3. Tips on making a weekly plan

Making the weekly plan


From here on, set aside some time each week for making a weekly plan. Write down your goals for the week, break them down into concrete tasks and enter these into the calendar. Some tasks, such as attending a class, may be put on the calendar directly. The timing and the amount of time required for other tasks cannot be precisely known in advance. Write these down under the ‘Main tasks of the day’ heading for each date. You can directly copy lectures and assignments from MyCourses to e.g. Google Calendar.

  • Check your calendar daily.
  • In the morning, think about the main task of the day.
  • Check your list of goals weekly (put a printout of it on the wall).
  • Identify the most important goals.
  • Make sure you have a clear image in your mind of what you want to get done and what the day’s main task is; also, keep in mind what else you intend to do during the week.

 

‘Recognise your prime time and defend it ruthlessly’

 

Every person has their own ‘prime time’ or best time of the day. Identify which time that is for you and use it to accomplish the most important things. Just be firm and say no to other things during that time. Eliminate disturbances. Turn off your communication devices also. If you are interrupted in the middle of a difficult task, it takes 15 minutes to recover and get back to what you were doing.

 

Recording your independent study time on your calendar

In higher education, studying takes place for the most part independently. Write down explicitly the amount of time you will use to prepare for classes. You will get more out of a class when you acquaint yourself with the material ahead of time. Write down also the amount of time you will spend reviewing the lessons afterwards, e.g. on the day after class. This will help you considerably when you are studying for an exam. In the review, you might summarise the main points of the class in a visual manner, for instance.