A study calendar is a practical and inexpensive tool that can help you control your study time. This will give you perspective on what you need to accomplish and the time you have to do it. If you want to get organized and feel motivated to do your work to the best of your potential, try organizing a personalized study calendar.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Prepare the Study Calendar
Step 1. Make a list of your responsibilities
You will have to think about all of your responsibilities and write them down so that you can consider them appropriately on the list. Thinking about all of this before completing the calendar will make creating the calendar easier.
- You should consider all your classes, jobs, homework, sports and exercises, and anything else you do regularly during the times you might be studying.
- Don't forget people's birthdays and important holidays.
- You probably won't think of everything from the beginning, but it won't be a problem since you can add things later.
Step 2. Gather all the information from the class or assignment
This will probably mean putting together all of your syllabi, plus any assignment sheets with directions for assignments or projects, and perhaps searching online for a site where you can manage your classes (such as Blackboard or some other management system. of courses).
Step 3. Consider the most optimal hours of the day to study
Spend some time thinking about when you study, or would study, better. Are you a day or night person? Thinking about it at this point will help you do your best and schedule relevant study time during your peak study hours.
When completing this step, try not to think about the other responsibilities you have (such as work, etc.); just identify your best study moments as your sole responsibility
Step 4. Choose a format
You can make the calendar on paper or in digital format, such as a spreadsheet or an app on your phone.
- Spreadsheet programs, such as Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers, offer obvious solutions. Also, many word processing programs contain templates designed for what you want to do.
- You may choose an online solution. A program that has good ratings and that has an application and web interface is My Study Life.
- Even if you find yourself online or on your phone frequently, a paper calendar might be the best option for you. This could be the case in situations where you are not allowed to access devices while in class.
- Study calendars, both those printed on paper and those in digital format, have their advantages. A digital calendar can be easier when setting up and making large corrections, while a printed calendar that you carry with you can accommodate a lot of small changes. A printed version could also be easier (or at least more fun) to colorize and personalize.
- You can also choose to combine paper and digital: use your computer to print a table in which you have already added the days and hours, and then print as many copies as you want (depending on the number of weeks you are planning) and fill it out by hand.
Step 5. Draw the table
Every calendar is a graph that includes the variables "date" and "time", with the days of the week located along the top, and the hours in a column on the side.
- If you are designing a calendar by hand on paper, you will have to draw the table yourself. You can use regular notebook paper or white paper. Draw the lines using a ruler for a smooth appearance.
- Probably the biggest drawback to the pen and paper method is how difficult it is to make changes later. Even if you use a pencil to write everything down, changing the number of rows or columns could be a real challenge. Also, if you need to have multiple pages, such as one for each month, you will have to carry out this entire process each time.
Part 2 of 3: Completing the Study Calendar
Step 1. Choose a simple or custom calendar
You can create a unique calendar that stays the same each week, or you can create a custom one for each week, which changes depending on the details of that week. Ideally, create all your custom calendars at the same time.
- To create a custom weekly calendar, start at the end. Start by including important assignments or final exams and work your way back from there. The study schedule will change depending on the important tasks ahead.
- Do not forget to complete everything that has previously occurred to you during the process. You will need to do this before recording your study hours. This includes all regular commitments such as playing a sport. You need to do this first so you know where you could allocate your study hours.
- If you're creating a custom weekly calendar, don't forget to include exceptions such as birthdays and holidays.
Step 2. Create blocks of study hours
Focus on creating long blocks of study hours, such as blocks of 2-4 hours at a time. This will help you get into a study rhythm and help you be more productive with your time.
- However, just because you don't have a lot of time available doesn't mean you can't schedule a study period. If you feel that it will be beneficial for you to schedule 45 minutes of study here or an hour there, of course you should.
- You will need to schedule more study time for the more difficult classes.
Step 3. Schedule time for breaks
Pauses are essential for your success. You are not a robot, so it is not possible for you to work for hours and hours without stopping. In general, you will do better if you take regular breaks from studying.
Many experts recommend working for 45 minutes per hour, and then resting for 15 minutes. However, everyone is different, so experiment to find what works best for you
Step 4. Be as specific as possible
Do you remember putting together all your assignments and syllabi? Now is the time to put them to use. You can schedule blocks of hours to take care of specific classes and also include homework and assign yourself portions of time to take care of them.
- Of course, things will change over time, and something you planned two months ago may no longer apply. But don't let that stop you. See this as a helpful guide, something to keep you on track, and something to help you break large tasks down into small chunks.
- If you have a certain amount of homework from a class each week, it would be great to add it to the calendar. For example, if you have to solve 20 math problems each week, you can distribute them on the calendar.
Step 5. Schedule different subjects for each session
Working on different subjects during a single session will prevent you from being completely overwhelmed with a single subject and running out of energy to do something else.
Of course, this can change during the time of an exam, in which you will need to focus all your energy on a single subject
Step 6. Make your calendar look good
Using color coding to label classes and responsibilities will help make your calendar easier to use and view. You may need to check your calendar quite often, so customize it!
If the calendar is printed on paper, then you may need to use colored pencils, or you could highlight some things on the computer and print in color. If you're using an online-only app, the calendar will use color coding in advance, although you may be able to customize it to some degree
Part 3 of 3: Use the calendar
Step 1. Commit to sticking to the schedule
Although it may take some time to get used to using the calendar, stick with it. Once it is part of your routine, it will be of great help to you.
Step 2. Don't stress
Don't feel like you have to follow every minute exactly on the calendar. It's a little system to help you do better in school. Organize your time around it, but don't stress if you don't follow it to the letter.
Step 3. Check it out
Determine what works and what doesn't, and if something doesn't work, fix it! You've already gone to great lengths to create your calendar, so there is no reason to discard it, as a few simple revisions might make it useful for you. Always respect the times on the calendar.
Advice
- If starting from the back and creating a custom calendar that changes weekly is too much work for you, you can still create a standard study calendar very easily. Even if it is the same week-to-week, having a calendar pays off big.
- Try doing an image search online, or use Flickr or Pinterest to find sample calendar templates or templates that you can use for free.
- Remember that, if there is a change in schedule in your classes, follow the schedule on the calendar as appropriate.
- When you study for an hour, draw a star symbol on the piece of paper. Try to draw a minimum of 7 stars per day.
- Do your work today and do not leave it for tomorrow because if you leave it for tomorrow it will become a burden for you.