At ICS Canada, we know school is important to you, but it's not the only thing you care about. Handling all the responsibilities that life throws your way isn't easy. That's why we've created tools and tips designed to help you find the time to study and keep your dreams alive.
The ICS Canada Study Planner can help you stay organized and on-track with your studies. Use it to create a customized study plan so you can finish your program when you want to, sync your study times into your calendars, track your progress, and set alerts for when your next exam is due. Use the Study Planner to set a study plan that works with your schedule and stick to it to reach your graduation goal!
Stop relying on your memory to remember your schedule. Get a schedule book or set up an online calendar — and be sure to sync the ICS Canada Study Planner with it. No matter what you plan to do (even meals and TV viewing), put it in your schedule.
You may find that you don't have large blocks of time to work. Learn how to use smaller time blocks. If you have an hour, study hard for 40 minutes and then stop. You have given yourself 20 minutes of leisure time and you finished 40 minutes of work. The ICS Canada program is available on your mobile device, so you can study and take exams while waiting at the doctor’s office, or while waiting for your child's soccer practice to end.
Prioritize what you need to do or want to accomplish. Identify how much time is required to realistically accomplish those tasks. Make sure that you don't work on low priority items until you have finished or can no longer work on the higher priority items.
Another tip is to do your least favorite work first and your most favorite work last. That way you always have something to look forward to that will keep you going.
How long can you really concentrate? Some students can concentrate for 3-4 hours without taking a break. Others can only concentrate for 30-50 minutes at a time. This also depends on the kind of work you are doing and how tired you are feeling.
Remember, it's not just how long you spend studying, it is also what you do with that time. If you are not concentrating and using effective learning strategies, you are not really studying.
Study when you are at your best. Don't study when it's convenient. "morning people" work better in the morning, while "night people" work better at night.
Use your best times for study times. Do other tasks (e.g., laundry, TV, errands) during your "down" times.
Adapted from the work of Claire Ellen Weinstein