How should I structure my study timetable

[J_Rho]

Hey guys,

Can anyone share how they create/structure their study?
How should I structure the private study I have during school hours? Should that be for homework and after school for revision?
If anyone could share how they do it it would be so helpful 🙏

My timetable

[Evolio]

Hey guys,

Can anyone share how they create/structure their study?
How should I structure the private study I have during school hours? Should that be for homework and after school for revision?
If anyone could share how they do it it would be so helpful 🙏

My timetable

Hey J_Rho! I think you should do whatever works for you. Since it's the start of the year, you could trial some routines for the first week and see how you go.

Last year, I usually did the homework tasks that were easier to do at school while I did the more harder and more focus-required tasks at home. For eg, I would do the review questions for psychology at school in my frees and then I would do my 3 4 subjects at home because they were important and I had all the 3 4 resources at home.

This year though, it's obviously different because all of the subjects are 3/4s. So, I'm thinking of doing tasks the teachers set for homework at school in my free periods. This includes the Maths exercises and whatever worksheets and booklets they give. Then at home, I'm thinking of consolidating my knowledge with Checkpoints, exam questions, making mindmaps and such. I'm doing these harder tasks at home because I work better at home generally and the library is way too loud to be doing the hard stuff. So, I guess I'm sort of doing what you're thinking of doing. Homework at school and revision at home.

In the end, it's up to you. Are your concentration and focus levels the same at home and at school? If they are, then you could be really flexible with your study routine.

[sk2000]

Hey guys,

Can anyone share how they create/structure their study?
How should I structure the private study I have during school hours? Should that be for homework and after school for revision?
If anyone could share how they do it it would be so helpful 🙏

My timetable

It's a huge advantage having time during school to do your own work because this takes the load off when you get home. It really depends on what works best for you. I hated studying and doing work at school because I was just so uncomfortable in the uniforms and I really preferred having my own space at home, so during my private study periods at school I would just finish off worksheets, homework and stuff like that that I hadn't yet completed, whereas when I arrived at home I'd do my main study and revision, i.e notes, practice questions etc.

It's up to you to develop a system for revision. I really disliked having a time constraint so instead, I would list out everything I had to get done in one day and just do it; no particular order or time slots. I found this much more productive because you can work based on how you are feeling at the time (like what subject you want to do, if you're tired you can take breaks more often). This flexibility is more effective for me at least. You may find that you like working in time slots because it motivates you to finish work, so you probably have to experiment a little.

I used Onenote for all of this. Just listed out all my work for each day and colour-coded it (because I love colour-coding). Usually I'd list out extra work that I know I probably couldn't finish all in one night, but I'd leave it there to push myself which would increase my chances of getting the standard amount of work done. And if I didn't finish work I'd do it the next day... no big deal. As long as you actually do it the next day hah.

This is an example of how I set it out:

How I did it

[J_Rho]

It's a huge advantage having time during school to do your own work because this takes the load off when you get home. It really depends on what works best for you. I hated studying and doing work at school because I was just so uncomfortable in the uniforms and I really preferred having my own space at home, so during my private study periods at school I would just finish off worksheets, homework and stuff like that that I hadn't yet completed, whereas when I arrived at home I'd do my main study and revision, i.e notes, practice questions etc.

It's up to you to develop a system for revision. I really disliked having a time constraint so instead, I would list out everything I had to get done in one day and just do it; no particular order or time slots. I found this much more productive because you can work based on how you are feeling at the time (like what subject you want to do, if you're tired you can take breaks more often). This flexibility is more effective for me at least. You may find that you like working in time slots because it motivates you to finish work, so you probably have to experiment a little.

I used Onenote for all of this. Just listed out all my work for each day and colour-coded it (because I love colour-coding). Usually I'd list out extra work that I know I probably couldn't finish all in one night, but I'd leave it there to push myself which would increase my chances of getting the standard amount of work done. And if I didn't finish work I'd do it the next day... no big deal. As long as you actually do it the next day hah.

This is an example of how I set it out:

How I did it

Ooo! I like the way you set out your todo list! I'm currently doing something similar for my holiday homework but I love the idea of using onenote!

Hey J_Rho! I think you should do whatever works for you. Since it's the start of the year, you could trial some routines for the first week and see how you go.

