Setting Up a Study Schedule
Although motivation is a prime requisite for effective study, there are those who. ciespite a strong interest in schoolwork and a high degree of natural ability, find it difficult to perform well academically. When teachers and counseiors look into the causes of such academic failures, or near-failures, they often find an absence of an organized study routine. Efficient workers almost always have a set time and place for doing their work. If you think that you do not study enough, a schedule that ot:tlines definite times for study will help. The student who protests scheduling his study time on the grounds that he will not have time for other activities is fooling himself. A schedule does nol deprive one of time for nonstudy activities; it simp!y ensures that each type of activity gets its fair share of time. It is interesting that busy students who have outside jobs and engage in many extracurricular activities often make better grades than those who are much less busy. If you ask such a student how he finds time for study, he will invariably tell you that he has learred to organize or schedule his time. Having so many things to do forces him to allot a certain amount of time for, each activity. Regardless of how busy you are. planning is likely to improve your efficiency.
In preparing a schedule. you should list all the activities of the day whether class lecture, laboratory. students' activities. outside work, recreation, ;neals, or just plain loafing. In setting aside times for study, make them as specific as possible. Don't, for example, set aside two hours all Tuesday evening for studying; make it a time for studying a specific subject. Also, schedule a study period for a particular class as close to the class period as possible. The amount of time you give to a subject depend on individual circumstance. If yeu know that a subject is difficult for you, you will naturally schedule more time to study for it. These time allotments may, of course, change, depending on your experience with the schedule. You may find that preparation for an economics course requires more time than you had estimated, and that an English course requires less time. Make the change, but then stick to it until further experience tells how it is working out.
