Setting up the planner
- Choose the pages you want. The study schedule, assignment tracker, exam overview and term overview are on at the start; the study session log is one tap away.
- Type your subjects, one per line. Each gets a small shape in the key of the schedule, and the same shape and name fill the first rows of the term overview.
- Set the hours of your schedule from the start of your first class to the time you stop studying, pick 7 days or Monday to Friday, and the day your week starts on.
- Download the PDF and print it at 100 % or actual size. Print a new schedule page each week.
Blocking study time in the schedule
Start with what does not move: classes, labs, work shifts, practice and travel. Write them into their hours first. The solid lines mark full hours and the dashed lines the half hours, so a class from 9:30 to 10:45 starts on a dashed line and ends halfway between the 10:30 line and the 11 o'clock line.
Then look for the gaps and turn some of them into study blocks. Draw a box around the time, write what you will work on inside it and add the subject's shape from the key in a corner. A block called "Biology, read chapter 4" is easier to start than one called "study". Spread each subject over the week and leave some free space for what runs late.
At the end of the week, count the shapes. A subject you are behind in with only a few blocks is the first thing to change on next week's page. Write two or three concrete aims in the goals box and copy anything due that week into the box next to it.
Breaking assignments into steps
Copy every assignment into the tracker as soon as you get it, with the subject and the due date. Circle H, M or L for the priority. A large project due in three weeks can be H today, because it needs an early start.
For a big piece of work, use the steps table at the bottom of the page. Write the assignment and its due date on the line above it, then list the parts in the order you will do them: find sources, make an outline, write a first draft, revise, check the formatting. Give each step a Do by date ahead of the real deadline and copy the steps into study blocks on your schedule. Tick Done in the tracker when the work is handed in.
Planning exam review backwards from the date
As soon as an exam or test date is known, put it on the exam page with the time, the room and the topics it covers. If you are not sure which chapters or units are included, ask your teacher.
Then fill in the review plan from the bottom up. Write the exam and its date at the top. In the last row put the day before the exam and keep that day light, such as a final look over your notes. Work upward toward today, giving each row a date and one task: reread a chapter, rewrite your notes for a unit, work through practice questions. If you run out of days before you run out of topics, you know it now, while there is still time to change the plan.
The three boxes in each exam row track your progress: Reviewed when you have been through the material, Practiced when you have answered questions on it, Ready when you feel prepared.
Using the study session log
Switch on the log if you want a record of what you actually did, not only what you planned. After each session, write the date, the subject, how many minutes you worked and a few words about what you did, then circle a number from 1 for a hard session to 5 for a good one. Add up the minutes column at the end of the week and write the sum in the Total box.
After a few weeks the log shows patterns, such as a time of day that often gets a low number or a subject that keeps taking longer than planned. Use them when you block time on the next schedule.
Tools and templates that go with it
The focus timer runs focus sessions and breaks in a loop, 25 and 5 minutes by default with a longer break after every fourth round, and each length can be changed to fit your study blocks. The flashcard maker lets you type or paste cards, study them with flip and shuffle, repeat the ones you missed and print them as cut-out cards, all in your browser.
For grades, the final grade calculator works out the score you need on the final exam from your current grade, how much the final counts and the class grade you want. The GPA calculator turns letter grades and credits into your unweighted and weighted GPA, with extra points for honors, AP and IB classes, and also gives your cumulative GPA.
For the rest of your week, the weekly planner has a box for every day with priorities, a to-do list and notes, and the daily planner gives each day its own page with an hourly schedule. The habit tracker has a tick box for every day of the month, for a routine such as daily vocabulary.
Frequently asked questions
Is the study planner free?
Yes. Print a fresh schedule every week and new trackers every term, as often as you need, at home or for a whole class. There is no signup and no watermark, only a small line with our web address at the foot of each page.
Do I have to type in my subjects?
No. With the box left empty, the key on the schedule and the subject rows of the term overview print with blank lines, so you can write your classes in by hand. If you do type them, put one subject per line, up to 8. Each one gets its own small shape, and the same shape stands next to it on the schedule and in the term overview.
What are the shapes next to the subjects for?
They give every subject a mark you can copy by hand: a filled or an empty circle, square, triangle or diamond. Draw the mark in the corner of a study block on the schedule and you can see at a glance how the week is shared out between your subjects, even on a black and white printout.
Can I change the hours of the schedule?
Yes. The schedule can start at any full hour from 6 am to 12 pm and end at any hour from 4 pm to midnight. Every hour gets a row with a dashed line at the half hour, and the rows share the full height of the grid, so a shorter range gives you taller rows with more room to write. The labels follow the time format of your browser, and you can switch between 12 hour and 24 hour labels.
Can I leave out pages?
Yes. Under Pages to include, tap a page to switch it off or on. The study session log is off at the start; switch it on if you want to keep a record of your sessions. At least one page stays in the file, and the page numbers at the bottom adjust.
Why are some characters missing from my subjects?
The PDF uses a standard font that covers English and most Western European letters, but no emoji and no other scripts such as Greek, Cyrillic or Chinese. Those characters are left out, a few rare accented letters lose the accent, and a note under the fields tells you when that happens. The preview shows the text exactly as it will print.