Academic Year Planner

Guidance for using study planners On the next four pages, you will find four kinds of study planner. Below, there are instructions on how to use them. However, these are just suggested types. You may want to design planners that work better for you.

First of all, think about buying yourself a big wall chart calendar for the year. Most good stationary shops sell them and they are a great way to get a clear picture of the year ahead.

1. Look at your academic calendar, unit guide, myCourse page or anything that gives course and assessment dates.

2. Mark all significant dates on your calendar.

3. Highlight, mark up, put stickers on, stars or any way you like to point out times when you can anticipate a heavy workload – times when deadlines clash or a lot of assignments are due

4. Plan in ‘down times’ when the workload is less – think of ways to relax, enjoy and reward yourself at these times.

Monthly Planner

We have provided a one-page monthly planner. However, it may be better to buy yourself a good 12 month wall calendar with large boxes for each day so that you can plan further ahead.

1. From your year planner, your diary or your course notes, mark up any significant dates on the month.

2. Use highlighters or big colour pens to block out days or half days for different study activities, e.g., lessons, time in the library, time working on a paper, time carrying out research. Make notes in the boxes.

3. Block out some time for non-study activities – sports, socialising and relaxing. Try to get the balance right

4. Put it next to your academic year planner.

Weekly Planner

1. Start by blocking out all the time that you are in lectures, seminars, your part-time job or other commitments.

2. Go on to fill in study times for all your high priority tasks. If you’re not sure what these are, spend a little time planning what are high, medium or low priorities for this week (reviewing your other planners will help).

3. Now plan in all of your breaks – when will you switch off from study and take time to relax, social time or time doing sports? Get a good balance and allow yourself to switch off during your breaks.

4. In the remaining spaces, you can work in some of your medium and low priority tasks.

5. Put the weekly plan in a clearly visible place – on the fridge, above your desk, on the bathroom mirror!

Revision Checklist

1. Write a Revision Checklist for each of the modules you are studying, and write in each of the topic areas that make up this module (perhaps refer to your course outline or myCourse page to find these).

2. Use the boxes on the checklist to tick off when the topic is introduced at lecture or seminar, when you write up your notes (post-lecture, tidying and collating your notes) and when you revise and are able to recall your notes.

3. Write in the kinds of study tasks that you will need to carry out in order to revise this work and complete the assessments.

4. Write on the priority you put on each of the study tasks – but be prepared to change the priority as you work through them.

5. File your revision checklists where you can find them and refer to them easily. succeed@solent Email: [email protected] Web: mycourse.solent.ac.uk/succeed Year: ______

ACADEMIC YEAR PLANNER

Deadlines, significant dates, things to anticipate

October Date of first class? Date of first tutorial?

November

December Date of the start of the holidays?

January What date do you return to uni? Any hand-in deadlines?

February Any hand-in deadlines?

April What date does the term finish? Any classes scheduled at the end of the month?

May Exam dates?

June Month: ______MONTHLY PLANNER W e

e Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun k s Date:______W

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d e a d

l 2 i n e s .

B a l a n c

s t u d y

t i m e

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t i m e . 5 succeed@solent Email: [email protected] WEEKLY PLANNER

Remember: Priorities Breaks Rewards!

Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun Thoughts & Notes 8 am

8 pm 9 pm

10 pm REVISION CHECKLIST (one for each module studied)

Subject: ______

Assessment type(s): ______

TOPICS Lecture Notes Revised / attended written up Recalled

Study Tasks (e.g. library research, study group meetings, practice papers, lab work, etc.). Mark the priority of each as high, medium or low:  ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______