Why Do We Need a Timetable?

It is important that we have a schedule or timetable for anything we are going to do because there is one scarcity. That is the ‘time’. Time is very scarce and limited. So it is very important for us to have a study timetable in our studies.

However, having a simple regular schedule will not help you to complete your tasks successfully. For that, you need to pay attention to many things and analyze all the facts and create a more practical and workable schedule.

Let’s discuss in this article how to prepare a more effective and efficient study timetable by paying attention to such various issues.

How to Prepare a Study Timetable in 8 Steps

01. Prepare a List of Tasks (To-Do List)

A to-do list is the tasks, duties, responsibilities, etc. that you must do on a daily basis. As a full time student you have to do the following.

• Going to school.
• Going to tuition classes.
• Participation in sports activities.
• Having to participate in extracurricular activities at school; English Day, Science Day, Prizing Giving Ceremonies, etc.
• Going on educational trips.
• Having breakfast, lunch and dinner.
• Meeting and chatting with friends.
• Facing exams.
• Playing video games.
• Going to sleep.

Here I have mentioned only a few. Maybe there is more to do in your life. However, list all those tasks together like this.

02. Time Allocation

After listing all your daily tasks in the above manner, allocate a reasonable maximum time for each task. Reasonably calculate the time spent on all activities such as the time it takes you to travel to and from school, the time spent in school, the time spent on extra classes, etc.

Here, eliminate tasks that you can leave undone. Save only essential, mandatory tasks and the time required for them in the list. For example, tasks such as playing video games and talking with friends can be cut.

For this, after allocating time for all essential tasks, a reasonable amount of time should remain. At least one hour must be left. Here is the remaining time, which should be used for your studies.

If you don’t have enough time left, you can slightly reduce the maximum time spent on other tasks. For example, if you spend a lot of time traveling, try to make some time off of it. If you are a heavy sleeper, you can reduce the time and use that time for studies.

03. Utilization of Time

You have already calculated all the tasks to be done and the total time required for them. Now you have to decide how to use the remaining time. I will explain you that too in few simple steps.

Step 01

First list all the subjects you are studying.

Step 02

From that list of subjects, divide it into two other lists in order of your favorite subjects and in order of the most difficult subjects. You can use either of these lists for the next step. You can prioritize the relevant subjects as per your preference. Alternatively, priority may be given on the basis of difficulty of the subjects.

Step 03

Know the number of lessons in each subject applicable in one term. Usually if you are building a study timetable to prepare for the end of term exam, this can be used. Alternatively, if you are using a study timetable to study for an annual exam, you can calculate the total number of lessons.

Step 04

Suppose you have three months for the exam. Let’s assume that it is 90 days. Suppose you can devote two hours per day during the five days of the week and about 5 hours per day on Saturday and Sunday, for studying.

The total number of hours you get in 90 days (16 weeks) is 20 hours per week for a total of 320 hours in 16 weeks. Imagine that you do not distribute this time to all available subjects, but only to the most difficult and mandatory subjects.

You should pay attention to what is the most difficult subject that takes the longest time to study and includes the most number of lessons. Imagine you have allocated 100 hours for that subject. So, you only have 220 hours left. Divide these 220 hours among the remaining subjects.

Step 05

After allocating time for each subject in this way, it should be decided from which days of the week that time will be taken. Use days like Saturday and Sunday where you can have more time for the difficult subjects. Days of the week can be used for other subjects.

Step 06

Now you have a rough idea of what lesson to study on each day of the week. However, as long as this is not prepared in a written, structured form, the implementation of this is only an idea.

You can use a paper for this, or you can use an Excel sheet. Then apply the lessons you have to study to the allotted time in each day. Then you need to estimate how many hours you will spend on each lesson and how many days the lesson will last.

Take all these things into consideration and divide all the lessons to be studied into the hours in the respective days.

Step 07

Maintain three stages of process for each lesson each day. That is, as “Not Started Yet”, “In Progress” and “Completed”.

All the lesson units on all those dates should remain as “Not Started Yet” until the relevant Study Timetable is implemented. When you start studying a unit, use “In Progress” for it. After studying and completing that unit for that day, mark it as “Completed”.

This way, when each of your lessons appears as “Completed”, you’ll be more motivated to continue. It is easiest to prepare an excel sheet for this.

Bottom Line

Time is a very precious thing. Don’t just waste it. If it is wasted, many regrets will be inherited in the future. Make the most of your time. There are many practical ways to study outside of the traditional methods. You can learn about such methods in this article; “10 Smart and Practical Study Tips“.

Not just for academics but for any activity, creating a schedule and work plan for a project helps to complete the related tasks at a more effective level. Until you make a work plan, you will not realize that your time is very limited.

You realize how bad it is to waste time only after you start working on a plan like this. Manage time to the fullest, you can never get back a minute that passes.