Study Schedules
Make studying fit into your schedule
Study schedules are an important time management and course performance tool. College courses require you to dedicate several hours outside of class to learn and understand the subject material. With busy schedules, it can be challenging to always find the time to study for each of your courses. By using a semester calendar and weekly schedule, you can build a study schedule that will enable you to identify and block time each week to spend reviewing and learning course concepts and material.
How study schedules help
- Helps structure your study time by blocking out specific times of the day to use for reviewing class notes and completing assigned readings.
- Useful when you have busy days and weekly schedules and need to break up study sessions to complete your work and stay on track.
- By studying throughout the week and engaging with the material, the information stays “fresh” in your brain. This will help you retain and recall it when needed. This also will also help reduce the time you spending studying before an exam since you are constantly reinforcing the information.
- Enables you to identify areas in the material or course concepts that are more challenging so that you can seek out support to learn the content before exams.
- Encourages your participation in class discussions and allows you to take effective notes since you are actively learning the material.
How to build a study schedule
To build a study schedule, you will first need access to a semester calendar and weekly schedule – both available below.
What is a semester calendar?
- One page sheet with all the weeks of the semester to offer an overview of the entire semester in one sheet so that you can see all your major deadlines and due dates for your courses.
- Tells you very quickly how each week will look and how to plan, prepare, and organize your studies to tackle upcoming items.
- Works best at the start of a semester, but can be used at anytime!
- You can download a semester calendar below to use digitally or print.
Options for a weekly scheduler
- Weekly schedules provide an overview of your week and come in different formats. The most important feature is to have a schedule that includes the days of the week and offers a time table that is appropriate for your life and commitments. For example, some schedules will offer hourly time slots that start at 6 AM and end at 8 PM. Others will offer 30 minute increments that start at 8 AM and end at 10 PM. Select one that works best for you.
- You can download a weekly schedule below or use one available through Outlook or Gmail for UIC students.
Use a semester calendar and weekly schedule to plan for exams and projects
Step 1. Organize your semester calendar
- Take out your semester calendar.
- Grab the syllabi for each of your classes. You can either print them out or have them pulled up on your computer.
- One by one, go through each syllabus and plug into the semester calendar deadlines or due dates for exams, projects, major assignments, etc.
- If desired, you can assign each class a color and highlight the assignment or project accordingly. If you do this, make a key on the sheet so you remember. For example, blue highlight = math.
- Once you are done plugging in all the dates, you will have an overview of the entire semester and the work that you will need to complete.
- If you worked from a digital semester calendar, you can either print it out or save it on your desktop, so you remember to check it often.
Step 2. Organize your weekly schedule
- Grab your filled in Semester Calendar and set it aside.
- Grab a weekly calendar that lists the days of the weeks with times. You can print a weekly schedule or use a digital one. If you are using a weekly calendar without dates, begin by writing the dates for the week.
- Enter your classes into your weekly calendar.
- Plug in any other commitments for the week on the appropriate days and times. This can include work, student club meetings, family responsibilities, activities, or events.
- Once everything is plugged in, find where you have blocks of free time that can be used for studying or working on assignments. Remember, studying does not have to stretch for hours at a time. Instead, find openings throughout the day and week to work on course items. Sometimes, it can be more productive to study and work on assignments a little each day rather than trying to study for long hours at a time. When you study for hours straight, it can be hard to remain focused and retain information. Doing it a little each day keeps it fresh and ensures progress without the burnout.
- Another tip to keep in mind is identifying times of the day to study when you feel productive. For example, if you are someone who feels very focused in the mornings, aim to find free time in the mornings to study. If your schedule is not open during your ideal study times, do your best to stay focused perhaps by finding a study environment that meets your needs and using a timer to help you stay on track. Use a timer to study for 25 minutes straight before taking a 5-10 minute break. Or, you can aim to study for 30 minutes straight followed by a brief break.
Step 3. Determine how to set-up/structure prioritize your study sessions
How to decide what to study and use your time.
- Now that your weekly schedule is complete and everything is plugged in, you have to decide what to work on and how to best use your study time. At this point, you will want to grab your semester calendar.
- Look at the week that matches your weekly schedule. Identify any assignments or due dates.
- If you see that you DO NOT have any assignments or exams that week: During your study blocks, focus on completing assigned readings for your courses and taking notes. Staying current with your readings will make your preparation for exams or projects much easier since you can focus on reviewing the information rather than trying to catch up on material.
- If you see that you DO HAVE assignments or exams that week OR in the week ahead: Use your study blocks to focus on these items as they are now the priority. Continue to do the work for your other courses, but plan to dedicate most of your study blocks to preparing for your upcoming exams or completing projects.
Things to keep in mind:
- When you sit down to study, always spend a few minutes writing down goals for your session.
- Your goals should be specific to help you stay on track, keep organized, and get a lot done. With the help of your semester calendar, you can identify the general assignment or exam (or perhaps readings you have) that you plan to focus on for that week. The next step is to break it down further. For example, during one study block you can plan to focus on readings for a sociology course. What are the specific tasks you hope to accomplish during your study block? What specific chapters, power points, class notes or other materials do you plan to review? Write them each down and work on the items one at a time. As you complete each one, cross them off the list. On the same sheet where you make note of your study goals, leave space for questions that come up as you review the material. This helps in two ways: First, serves as a reminder of the questions you will want to find answers to, either by attending Student Drop-in Hours or asking questions during class. Second, it helps you know what to spend time on reviewing before an exam. You have told yourself what areas of the material were challenging for you or need more time reviewing to lock into memory.