Studying is one of the essential parts of academic success. Nonetheless, it’s sometimes brainstorming to find the time to read your notes or study for every subject you take. One way to balance our studies is by creating a proper study plan which we can strictly adhere to. But one thing most students are not familiar with is how to create a study plan, which makes studying harder than we might think.
Not only do you need to give priority to the subjects or courses you need to study for within a certain period of time, but you also have to juggle other responsibilities such as family, friends, and your own refreshments and entertainment. Below are well-explained steps on how to create a study guide.
Plan A Schedule Of Balanced Activities.
College life has so many aspects. Some of which are fixed, like eating, classes, and church. Others are flexible, like sleeping, laundry, and many others.
So the first thing to do when creating a study program is to look at your current schedule and how you spend time and have a proper plan. This will help you know how you usually use time and help to locate where you can be more productive and what activities you might be able to forgo.
Note Down All Your Subjects
This is in fact the first step in creating a study plan. List down all the courses and subjects that you need to study for.
Writing down your obligations will help you in getting a good idea of what tasks you have to do and which to give little attention to. If you’ve got specific exams to read for, write them down instead of courses. In other words, put your schedule on how you think you will work. Always remember to;
Lay aside time for reading, revising notes, and always create an exam guideline
Divide Your Available Time During The Week Into Study Blocks.
Before proceeding, you should divide up your available time during the week into study blocks. After doing this, go ahead and locate your blocks to a subject.
The main trick of creating a study plan is to plan to study at the same time of the week so that you can memorize it without having to constantly check. It also helps you build a positive study habit.
Schedule study sessions in 35 to 45-minute blocks. Longer time blocks are not easy to find and schedule so short ones are preferred. If you’ve got some time for exams, you can create a reverse calendar instead of a weekly calendar.
Allocate Time For Non-academic Activities.
While reserving time for your study subjects, you also need to reserve time for rest, family, and friends. This is because you can’t spend all the day buried in your books and again academic success is also determined by the association with your family. You must therefore create a healthy balance between your personal life and your academic life.
You can’t miss your grandmother’s birthday or a family reunion just because you are studying. Reserve time for plenty of sleep, rest, exercise, and any other event you can’t reschedule.
If you only have a little time before going to exams, consider postponing or canceling extra-curricular activities. Creating a study plan shouldn’t deny you of living.
Fill In Your Study Blocks.
Once you’ve got everything in place and you know what you need to schedule, fill it. Write down which subject you are studying in each session. This will help keep you on track, create checkpoints for the material, and allow you to organize your study materials.
You can go to your bookshop and buy a daily planner, bullet journal, or something similar to help you organize your weeks. Alternatively, you can use your basic notebook. You can also align your schedule with your smartphone.
Be Committed To Your Schedule.
After you’ve come up with your planned list of all the subjects you should be studying for, make sure you prioritize the list. It should be your number one item.
There is no reason for creating a study plan if you can’t stick to it. Ranking each of your schedules will help you be able to see which subjects need more time and which one deserves your best time slots.
Look At Your Calendar On A Daily Basis
Creating a study plan requires timely execution for results to be seen. Use an alarm on your phone to help alert you when your studying time starts and ends.
Take Short Breaks And Stick To Them.
Be sure to take a break during each study block. However, if you feel this could present problems, just follow your study plan and only take the allocated amount of break. Taking extra breaks or too much time on breaks can and will undermine your study plans and sabotage your creating plans for studying success.
Take one 5 to 10 minutes break and don’t exceed. If possible, set an alarm at the start of your break so that you make sure you strictly spend your allocated time. Also, use your break wisely, spend it exclusively for refreshing yourself. You can take a stretch, go for a short walk or eat a snack.
Inform Your Friends And Family About Your Schedule.
Sometimes it’s hard to follow our schedule because of distractions from people we can’t ignore. This might not be malicious but just because people you care about want to spend time with you. In order to control this and help keep them away, it’s wise to let them know of your study schedule. With this, they will feel guilty any time they distract you from your studies.
Conclusion
You can go as far as creating and attaching a copy of your study plan on your door or even at the refrigerator at home so that everyone can read it. If someone asks for some time with you during a study slot, kindly ask them if they can reschedule it to another time.
