I have struggled with make a good study plan for years, until last year. And because of this I decided to help you, if you have the same problem as me.
Like we all know studying is an important part of our academic success. However, can be difficult to find the time to study for every subject we need to study for. One way to ensure studying success is to create a good study schedule. For it not only you have to prioritize the subjects you need to study for, but you also have to prioritize other responsibilities, such as family, yourself, friends and entertainment. So for a good study plan you should use the SMART principles developed by Edwin Locke, like you would do when you trace your goals.
Use an agenda. It depends on person to person, but I usually do my study plan based on the week that will start, because if you think about it for the whole month it's overwhelming.
Assess your current schedule. Your first step in creating a study schedule should be assess your current schedule and the way you currently spend time, this will help you identify where you can be more efficient and what activities you might be able to cut.
Determine how many hours a week you currently study.
Determine how many hours a week you currently devote to entertainment.
Determine how many hours a week you currently spend with friends and family.Â
Note: People tend to find they spend a lot of time on entertainment, start cutting there.
Then you need to list all the subjects you will need to study: Put this on paper will help you get a better idea of what you really have to do.
Figure out what you need to do for each subject or exam. While your time commitment and other obligations for a specific class might vary per week, chances are you’ll find out that over the long-haul, you’ll need a certain amount of time per subject.
Prioritize your list: after made the list of all the subjects or exams you need to study for and figured out what you need to do for each, prioritize the list. Ranking each class will help you figure out to what you need do devote the most time to.
Write down all study-appointments. Before you go on, you need to divide up your available time during the week into study blocks. After you do this, you can go and assign your blocks to a subject.
Reserve time for non-academic activities. While blocking off time for each subject, you also need to make sure that you are reserving time for family, friends and yourself. Remember that you won’t be able to succeed at your studies unless you create a healthy balance between your personal life and your academic life.
Fill in your study blocks. Once you’ve got your schedule blocked out and you know what you need to schedule, fill in your schedule. Write down which subject you are studying in each session. So now that you are filling your schedule, is time to use the SMART method.
S for Specific: What will you be doing? When will you have a break?
M for Measurable: How will you know you have understood? Read, test, repeat, make notes?
A for Acceptable: Are you prepared to start studying that night or morning if you won’t feel like it?
R for Realistic: Will you have enough time to study these pages in that amount of time?
T for Time-bound: When will you start and stop?
Don’t forget to take into account your learning style. You need to take attention to your learning style, because if you know how you learn better you can do things to improve your study that can not seem to be work. Like if you are auditory learner: Perhaps you can listen to recorded lectures or other audio studying material when driving in the car or when working out in the gym. Or if you are a visual learner, you can watch videos as a way to learn and as a way of entertainment.
Lastly, but not least: Keep one to two days study-free.
