One of the most challenging things for a student to do at any level is to create an effective study schedule while staying mindful of their health and wellness. It can feel impossible to balance your studies with your social life or career, but once you strike that balance, you’ll be well on your way to acing your exams and graduating at the top of your class!

Below we’ve compiled several tips and strategies to help you build an effective study schedule, while still being cognizant of your mental and physical well-being.

Use a planner

Using a planner is a great way to stay organized and on top of all your different assignments. If you write everything down, you can keep track of all your due dates, assignments, and important events all in one convenient place. A written schedule can also make it easier to find a balance between schoolwork and your daily life. 

With your schedule written out, you can find time to do get all of your work done and still be able to do the things that you enjoy, like going out with your friends or staying in and watching Netflix. 

Stay consistent

One important way to make sure you are following a healthy study schedule is by staying consistent. You should make sure you try to study around the same time every day, and for about the same amount of time — never more than two hours per subject!

This tip goes hand in hand with using a planner. If you use your planner, you should be able to find a couple of hours out of every day that you can devote to studying. Rather than studying at any random hour of the day, try to study at the same time to avoid overworking and to maximize how much information you can remember.

Consider Prep Courses

Depending on what you are studying for, prep courses can be an excellent way to add structure to your studies. For example, if you are studying for the CPA exam, you could find significant benefit in enrolling in a prep course through Becker or Wiley.

These types of prep companies offer highly structured courses for numerous college, graduate and professionals level exams. Prep courses can be especially helpful for those who struggle with time management. If your study materials are already broken up and organized into coursework, it can be easier to schedule your work for the rest of your day.

Prioritize

Let’s face it; some jobs are just more important than others at the end of the day, so you should make sure that you’re prioritizing tasks to get them all done to the best of your abilities.

If you have a challenging assignment that you know will take you hours to complete, and then a few other smaller assignments that might not be quite as hard, focus on the difficult task first so you can devote your energy to doing it well. 

Plan time for other activities

As much as you might want to spend your entire day studying with your nose in a book, it is good to get out and stop studying sometimes too!

If you have used your planner to help you schedule out your day, you should find that you have some free time to focus on you and your mental health. If you are getting frustrated and fed up with studying, take a break and come back to it later.

If you are well-rested and in a good mood, you will be much more productive and willing to work. Take a break now before you get tired of your work instead of later when you are already sick of studying.

Get moving!

This tip might not help so much with studying itself, but one important thing to remember to stay healthy during a long stretch of studying is that you need to take breaks here and there. It can be tiring to sit and stare at a computer screen all day, so make sure you schedule some time to get up and get out of the house!

Nobody can study forever, so avoid burning out by taking breaks ahead of time. Pay attention to the signs your body is giving you that you need a break and take some time to relax before you get tired. Staying well-rested will help you retain as much information as possible and will help you create a very efficient study schedule.

Conclusion

If you are having a tough time finding a balance between your schoolwork and your daily life, you are not alone! Time management is an extremely important skill to learn — it, unfortunately, happens to be a bit on the difficult side, though. Follow the steps outlined in this guide to help manage your time and ace your next exams!