ASSESSING AND PLANNING YOUR WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Make a list of what you have to accomplish during the coming week, including class assignments and class attendance.	Being inclusive in your list of school work that must be done for the week is essential for making your schedule work.  Everything takes take time, whether it's reading a chapter, working problems, or writing an outline for a research paper.
Include co-curricular activities, work hours, errands, exercise, meals and time with friends on your list of things to do for the week.	Daily living activities and co-curricular activities are important and provide balance in your schedule but take time away from study time.  Preparing dinner and cleaning up afterwards or attending a student organization meeting can take as much time as reading a chapter in a textbook.
Estimate how long each task will take.	This is an essential, but often overlooked step in the time scheduling process.   Activities take different amounts of time so to effectively use your time, it is important to estimate how long a task will take and allow that amount of time for the task.  It's better to estimate conservatively if you don't know how long something will take.  If you finish 30 minutes or an hour early, you can use that time however you would like but if you haven't allowed enough time, you'll have to take time away from another task to complete the one that is taking longer than planned.
Identify the day on which you will accomplish each task, keeping in mind the amount of time the task will take and other things you must also do that day.	This facilitates the next step of this process, making a daily schedule.  By looking at your whole week and realizing everything you need to accomplish during that week, you are more likely to avoid missing deadlines. You can make adjustments throughout the week instead of finding that you have a 6 hour task with only three hours remaining before the deadline.  Making your schedule for the next week is a good activity for Friday afternoon or evening, before beginning your weekend.  Weekends provide the largest blocks of time for study so if you will have a very full week ahead, it may be helpful to complete some of the tasks on the weekend to decrease the time crunch during the coming week.
Previous Page	Next Page