1. Create a learning plan: Bring in relaxation
You probably know the situation only too well: a mountain of tasks and learning material lies ahead of you. The day of the exam may be getting closer. And nevertheless you always manage to suppress the problems and deal with nicer activities. With “Verschieberitis” (procrastination in modern German) the mountain keeps getting bigger and more insurmountable. High time to create a study plan.
A study plan will help you separate the important from the unimportant.
Because that’s the only way you can concentrate on the important things!
- Sort tasks by importance: this way you’ll relax a bit, because the diffuse threat of invincible opponents turns into concrete steps.
- Then form a coherent timetable for your steps to get even closer to easing the situation.
- With these tips, nothing will go wrong during the exam phase and you can look forward to the exam day with confidence! But remember this beforehand: any plan requires you to be disciplined enough to study so that your efforts are successful. So plan realistically.
2. Creating a learning plan means creating a schedule!
Essentially, to create an effective study plan, you need to fit all of your requirements into a schedule. First of all, you should write down which courses you have attended.
Note for each seminar:
- the weekly event duration
- the required preparation time
- special achievements (such as presentations or term papers)
- the respective workload
Arrange the topics according to their requirements.
To do this, think about which topics are most important to you and which you can do with little effort. Rank the areas:
- Story is easy, get first place.
- Statistics is a big challenge because you lack the numbers gene and ends up in last place.
→ In this way you will receive various blocks with time requirements, which you should best divide into modules of around two hours.
3. Create a learning plan on paper or digitally?
It doesn’t matter whether you choose a digital template, create your own learning plan in a spreadsheet or set up the week with a few lines on paper. It is important that you put the individual time snippets in a good order in the week. When this finished plan shines at you, it’s high time to get started. Because the motivation to learn often only sets in when you start seriously. The best way to create a learning plan is on the learning platform.
What is the advantage of the study plan on ?
4. Create a learning plan: Be honest with yourself!
It is important that you do not fool yourself in relation to your learning progress. Only then can you learn efficiently by always focusing on the material. Unlike at school or at work, nobody stands behind you and pushes you. You’re pretty much on your own at university. Nobody but you cares if you come along. This is entirely your own responsibility. At least almost! Because your learning plan on also supports you here:
- minute-by-minute display of your learning time
- Statistics about the material already learned
- Review of your set goals
5. Plan breaks and free time when creating your learning plan!
Nobody can only learn and work. Relaxing activities should be part of your schedule during a study day as well as in the evenings and at weekends. Because those who never take a break and neglect sport, culture and social life quickly fall into the opposite extreme. Studying seven days a week from morning to night leads directly to exhaustion or burnout.
Give yourself space.
Therefore, plan regular appointments and leave room for spontaneous dates or sunbathing. Your study plan shouldn’t restrict you like a corset. On the contrary: if your plan works, it relieves you of too much pressure because you know your real status at all times and you know what you can afford without having to have a bad conscience.
6. Develop the learning plan further!
No schedule is perfect at the beginning. Some even claim that it will never be finished. This is not meant to bring you down, but indicates a realistic assessment. If you manage to set up your first weekly plan, you have already achieved a lot. But now it is important to comply with this. You’ll soon realize that it’s not that easy. No reason to throw in the gun in the famous grain. On the contrary. When you see what you ticked off and what you didn’t do after a week at the latest, it’s time to think about the causes.
Find out the reasons for deviations from your study plan.
- Was it «just» a lack of self-discipline? You can work on that.
- Were there external causes? For example, the roommate who constantly distracted you? Then look for ways to eliminate or circumvent these sources of interference.
- Wasn’t there enough time? Then you will probably have to plan more time for a topic for the next week.
- Maybe something was done faster than expected? You can plan the time for the other topic.
- Did everything go much faster? Then go have coffee with your roommate and enjoy life and your successful schedule.
7. The study plan is solely your plan!
If you observe yourself creating a learning plan, you will find that there are certain cornerstones that everyone has to consider. Your schedule needs to be tailored to your unique needs for it to work! Everyone learns differently:
- whether by eye (visual) or by hearing (auditory)
- and with different aids and learning materials: visualizations to hang up, podcasts with relevant specialist discussions, etc. → Each medium has its own time requirements.
Each individual has their own learning pace.
You should assess this realistically in order not to organize a disappointment for yourself.
→ Keep this in mind when you share the learning plan with others. In this way, you can benefit from the experiences of your fellow students and pass on your «findings» without being frustrated that other students might have a faster learning pace or a different method. Don’t panic, focus on yourself and your study plan!
8. Just start creating your study plan!
If you ponder the meaning and form of the learning plan for too long, you have wasted valuable time again. Use the experiences you can find in forums and useful templates and apps. The first weekly schedule, once made, will not be perfect in any way except one thing: any schedule is better than none. However, you have to take care of the continuous development and implementation yourself. And you can also read about how you get your best performance in the exam.
You can find more tips, information and templates for your learning plan at bachelorprint.de, for example.