Study Prof

In the past, I’ve talked about exactly when to study for each class you’re taking. Follow that schedule and you will spend less time to get better grades!

But don’t make the mistake of blindly following anyone’s schedules or methods (mine included). It’s all about strategery, people.

Not all classes are created equal.  Some classes you can cut that schedule in half and still get an A.  In other classes, you may have to double up. Treat your schedule like a strategy game; carefully decide where you will get the most payoff and act accordingly.

Example; I took a class in (more…)

I luvz LifeHacker. Always something useful, just like this pithy collection of to-do list wizlets from Gina Trapani. The art of the doable to-do list – Email – Lifehacker.

Premium members only, listen to the full version of my latest iTunes podcast from Wired Study Tips, The Secret To Having Your Nights and Weekends Free. Click here to download the zipped .mp3 file.

You could just take those syllabi professors are passing out like popcorn this time of year and shove them deep into the bowels of your backpack, forgetting about them until necessity forces you to resurrect them from their linty tomb. But that’s a surefire recipe for cramming, all-nighters, and mediocre grades.

Instead, go over each syllabus with an eye towards due dates. Add major events to your semester calendar and then break each assignment/project/major-exam-prep into hour-sized chunks. Now schedule the chunks on that same calendar.

You’ll quickly see which weeks turn it to eye-popping, caffeine-fueled, study-thons. Sweeeet. So easy now to reschedule and lighten the load. You’ll be panic-free and well rested come finals time.

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Are you overwhelmed with way to much work/study during finals?  Ever waited too late to start a big project?  Have a week in which there just isn’t enough time to do everything you need to do?

All of these can be fixed by properly using a very simple tool.  The humble calendar.  When used regularly and well, it prevents you from ever ending up with too much work and not enough week.

The perfect calendar?  First and foremost, the perfect calendar is one you will actually use!  It doesn’t matter how fancy, detailed, attractive, or expensive a calendar or day timer is, if you don’t have it when you need it, it’s no good!

I personally go for cheap but effective.  At the beginning of each semester, I print out a calendar from a site such as this one, and fill it out for the coming semester.  I usually punch holes in it, put it in my binder or a left over folder.  Then I use it!

Add…

1. Exam and project due dates from your course syllabi as you get them
2. Holidays, such as Christmas, Easter, and Festivus
3. Special events, such as the Spring Formal or Dead Week
4. Anything that will take extra time, like crunch week at the place where you work, or that one week in April when three of your immediate family members have a birthday.  Nothing should catch you by surprise.

Then I make sure to check it and update it once a day at least!  I have to put it somewhere where I can’t avoid it, like over my computer keyboard are on the mirror above my bathroom sink.

I don’t, however, carry the calendar around with me.  That’s where my daily to-do list comes in.  More on that later.