Know How To Plan
How much time do I have?
Your revision timetable must be realistic and flexible. First grab:
- A diary, homework diary or, even better, fire up Outlook on your PC
- All your class notes, or the relevant Letts Success Guides, to make sure you’re aware of every topic for every subject you need to revise
Find the time
- How many days until the first exam (A weekdays, B Saturdays, C Sundays)?
- How many study hours in the average weekday (L hours), Saturday (M hours) and Sunday (N hours)?
- How much time is not available (X hours)?
- How many subjects are you studying (Y subjects)?
- And how many topics per subject (Z topics)?
(AxL) + (BxM) + (CxN) – X = R (your revision time)
Allocate the time
- Deduct 5-10% of R to leave yourself a safety margin
- Write down each topic (Z) for each subject you’re studying (Y)
- Your average time per topic is R/(YxZ) but allow more time for your weaker topics, less for your stronger ones
Why is forward planning important?
Stick with the programme
The secret of exam success is organisation: there’s a lot to get through but structure your revision, manage your time and you’ll reach your potential.
Once you have worked out how much time you have and where it needs to be spent, a Forward Planner is where that information is stored. It’s going to play a big part in your life between now and exam time.
Forward Planner
Many schools provide homework diaries with calendars, ‘To do’ lists and other time management tools. These make very handy Forward Planners.
A brighter Outlook
If you have a PC, you can use Outlook as your Forward Planner. When priorities change or dates need to be altered, these changes can easily be made in Outlook.
You can also programme in weekly and daily reminders so you know what you need to do as soon as you switch your computer on.
Use the time
Every Term
- Check your planner is up to date
- Identify pressure points – events etc. that may affect your workload and work out ways you can deal with them
- Establish your goals for the term
Every Week
- Check what you need to achieve each week, get an overview
- Draw up a weekly ‘To do’ list covering homework and revision
- Update your ‘To do’ list at the end of the day so you don’t lose track of what you’ve done and what’s still ‘To do’
Motivation is really important so when you complete everything on your weekly ‘To do’ list, reward yourself!