A quarter of us are serial time wasters
- Three quarters of the UK public claim they have more than 20 hours of free time per week

- Watching TV and browsing social media are top time wasting habits

- The Open University challenges us to use our spare time more productively – could you commit to studying during your commute or lunch break?


A new consumer survey commissioned by The Open University (OU) has today revealed that 1 in 4 of the UK public is guilty of time wasting. Nearly three quarters (75%) of us claim to have more than 20 hours of free time every week, yet one in four (25%) admit to frittering away over half of this spare time.

Topping the list of common time wasting activities was watching TV; something over half (55%) of us confessed to. Meanwhile, activities such as social media check-ins (45%) and online shopping (36%) also ranked highly.

However, the survey showed that we want to change, with a third (33%) of people wanting to do something more constructive in their lunch break and a quarter (25%) wishing they could put this time to better use by learning something new. Over 75% of Open University students are employed, so with many workers taking public transport (26%) or walking to work (13%) this provides a great opportunity to tune in to study on the go and earn while you learn.

Actress Helen Monk is halfway through studying with the OU for an MA in English. She says: “I thought I would have to choose between my dream of becoming an actress and my passion for learning. Because of the OU I get to do both. I study on sets and write essays in the wings. I feel so lucky that the OU has allowed me to have my cake and eat it. YUM!”

OU history graduate and Downton Abbey actor, Kevin Doyle, says: “When I was working at the Royal Shakespeare Company, I had a friend who was studying with the OU. I don’t know how she managed to get her work done with all the rehearsals and performing different plays in the day and the evening. Whereas in TV and film, it’s much easier - with a trailer and a car to bring you to work and you get plenty of time off between set-ups, so during the filming of Downton Abbey, I just took my books with me. It was lovely to be able to switch your mind off from work and study the politics leading up to the First World War.
“I could get quite emotional about the OU. Not because it changed my career but it sort of changed me. When I consider what I grew up with and where I came from - no books in the house and no encouragement to think of university as a potential start in life - I feel immensely proud to have gone through that journey.”

“Anything that’s worth doing takes commitment but finding the time to improve our lives is not always as difficult as we might think,” adds Pat Atkins, Director, Student Support, The Open University.

“Evenings and weekend days represent a substantial amount of time that can be claimed back; 20 hours per week is more than enough to study part-time towards a degree. Our tutors and student support staff are experienced in helping our students deal with the problems of managing deadlines and coping with distractions. Our online study resources also provide a wealth of useful study tips and coping strategies. These include seeking out a dedicated study space; letting friends and family know you need time to study; keeping books and links to online materials and podcasts with you so you can take advantage of short periods of free time; and studying little and often, which helps maintain attention span and retention of information.”

The university’s approach to learning means that people don’t have to put their lives on hold in order to study: students are provided with a variety of materials to suit all lifestyles and abilities; online student forums can be accessed from anywhere; and each student has a dedicated tutor with whom they are in regular contact. OU students can choose where and when to study, making it possible to turn a train, the bath or even a beach into a classroom.
The OU offers flexible part-time undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, certificates and diplomas, as well as free, bite-size courses on a wide range of subjects via its online service, OpenLearn. Most people take up to six years to complete a part-time OU degree. It is also possible to study full time and achieve a degree in three years.

For further information and to download a copy of our ‘Get Started’ guide go to:

For print articles: www.openuniversity.co.uk/studytime

For online articles: http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/choose/dream?OFFPR=t2b2c04u&ME...
Or

For further information, go to: www.open.ac.uk

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For further information, please contact:
Emily Tanner: etanner@lexisagency.com 020 7908 6406
Laura Bates: lbates@lexisagency.com 020 7908 6450

Notes to Editors

Unless otherwise credited, statistics included were sourced from a survey of 1,000 UK adults, carried out by Morar in February 2016 on behalf of The Open University.

If possible, please use one of the following two links in articles:

For print:

www.openuniversity.co.uk/studytime

For online: http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/choose/dream?OFFPR=t2b2c04u&ME...

About The Open University:

· The Open University (OU) is the largest academic institution in the UK and a world leader in flexible distance learning. Since it began in 1969, the OU has taught more than 1.8 million students and has almost 180,000 current students, including more than 15,000 overseas.

· The OU was given an overall satisfaction rating of 90% in the latest National Student Survey, making it one of only three Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to consistently score 90% or above every year since 2007. Over 70% of students are in full-time or part-time employment, and four out of five FTSE 100 companies have sponsored staff to take OU courses.

· In the latest assessment exercise for university research (Research Excellence Framework, 2014), nearly three quarters (72%) of The Open University’s research was assessed as 4 or 3 star – the highest ratings available – and awarded to research that is world-leading or internationally excellent. The Open University is unique among UK universities having both an access mission and demonstrating research excellence.

· The OU has a 42 year partnership with the BBC and has moved from late-night lectures in the 1970s to co-producing prime-time series such as The Hunt, Life Story, The Bottom Line, Britain’s Great War, I Bought a Rainforest and Business Boomers. In 2013/14 OU co-productions were viewed by 220m people in the UK which prompted more than 600k visits the OU’s free learning website, OpenLearn. (http://www.open.edu/openlearn/).

· Regarded as Britain’s major e-learning institution, the OU is a world leader in developing technology to increase access to education on a global scale. Its vast ‘open content portfolio’ includes free study units on OpenLearn, which received 5.2million unique visitors in 2012/13, and materials on iTunes U, which has recorded more than 66 million downloads.

· For further information please visit: www.open.ac.uk