HOW TO CREATE YOUR PERSONALISED STUDY TIMETABLE

A study timetable is a simple, inexpensive tool that can help you manage your study time. Having a study schedule in place throughout the year will greatly assist you in reaching your full potential. It will help you see what you need to do and how much time you have to do it. It not only helps you stay focused, but it also helps you maintain a healthy life-study balance, so you don’t have to cram before deadlines or give up your social life during busy periods. So, if you want to get organised and motivated to complete your work to the best of your abilities, make a personalised study timetable.

When it comes to organising your study calendar, it’s difficult to know where to begin. In this article, MY ACADEMIC SOLUTIONS presents to you how to create your personalised study timetable.

STEP 1: PREPARE A LIST OF WHAT YOU NEED TO DO DAILY 

The first step in creating a study timetable is to write a list of all of your normal weekly activities, such as family commitments, lunchtimes, the amount of sleep you need, frequent social activities, and the amount of time you spend travelling each day. You can also add your usual class schedule, which includes the lectures, seminars, and tutorials that you must attend each week.

It doesn’t matter if it’s well-organized or not. This isn’t a to-do list, but rather a brainstorming session. Take an hour or so to write down everything you need to do each day (as well as everything you don’t do but should be doing).

STEP  2: IDENTIFY YOUR DEADLINES AND IMPORTANT SOCIAL DATES

To establish an effective study timetable, you must have all of your significant dates written down, including both academic and social commitments. Consider deadlines for assignments, exams, birthdays, important occasions (weddings, anniversaries, religious and national holidays), and other obligations.

These key dates should be written down in your calendar once you have them. If you know it will take up a whole day, or possibly many days, schedule it straight immediately. Otherwise, make a mental note to remind yourself that you’ll be busy for at least part of the day.

This will assist you in keeping track of days when you won’t be able to study. Rather than finding yourself with only three days available a week before a deadline, you will have planned ahead of time.

STEP 3: DECIDE THE NUMBER OF HOURS FOR STUDY TIME

Next, determine how many hours per day you will devote to studying; you study for as long as you need to. There will be occasions when you must exceed your timetabled limit, however, you must create boundaries for yourself, otherwise, there will be no limits to the amount of time you labour. You’ll squander your time and feel all of the frustration and anguish. Set aside six hours of solitary study time per day as a general rule. On days when you don’t have any lessons, you could feel like you can do more, like eight hours. However, if you sleep for more than six or eight hours, it would be tough to recuperate for the next day. This doesn’t simply imply that you’ll be weary and drained the next day, which is almost certainly the case; it also implies that your mind may not have been able to digest everything you studied the day before. As a result, when you go to access it, you’ll probably find a tangle of concepts that aren’t well organised and that you can’t recall with the precision the way you would have loved it.

READ ALSO: 5 QUICK TIPS FOR WRITING AN ACADEMIC ESSAY

STEP 4: CONSIDER OPTIMAL TIMES OF THE DAY FOR STUDYING

Consider when you are – or would be – at your best when it comes to learning. Are you a night person or a morning person? Consider this now, and you’ll be better able to schedule important study time within your peak study hours. Try not to think about your other tasks as you complete this step; instead, write down your best times as if you had nothing else to do.

STEP 5: PLAN FOR RELAXATION

Relaxation, like work, must be meticulously planned. Choose when you want to rest and when you want to study over the week. Keep in mind that you’re attempting to strike the perfect balance between work and relaxation; otherwise, your mind won’t have enough time to absorb everything. With this in mind, schedule a day off from work once a week to give yourself a complete break. You’ll almost certainly need to plan this day almost as much as the rest of your schedule. Because you’re working so hard, you need to relax even more. The same can be said for rest periods during the week. If you know you’re going to have a long and exhausting day, try to schedule something relaxing for the evening. You might be a member of a group that meets at a particular time every week, or you might have a weekly appointment with a friend to see a movie or go out to dinner. This could be the time to schedule the exercise that you would otherwise find difficult to fit in, such as a trip to the gym or a swim at the local pool. But, much like your day off, don’t leave it to chance: plan ahead of time what you’ll do during these hours.