Last year, I usually did the homework tasks that were easier to do at school while I did the more harder and more focus-required tasks at home. For eg, I would do the review questions for psychology at school in my frees and then I would do my 3 4 subjects at home because they were important and I had all the 3 4 resources at home.

This year though, it's obviously different because all of the subjects are 3/4s. So, I'm thinking of doing tasks the teachers set for homework at school in my free periods. This includes the Maths exercises and whatever worksheets and booklets they give. Then at home, I'm thinking of consolidating my knowledge with Checkpoints, exam questions, making mindmaps and such. I'm doing these harder tasks at home because I work better at home generally and the library is way too loud to be doing the hard stuff. So, I guess I'm sort of doing what you're thinking of doing. Homework at school and revision at home.

In the end, it's up to you. Are your concentration and focus levels the same at home and at school? If they are, then you could be really flexible with your study routine.

Thanks for the reply Evolio! I think my focus is better at school as its easier to plug in my headphones and ignore everyone then it is at home with siblings and parents asking me questions and there are more interruptions so I think i'll trial doing homework at school and study at home and see how that works 

[K.Smithy]

Hey guys,

Can anyone share how they create/structure their study?
How should I structure the private study I have during school hours? Should that be for homework and after school for revision?
If anyone could share how they do it it would be so helpful 🙏

My timetable

One thing that I heard when someone asked this question at school a couple of years ago is to structure your study timetable around non-school-related things. That way you know there is balance in your life. This may sound kind of obvious like, if you know you have Taekwondo every Tuesday from 4pm-6pm, you can probably deduce that Tuesdays between 4 and 6pm are maybe not the best time to study bio   But you should also take into account just small things like "Every Saturday I will watch a movie" or "From 3pm Sunday it is me time, school work is prohibited". Having these small breaks is good, but it is important that they become a solid part of your timetable, they must be treated as being just as important as the time you spend studying. Having time that isn't devoted to school will help prevent burnout.

Another tip is to really think about whether you are a morning person or a night person - that way you can decide whether or not you want to wake up early to get study done or stay up late (also take into account the time you will have to wake up in the morning to get to school - for me, I get to school at 7am, so I have 1.5 hours every morning to get work done).

How you study and how much you study also depends on the subject. Take maths for example, I would recommend doing at least 30 minutes of revision every night through the week (personally, I do a lot more than 30 minutes. I don't time myself, I just do every question in the textbook for each chapter - however long that takes) and then on the weekend just going over every topic you have covered so far by doing one or two questions for each (however, if there are any topics you feel you may need more practice with, then by all means devote more time to that topic).

In regard to using study time at school or at home, there are benefits to both and they both have their negatives. It may be a quieter work space at home, but you run the risk of being distracted by the tv or youtube (or, lets be honest, the fridge... food > studying,  even if you're not hungry, am I right?). If you study at school you have easier access to teachers, but run the risk of being distracted by peers and friends... So, this decision is really up to what works best with your circumstances.

If timetables don't end up working for you (which is entirely ok!) have you considered just using a checklist? For some people, scheduling every minute of their day doesn't work, so instead they just use a checklist (you could also use both, whatever floats your boat).

Here are some helpful threads and articles regarding studying
Evandowsett's [TUTORIAL] How to create a killer study timetable
Jamon Windeyer's STUDY TIMETABLE GUIDE: MAXIMISE YOUR STUDY TIME!
and 99 ATAR GUIDE: TIPS FROM A 99.80 STUDENT

Hope this helps!

[J_Rho]

One thing that I heard when someone asked this question at school a couple of years ago is to structure your study timetable around non-school-related things. That way you know there is balance in your life. This may sound kind of obvious like, if you know you have Taekwondo every Tuesday from 4pm-6pm, you can probably deduce that Tuesdays between 4 and 6pm are maybe not the best time to study bio   But you should also take into account just small things like "Every Saturday I will watch a movie" or "From 3pm Sunday it is me time, school work is prohibited". Having these small breaks is good, but it is important that they become a solid part of your timetable, they must be treated as being just as important as the time you spend studying. Having time that isn't devoted to school will help prevent burnout.

Another tip is to really think about whether you are a morning person or a night person - that way you can decide whether or not you want to wake up early to get study done or stay up late (also take into account the time you will have to wake up in the morning to get to school - for me, I get to school at 7am, so I have 1.5 hours every morning to get work done).

