Making a weekly plan
First put in what is fixed in your week, then find the free bits and plan short study blocks there. Keep some evenings free too.
Why
Bram has football on Monday, music school on Wednesday and youth club on Saturday. So when is he supposed to study?
A week feels big, until you see how much is already fixed. If you keep it all in your head, you often only notice on Thursday evening that there is no free evening left.
A weekly plan makes that visible. You see at a glance where the gaps are, and you can plan studying at moments when you really have the time and energy for it.
And it works the other way round too: what is on paper, you no longer have to remember. That gives your head some peace, also on your free evening.
See it
A week grid from Monday to Sunday, with afternoon and evening. The fixed things are already in. Tap squares to place study blocks and see how many free evenings are left.
Description of the picture
A grid with seven columns for Monday to Sunday and two rows for afternoon and evening. Sport, music school and youth club are already filled in. You tap squares to place study blocks, and the picture counts the study blocks and the free evenings.
Get it
Start with what is fixed: school, sport, music school, youth club, a visit to your grandparents. Put that in your grid first.
Then look at your tasks and tests for the week. Plan study blocks in the free bits, preferably short and spread out. Twice a quarter of an hour on different days works better than half an hour in one go just before the test.
A study block is a fixed piece of work, for example 25 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of break. That way you know exactly how many blocks fit into a free hour.
Leave some gaps open too. A free evening is not wasted time: you need rest, and if something runs late, you can shift things.
First what is fixed, then short study blocks in the gaps, and keep a few free moments every week.
Worked example
Mira gets home on Wednesday at 16:00. At 17:30 she leaves for music school. She first takes a 20 minute break. How many blocks of 25 minutes, with 5 minutes of break between them, still fit in?
From 16:00 to 17:30 is 90 minutes. After the break, this is left:
$90−
20= 70$ Two blocks with one break between them:
$25+
5+ 25= 55$ A third block would take too much:
$55+
5+ 25= 85$ - Answer
2 blocks.
Do it
Choose a level. You get a new exercise every time, checked on the spot.
Do it tomorrow
Tomorrow after school, take five minutes to look at your week. First write down what is fixed, then put two short study blocks in the gaps. Leave the note somewhere you see it every day.
One small habit. Try it for a week and see what it does.
Pitfalls
Wrong: I plan three hours of study every evening.
You cannot keep up a plan that is too full. After a few days you throw it away, and then you have nothing at all.
Right: Plan short blocks you can manage, and keep some evenings free.
Wrong: I will remember when I have to do what.
Your head already has enough to do. Everything you have to remember takes attention and makes you feel restless.
Right: Write it in your planner, so your head can let go of it.
Wrong: After training I will quickly study a bit more.
After sport or a long day you are often tired, and then focused studying works less well.
Right: Plan the hardest work for a moment when you are fresh, and something light after training.
In real life
- Looking at your week for five minutes on Sunday evening, with your school planner beside you, saves a lot of stress on Thursday.
- If you are free on Wednesday afternoon, you can plan a longer block there, for example for a project.
- Ten minutes of French words in Toer on Monday, Wednesday and Friday does more than half an hour on Thursday evening.
At the table
What is already fixed for our family this week, and which evening do we keep free together?
A question to talk about together, for parents and children. There is no wrong answer.