STEP 6: DECIDE ON THE TIMETABLE FORMAT

You can create your timetable on paper or in a digital format, such as a spreadsheet or a phone app. Microsoft Excel and Apple Numbers are two examples of spreadsheet programmes that provide clear solutions. In addition, many word processing systems provide templates for what you want to accomplish. You could use an online option; My Study Life, for example, is a well-reviewed tool with both an app and a web interface. Even if you spend a lot of time online or on your phone, a physical paper timetable may be the best option for you. If you’re not allowed to use smartphones in class, this could be the issue. Both traditional and digital study timetables offer benefits.

A digital timetable may be easier to set up and make major changes to, whereas a print timetable that you carry with you may allow you to make numerous minor modifications. Coloring and personalising a paper version may be easier (or at least more enjoyable). You may also combine paper and digital by printing out a grid that you’ve already filled in with days and hours on your computer, then printing out as many as you like (depending on how many weeks you’re planning) and filling it in by hand.

STEP 7: PLOTTING THE TIMETABLE

Any timetable should be a chart with the variables “date” and “time” along the top and times down the side, with days of the week along the top and times down the side. You can create a single weekly schedule that will remain the same. Alternatively, you can create a unique one for each week that changes based on the events of that week. All of your bespoke timetables would be created at the same time.

After you’ve scheduled all of your other events, you can now schedule your private study time. The first step is to figure out when you work best and schedule the tasks that require the most focus, such as reading, analysing and brainstorming problems, preparing, and writing an essay.

Strive for extensive study sessions, such as 2–4 hours at a time. This will assist you in getting into the study groove and allow you to be more effective with your time.

Your success depends on your ability to take breaks. Because you’re not a robot, you can’t work nonstop for long periods. You’ll fare better in the long run if you take regular breaks from your work. Many experts recommend working for 45 minutes per hour and then taking a 15-minute rest. However, because everyone is different, you should experiment to see what works best for you.

Working on different subjects in a single session prevents you from becoming utterly burnt out on one and having no energy to accomplish anything else. Of course, this can alter when it comes to exam time when you must focus all of your attention on a single subject!

Make your timetable attractive; colours will make your timetable simpler to read and understand. You’ll probably be looking at this timetable a lot, so make it your own! If you’re working on paper, coloured pencils can be a good option. You could also use a computer to highlight items and print in colour. The timetable will be colour-coded if you’re using an online-only app, however, you may be able to change it to some extent.

CONCLUSION

Finally, be as specific as possible while creating your timetable. The least effective timetables are ones that are ambiguous and lack detailed specificity. Be as explicit as possible about the number of hours you’ll work each week and day; the length of each session, so you’re constantly working at maximum efficiency and getting ample breaks; and the time each activity should take you.

Make sure you understand the subject you’ll be studying as well as the activities you’ll be doing throughout each study hour — reading, note-taking, planning, writing, and so on. Also, make an effort to be explicit about your relaxation. Don’t underestimate the value of setting a clear objective for yourself to strive toward a treat to enjoy at the end of the day as a reward for your hard work.

Also, it may take some time for you to become accustomed to using your schedule but persevere. It will be a huge benefit once it becomes a part of your daily routine. Don’t worry about it, and don’t feel obligated to stick to the timetable to the exact minute. It’s a simple strategy that will assist you in performing better in school. Use it to plan your time, but don’t worry if you don’t follow it completely.

Examine what works and what doesn’t, and if something isn’t working, make the necessary adjustments. You’ve already invested time and effort in creating the schedule; there’s no reason to throw it out when a few minor tweaks could make it work perfectly for you. Stick to your timetable at all times.