SPARK: Student Papers and Academic Research Kit: Class Preparation

Let’s begin by creating a weekly calendar that will help you organize your time to complete your academic work.

A personal weekly calendar outlines your fixed commitments and your flexible activities. You will customize it according to your lifestyle to help identify how much time you have to prepare your assignments.

Begin now. Open and print the Weekly Schedule Template located in Resources.

1. Block off your scheduled class times for the week. Use a different colour for classes to identify them easily. 
2. Using a different colour, fill in any other preset commitments (e.g., part-time job, yoga class, study group meeting, travel time to and from school).
3. Identify any additional activities you need to maintain balance and health (e.g., exercise, hobbies, relaxation). Estimate the number of hours per day/week each of these requires and add them to your schedule.
4. Now you can see where the gaps are in your schedule that you should fill in with independent study time. The rule of thumb we use is that for every hour spent in class, you should allocate 2 hours outside of class for study time. For example, if you are taking four courses, you spend 12 hours a week in the classroom. Times that by 2, and you should be allocating 24 hours of independent study time each week. Schedule this into your weekly calendar using a different colour. 
5. Review a completed sample schedule below.

Class Preparation

Class preparation involves regularly dedicating time to complete readings, labs, group work and other class activities. A starting point is to block out at least one to two hours of preparation time for each hour you spend in class. Everyone is different, so adjust as you go.

1. Enter your class preparation time into your schedule.
2. Label each block of time by course name/number.
3. Review the completed personal academic schedule below containing fixed commitments, personal activities, and class preparation time. How does it compare to yours?

Sample Schedule

Notice in the sample schedule the addition of class preparation time.

• Classes
• Commuting time
• Part-time job
• Swimming
• Class preparation by course name/number

You may already feel like you have more control just by clarifying how you spend your time. You can also incorporate your weekly personal academic schedule into your yearly agenda or calendar, blocking off these times for the entire term. If you’re using an online calendar, such as Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook, use the recurring event feature.