How to Build a Schedule to Help You Keep Track of Everything
Life will always be busy. The sooner you get in the habit of properly scheduling your time, the better off you will be. Otherwise something is likely to get forgotten--like your homework!
Whether you go high tech with a calendar app or old school with a day planner, having an organized schedule will help you feel more in control of your life, and it will keep you from forgetting important things. Each week, sit down with your calendar and plan out your time. Schedule anything that is important to you--including sleep, healthy meals, breaks, and exercise. Designate certain time periods to homework and review and other times to rest and socializing.
What to include on your weekly schedule:
This weekly schedule below (made using spreadsheet software) is an example of what you can do. Note that this student used colour-coding to help make things more visually organized. Green is her personal time, blue is her scheduled classes and pink is her study time. She can also clearly see white spaces where she has flexible time to add in other activities as they come up.
Whether you go high tech with a calendar app or old school with a day planner, having an organized schedule will help you feel more in control of your life, and it will keep you from forgetting important things. Each week, sit down with your calendar and plan out your time. Schedule anything that is important to you--including sleep, healthy meals, breaks, and exercise. Designate certain time periods to homework and review and other times to rest and socializing.
What to include on your weekly schedule:
- Your school hours or class times
- Family commitments (e.g. Sunday night dinners, family game night)
- Social engagements (e.g. dates, birthday parties)
- Your shifts at work
- Personal care (e.g. gym, sleep)
- Regular study sessions (if you have no homework, use these times to review material or work on an upcoming project)
This weekly schedule below (made using spreadsheet software) is an example of what you can do. Note that this student used colour-coding to help make things more visually organized. Green is her personal time, blue is her scheduled classes and pink is her study time. She can also clearly see white spaces where she has flexible time to add in other activities as they come up.
This technique is often called time blocking. This video explains the advantages of this time management method and shows you how to set up your own time blocked calendar:
