How To Plan A Study Timetable

Whenever I decide to study, I always need a timetable or a reference guide. If I don't have one, I'll start to panic at the last minute and feel like I'm study aimlessly, not sure when to start or stop. 

People think that having timetables will make you feel pressured because if you don't follow it, you will feel more guilty. I don't agree with that. To me, it helps make you more disciplined and helps you manage your time. You try your best to follow it but if you can't then make slight changes to the schedule. Alter the subjects if you don't have any mood to study the particular subject that day. If you missed one session, replace that study time at another session that you're suppose to have break or fun time. Problem solved and you feel less stressed out. 

Here are a few steps you can follow when planning your study timetable:

#1 List down all your subjects and count how many days you have to study. For me, I like to plan one month at a time or at most 2 months because planning too far away is going to waste the time you have now.

#2 Fill in 1 or 2 subjects in each day. I usually draw boxes like this:

#3 Then write out the specific things you need to do for each subject. Be very very specific and refer to your original list in #1 to make your you covered every book and notes you need to. 

#4 Try to start and study at regular times. For example I like to start in the morning, 730-1030, 12-1 then I take a break till after lunch, 230-5 then night 830-11. Whenever I cannot follow this routine, I'll just replace what I missed on another day that I'm supposed to have a break or on a day that my schedule is not so tight. Sometimes its good to have missed some days and off-track your schedule a little because it makes you more focused and motivated to use the time you have to study. 

#5 Make it flexible and feel free to change and switch it around as you like. For example, on 9/1 maybe I wrote Chem 6 and Phy 6 but if I felt like doing Bio and Math then I would allow myself to do that but I'll make sure I already put Chem and Phy 6 on another day. The most important thing about studying is that you can't feel too much force and you need to feel that excitement and study willingly. But yes, laziness may slip in and that's when you need to force yourself to at least study something and not just laze around. Its ok to switch your timetable around and have breaks whenever you need to but its not ok to just call the day off and cancel your study plans for no good reason. 


If you have a timetable already, perhaps these quick tips may help you improve it. If you don't have one yet, try to make one starting from today :)