Who wants to spend all their time studying? Get your life back – organise your study time to make it work for you!

Work out a timetable for yourself and you’ll be able to fit in study around the rest of your life. You can’t avoid your life and you have to continue to live it.

First schedule when you will study:

• Work out how many demands are on your time: school, eating, tidying your room, time with family and friends, football practice etc.
• Fit in study time: work out how long you can spend and at what times. Click here to download a sample schedule template.
• Adapt to your own preference: you may spend three hours studying all at one sitting or you could try scheduling short spurts of studying: a half hour or hour at a time if that suits better.
• Plan on a timetable or to-do list what you want to get done: have a list or timetable and stick to it as best you can. Roughly work out how long each task might take. Click here to download a sample timetable and to-do list template.
• Be aware of key dates: know when you will need to be prepared for things like mock exams, orals and aurals and work backwards to schedule enough time.

Next make the most of your time:

• Set daily and weekly goals: decide what you want to get done each day and each week. This will keep you focused and striving to achieve your goals.
• Study in 45-minute blocks: it’s hard to concentrate past that.
• Take 5 – 10 minute breaks: the break will help your concentration and stop the boredom.
• Review work completed: when you get back from the break review what you just learned.
• Switch subjects or tasks: try to change things up. You’ll get bored otherwise.
• Prioritise tasks: do the most urgent stuff first.
• Leave the best for last: do the crap subject first and get it out of the way. Then you’ll have your favourite to look forward to.
• Be flexible: monitor your progress and if things aren’t working for you change them. You can do that!
• Build in revision time: keep going back over what you learn to reinforce it.

For more study tips, read Shortcuts to Success: Study and Exam Skills for Leaving Certificate by Irene Togher.