How To Create A Calendar And Schedule

Hello all! Has adjusting to quarantine life been difficult? Everyone progresses at their own pace, but finding a way to create a calendar and schedule is one of the best ways you can keep yourself from falling into the trap of non structure during the quarantine! 

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to consistently force yourself to be productive, but having a structure can help you achieve your goals and create a new sense of productivity. This blog post covers how to create an efficient calendar and schedule for students! 

 

Where To Start

 

 I recommend using Google Calendar for all calendar making needs. It is great for color coding, categorizing your calendar into sections and for automatically sending yourself reminders to ensure you don’t forget anything in your everyday life! 

 

When you open Google Calendar, you’ll be met with a blank calendar like this.

 

 

When creating a calendar for yourself, the best way to start is to lay out all of the most important parts of your week. The most important aspects of your schedule that you should consider during this time is class, homework, work, clubs/organization, commuting and free time! 

 

Some great questions to get you started include: What classes do you have? And at what times? Do they meet biweekly or just once a week? Do you work? What times are your shifts? Do you work multiple jobs? How much time do you need to get your homework done weekly? 

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Creating New Calendars

 

Fig. 1

 

Click on the plus symbol to the right of “Other Calendars”. 

 

Click on “create new calendar” to move to the next section. 

 

Fig. 2

 

In Fig. 2, take note of some important factors. You can name your calendar, add a description to remind yourself of its purpose and even change the time zone. You can also share calendars within Google accounts to say updated with lots of events.

 

Categorizing The Essentials

In order to differentiate between classes, you can use the color coding feature!

 

 

Free Time

Now that most of the essentials are scheduled in, let’s consider free time. Free time is essential to keep your brain functioning normally, and to give yourself a needed break. This free time is up for grabs for whatever you’d like to do- working out, cooking, hanging out with friends, sleeping, anything! Most people have this time during the weekend, but it can also be during the week depending on your classes. 

 

Setting free time aside in your schedule is also great because it gives you an extra motivator to get your work done on time during the week! It is also helpful for reminding you of open time when you’re trying to schedule hangouts with friends. 

 

Schedule Tips 

 

Classes

• Though the amount of time you set aside for homework is up to you, remember that each of your classes in college take 3-5 hours of homework time per week. This can also be subjective depending on class and professor, but keep the average into account.  
• If you have time in your schedule to set aside for studying, try to keep it around 1-2 hours on average. This is a great amount of time that will keep your brain running, but won’t have you overwhelmed and frustrated. 
• Try to keep your study times consistent within your calendar. This will help you stay on schedule- and you’ll be feeling great about your progress!

 

Work

•  Always ask yourself if you have enough time in your schedule to accommodate for work. Though I understand for some students, that’s not always an option, it’s good to not wear yourself thin and to the point where you can’t do your best at work or in class. 
• If you are dedicating a lot of time to a work position and are falling behind on schoolwork, try and reduce your scheduled hours for the next quarter. If you’re aware of this problem early on in the quarter, sometimes you will be able to change your hours!

 

Free Time!

• Find things to do that are not class related! Relax, do some bucket list items, anything that you want to do! Remember this is also essential to your success as a human being. 

 

I hope that these tips helped to give you a better idea of structure and schedule. Good luck! You got this!