How much kid-free time you need will depend on the course you are doing, how easy you find it to block out distractions, and how old your kids are (NB, it's not fair on them either - if you are too deep in your work they could end up rearranging your CD collection or shredding themselves on a cheese grater). Part of your grant includes an element of childcare costs, look into this carefully.

6. Home life. It gets in the way. I would recommend Down with Superwoman! by Shirley Conran for practical advice on how to keep running a home as hassle-free as possible. Getting up an hour earlier works, keep on top of your laundry, get everybody else in the house to do as much of the actual work as possible, and only shop once a week - using a list based on what you plan to eat (this is also more economical). Shopping is a task that can easily be delegated to a partner, if you have one, which immediately gives you an extra hour a week.

7. Stay organised. You are going to end up with masses and masses of bits of paper. Buy folders and dividers right at the start (label the dividers in pencil so that you can rearrange things later) and keep on top of the paperwork. Old large envelopes also make good files. Back up everything you do on the computer AT THE TIME YOU WRITE IT (I was taught to save work every 20 minutes, then you have only ever lost 20 minutes' worth of work). Don't think that you'll back everything up methodically once a week. You won't. Use sensible document names, keep a record of them, and always include the file name somewhere in the document (right at the end or in a footer). Always allow plenty of time for printing off the top copy of any work you have to hand in - even if it all prints off without a single paper jam or inkjet cart failure, you may find that you've included a blank page or really bad typo and have to do part or all of it again.

8. Exams. If your course includes them, and if the last exam you sat was your driving test, you will need some practice. Tutors tend to be the sort of people who find exams easy and can't always see the point of this, but there will be past papers in the library, so practise working through them and doing timed essays (or whatever you will have to do in the exam). Even if you just practise planning an answer in five minutes, that will help.

9. Always make lecture notes that you can use without having to re-write, as you won't have time to do this. You don't have to take traditional notes - develop your own shortcuts - or make your lecture notes into a cartoon or map (history is good for this), which will also help it to stick in your mind.

10. If you are doing a fairly academic course, you must be meticulous in recording what books and articles you consult. Always, always make a note on your notes of the author, title, date of publication, library reference (in case you need to go back to it again) and anything else you are required to include in any bibliography.

11. You should know in advance if you are not going to be able to make a submission date. Most tutors will be sympathetic to this, especially with mature students (my MA dissertation was 18 months late, but I did give birth and get pregnant again in that time).

12. You are investing your time, if not your money, when you undertake adult education. Don't waste that time. Getting to know your fellow students is of course valid, but NEVER lose sight of your original motivation in signing up for the course.