How you study and how much you study also depends on the subject. Take maths for example, I would recommend doing at least 30 minutes of revision every night through the week (personally, I do a lot more than 30 minutes. I don't time myself, I just do every question in the textbook for each chapter - however long that takes) and then on the weekend just going over every topic you have covered so far by doing one or two questions for each (however, if there are any topics you feel you may need more practice with, then by all means devote more time to that topic).

In regard to using study time at school or at home, there are benefits to both and they both have their negatives. It may be a quieter work space at home, but you run the risk of being distracted by the tv or youtube (or, lets be honest, the fridge... food > studying,  even if you're not hungry, am I right?). If you study at school you have easier access to teachers, but run the risk of being distracted by peers and friends... So, this decision is really up to what works best with your circumstances.

If timetables don't end up working for you (which is entirely ok!) have you considered just using a checklist? For some people, scheduling every minute of their day doesn't work, so instead they just use a checklist (you could also use both, whatever floats your boat).

Here are some helpful threads and articles regarding studying
Evandowsett's [TUTORIAL] How to create a killer study timetable
Jamon Windeyer's STUDY TIMETABLE GUIDE: MAXIMISE YOUR STUDY TIME!
and 99 ATAR GUIDE: TIPS FROM A 99.80 STUDENT

Hope this helps!

Thank you for such a detailed reply! I hadn't come across those resources!

[Coolgalbornin03Lo]

Hey guys,

Can anyone share how they create/structure their study?
How should I structure the private study I have during school hours? Should that be for homework and after school for revision?
If anyone could share how they do it it would be so helpful 🙏

My timetable

Wow! How do you have so many frees? Yet you still have 5 subjects!

[J_Rho]

Wow! How do you have so many frees? Yet you still have 5 subjects!

I have 9 in Week A and 6 in Week B, this is cause we only have 7 hours of each subject per fortnight so I technically have 2 classes of frees. It also looks like more because I get to school early so I have 30min before class and there's also 25-minute recess and 45-minute lunch which makes it look like more too

[jinaede1342]

Just out of curiosity, do you prefer going to school at 8:30, or is this necessary for drop off? Your dedication is really up there. My school used to start 8:30 and have compulsory assembly etc but I always showed up at 9 and skipped all of this without receiving a single detention (was warned a few times tho)  . You’ll need that sleep at some point!

[J_Rho]

Just out of curiosity, do you prefer going to school at 8:30, or is this necessary for drop off? Your dedication is really up there. My school used to start 8:30 and have compulsory assembly etc but I always showed up at 9 and skipped all of this without receiving a single detention (was warned a few times tho)  . You’ll need that sleep at some point!

I prefer 8:15 - 8:30 drop off as it gives me that little bit of time to chill and make sure I'm ready for the first few classes, and it works well because mum leaves for work at 8 whereas if i went with dad drop off is all over the shop and I like consistency.
I generally go to bed at 9 but my timetable goes till 11 just in case i need to study longer

[Sine]

Hey guys,

Can anyone share how they create/structure their study?
How should I structure the private study I have during school hours? Should that be for homework and after school for revision?
If anyone could share how they do it it would be so helpful 🙏

My timetable

I can't say I have ever been a fan of study timetables for myself personally but I do know students in the past have used them quite well. The key is to make a timetable that has enough hours dedicated towards your study for your aims but not too much in that it would be impossible to consistently follow that timetable over a long period of time. I think the biggest mistakes students make with study timetables is thinking that they will spend every moment awake motivated and doing work. So make sure to include regular breaks and time for any of your interests or hobbies.

One problem is that most study timetables assume your workload will be the same each week - e.g. It doesn't account for having an assignment for a subject in one week but not the other and it doesn't take into account that one week you might have a sac. So make sure that your timetable is flexible.

As others have stated I found just having checklists either written down or just in your mind can be just as effective. For the most part, I think it is better not to study to time but to how much progress you are actually making whether that be finishing a chapter of questions, doing practice questions etc Having time allocations are certainly useful to see how many things you can do within that day but.

As for frees - in year 12 one third of my periods were free periods (since I did a MUEP subject) and I didn't really have a set in stone plan on what I would do during that time. It would all depend on what needed to be done at that moment in time e.g. an essay for an upcoming english sac, doing homework, practice exams - but also just relaxing.