Look to Today: Timetable

As well as your weekly planner, making a weekly/ daily timetable will help you organise your day-today tasks, which keeps you positive and focused on your studying, and which helps you achieve your
targets.

Use the sample timetable template provided in this section to make a practical weekly timetable. Pin
one copy on the wall of your study space and sellotape one inside the front cover of your
folders/notebooks.  To make a realistic but workable timetable, use the following tips:

1. Keep the layout simple. Make several blank copies so you can alter it weekly or as you need
to. Your first effort might be over-ambitious, but you learn from your attempts what actually
works. So every subsequent timetable should be more to the point, and help you achieve more.

2. Keep it realistic but flexible. There will be times when you will not be able to study as you
planned. Be able to fit in some extra study sessions if you have to.

3. Divide your time into: “Have to” and “want to”. You “have to” do certain things; when
they’re done, you are free to do the things you “want to.” Balance is the key.

4. Assess how you use your time. There are 7 days or 168 hours in a week. Average out the
time you spend doing different things. Be ruthlessly honest with yourself. You might find you
waste a lot of time (see sample diagram).

5. Assess how much time you need for sleep & rest. You do need to take care of your mind,
body and emotions. Different people have different sleep requirements, for example. Aim for 7-
10 hours sleep every night. Aim to be neither a sleeping beauty nor a raving insomniac.

6. Exercise regularly: This is essential! It is not a luxury! Make sure you have adequate exercise
without making it your sole purpose in life. The body and mind are inter-connected. Exercise
clears the “academic fog”, keeps you fit, helps you relax, and increases your ability to focus and
concentrate. Be warned, when times get tough, students often cut out their exercise time. This
is a mistake. You will begin to get fat and flabby, lose your self-image, and with it your
motivation.

7. Food: Try to eat a balanced diet. Don’t try to save time by reaching for the “convenience food”.
A diet of pizzas, burgers, crisps, coke and chips will increase your chances of getting bilious and
developing a health problem. Try to vary your diet: good food will feed the brain; junk food
will trash it!

8. Keep track. Work out how many hours you need to spend on your study on a daily or weekly
basis. Tick off work as you complete it. Stay ahead of your deadlines. This will give you a real
sense of doing well.