Importance of making and sticking to a timetable

Hyderabad: We’ve all done that as kids. Creating a timetable and dutifully filling in all the boxes with activities that we want to do after school, or studies. Theoretically speaking, a timetable helps us to keep track of our time and understand how we want to utilise it productively.

This is especially true for those preparing for tough competitive exams. So, if you’ve not done it already, this is a good time to set about making a timetable for the next few months and, most importantly, follow it through.

While aspirants feel that they have to study 12-16 hours a day, it may or may not be essential for everyone – especially if you’re able to study with focus and undivided attention for 6-8 hours and grasp everything.

Divide the day

A good way to begin is by dividing your day into 3 or 4 parts. Rather than dealing with the whole syllabus, it’s ideal to break it down into parts.

If you are attending coaching for the TSPSC exams, deduct the time you spend at the institution plus the commute time from the available personal study time and plan your day accordingly. Now, you can start thinking about how you want to spend the remaining hours. And this is what should go into the timetable, ideally!

Get practical

Don’t think you’ll spend 2-3 hours on each task / subject/ topic. Start with subjects and topics that you’re weak in and allocate more number of hours (ideally, half of your total study time) to those on a daily basis. Topics and subjects that you’re comfortable with and confident about can be given fewer hours in a week to brush up your knowledge. Now, start filling in the boxes for the hours and days with the activity you want to do. Just like the timetable in school, add slots for breaks as well. Each hour can be divided into 45-50 minutes of study and 10-15 minutes break.

Add some colour

Colour coding the topic/subject or the hour, when filling in the details, will make it more motivating. Place the timetable at a prominent place – you can paste it on your wardrobe, or the wall in front of your study desk, or on the fridge – where you can see it immediately. The other tip is to use a bright colour to either cross the box or put a tick mark against the activity/ topic you’re done with.

Be accountable

Ensure that at least one-third of your day is spent this way. Using a timetable and following it diligently will help reduce stress and panic. It will be your practical guide on how you’re doing on any particular day or time and how far you have progressed.