Do you ever get so stressed just by thinking about all the topics you have to cover and even more stressed at the fact that you haven’t started because you don’t know where to start? yup, you’re not alone.
Back then, whenever I studied, I could barely remember anything. I will spend hours studying a course but then the next day, I feel like I haven’t studied at all. it was so heartbreaking especially when you don’t get the grade you desire even after all the hours sacrificed.
It was in my second year of college that I finally discovered what I was doing wrong. my studying had no direction, no goal, nothing. I was just reading without a single goal in mind. Don’t get me wrong, I had a big goal. which was to pass my course with excellent grades so that it could boost my GPA. But asking yourself simple questions like “what will I want to achieve by the time I’m done studying?” helps a lot.
I found the power of using a study calendar/schedule and that changed the game for me and others. Today, I will be talking about why you need a study calendar and how to make a study calendar that will work for you. without any further delay, let’s get into it.
why do you need a study schedule?
Table of Contents
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A study schedule gives you a sense of direction. when you have one in place, you feel like you finally know what you are doing.
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It keeps your study life organized.
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Your priorities become clearer and you get to know what courses deserve more attention.
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Having a study plan helps you to plan your readings and make sure you cover your materials on time so that you don’t have to pull an all-nighter during the exam period.
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It reduces stress because you finally know when to study, what to study, and when you can relax.
now that I have convinced you on why you need one, let’s move to the fun part.
How to make a study schedule that will work for you.
This going to be a fun exercise we are going to do together so grab a paper and a pen.
Here is what you will need to do:
first, write down all the subjects/courses you are studying for the semester.
secondly, rank them from the simplest to the hardest(this should be based on what YOU think is difficult for you and kind of have a hard time studying) or by how important they are.
lastly, answer these question and write your answer down:
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how many free hours do I have daily?
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how many hours can I sacrifice to studying?
once you have all of this, then you can start making your study schedule.
There is a lot of study schedule premade templates available on the web but this is my favorite. I designed it myself and it has been working excellently for me. You can also draw one yourself and use it. it’s really up to you.
If you decide to use mine, here is what you will get. A study calendar and 2 types of the study plan.
How to use the study calendar
Having a study calendar is important because it allows you to schedule your readings at the right time. As you can see, it’s just a table with boxes and here is how to use it.
For each day of the week, decide on what time you’re free to study and add the time to each box. Once you’re done, add your courses to each box with the time you think is perfect to study that course. If you still have more time slots, add your difficult/ most important courses again to those remaining time slots. This will help you to spend more time on what matters the most. I suggest making each study period a maximum of just 2 hours and then you take a break to refresh. At the end of this exercise, you should have something like this. This is mine for inspiration.
This is your study timetable and you should try and stick to it if you want to see changes.
The study plan should be used whenever you want to study. I use two types but I am going to use this one for demonstration.
How to use a study plan
First, set your priorities. It could be to memorize certain things or learn how to solve a type of equation. Setting a study session goal gives you clarity and helps you to stay motivated. I suggest set only 1-3 priorities per study session.
In the schedule part, write down all the topics within that course you want to cover during that study session and allocate the minutes you want to spend on each topic. Then go to the start time/finish time and add those times in. Once you’re done with each topic, tick the box.
Rewarding yourself after each session is such a huge motivation. It makes you look forward to it and helps you to be serious with your reading. Write 1-2 ways you plan on rewarding yourself once you’ve completed your study session. At the end of this exercise, your study plan should look like this:
If you decide to get my study bundle, I suggest you fill it with a pencil as I do so that in the end, you can erase it and use it again. You’re allowed to print it as many times as you want but for the sake of the environment, reusing it is recommended.
Creating a study schedule is not difficult. Staying committed to it is. You should also remember to add leisure time to refresh your mind and take small breaks during each study session. Try and stay committed to it and see how your grades will sore.
This study bundle is part of the student planner which is available in my shop for just $5.50! It comes with just the right pages a student will need to have an organized student life.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did while writing it. If you have a few more minutes to spare, I highly recommend giving these posts a read:
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