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[Sarkari-Naukri] Harish Sati, Planning study Schedule

Planning Study Schedule

A man who does not think and plan ahead will find trouble at his door.
—Confucius

The Importance of planning

Planned or unplanned activity makes a difference. Carrying out an activity by fits and starts, spasmodic and desultory dabbling never produces the same result as work carried on with a definite purpose and clear-cut lines.

If G.B. Shaw had not made it a strict rule to do first things first, he would probably have failed as a writer and might have remained a bank cashier all his life. His plan called for writing five pages each day. That plan and his dogged determination to carry it through saved him. That plan inspired him to go right on writing five pages a day for nine heart-breaking years, even though he made a total of only ... about a penny a day.

He snapped his fingers at circumstances and said, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them."

No magician ever pulled a rabbit out of a hat without carefully putting one there in the first place. No man can hope to arrive if he does not know whither he is going. He will be like a ship without a rudder, adrift at the mercy of wind and tide or of circumstances.

The difference between planned activity and unplanned activity is brought out crisply by Victor Hugo: "He who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life. The orderly arrangement of his time is like a ray of light which darts itself through all his occupations. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidents, all things lie huddled together in one chaos, which admits of neither distribution nor review."

The secret of success in any field of endeavour, including study lies in six magic words: PLAN YOUR WORK; WORK YOUR PLAN

How to plan your study-work?

In coping with any course of study make yourself (1) a long-term plan embracing the total time you have at your disposal; and (2) short-term plans, monthly, fortnightly, or weekly as may be convenient.

For making the long-term plan find out all about the syllabuses you have to cover, the text books and other material you must read and learn, the practical work you have to cover and other requirements which you have to satisfy. This long-term plan may have to be revised from time to time, but you should have an over-all picture of your study-work and the time-range of your plan.
The long-term plan may be split up into periodical short-term plans in which you can set yourself targets for important pieces of work.

Keep a record of the progress of your plans-in-action.

How to work your plans?

Your plans will work only if you work them. Give top priority to their implementation. Put your whole heart into them. Strive with both your body and mind towards hitting your targets.

Give each stage in your plans your undivided attention. Don't look farther than each stage, thereby following the example of the mountaineer who cuts steps in the ice, refusing to look up at the heights or down into the depths because the sight of either would terrify him.

A French sage remarks pertinently, "The fool thinks every thing is easy and comes in for many rude awakenings; the sluggard believes that all is impossible, and undertakes nothing; the good workman knows that great things are possible, and prudently, little by little, he accomplishes them."

The homely saying "Little by little and bit by bit" teaches patience and perseverance. Don't be discouraged by the size of the task you have to do. Stick to it and you will achieve success. The well-known fable of the hare and the tortoise teaches us that slow but sure, wins the race. The race was won by the slow tortoise, which plodded steadily on while the hare, over-confident of victory, took things too easily.

To persist you need the ability to turn a deaf ear to the remarks of other people. Some will tell you that you cannot succeed because you lack brains, brawn, skill, time and so on. Others will tempt you to leave work for more pleasurable occupations. Do what you have planned inspite of discouragement and temptations of others. Then the day will come quickly when you will have the satisfaction of reaching your goals and free time for pleasure while others are still dabbling, wobbling and struggling.

You never hear of quitters. They never attain success or happiness. They go through life leaving a trail of unfinished jobs—what can they possibly lead to but frustration and failure? A winner never quits; a quitter never wins. I

Frame a time-table: Indispensable need

For successful study a time-table is an indispensable need. As the old saying has it, what may be done at any time is done at no time. When you don't work to a time-table but work only when the fit is on you, your study will become spasmodic.

Advantages of a time-table
The advantages of a time-table are many: (i) The first advantage is the saving in time and effort. Without it you are likely to spend much time in decision—in making up your mind when and what to study. A lot of energy is uselessly consumed in trying to choose between alternatives and in screwing up your resolution to work. As William James has it, "There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual  but indecision."

(ii) The second advantage is the proper use of time. It is 'fatally easy' to fritter time away.  If you do not impose set hours on yourself, you are more likely to spend the time when you should be studying, in watching TV, reading a magazine,  conversing idly over cups of tea or in doing any of those hundred and one things which weak and irresolute persons are ready to do rather than buckle to work. If you have a time-table and mean to stick to it, "it has all the force of a law which must be obeyed, and in time adherence to it becomes effortless, and you begin to regard it as a natural part of your life."

(iii) The third advantage lies in the saving that comes from intelligent dovetailing of your various activities; in ensuring that you do each work at the best possible time; and eventually in the self-confidence and sense of competence which comes from regular daily work.

(iv) The fourth advantage is that a time-table is an antidote against procrastination. Procrastination—deferring things from day to day—wastes a lot of time and usually ends in nothing being done at all. Edward Young who coined the famous proverb 'Procrastination is the thief of time', also exhorts, "Be wise today; 'tis madness to defer."

(v) A time-table makes for efficiency. "A sense of the value of time", says Arnold Bennett, "that is, of the best way to divide one's time into one's various activities—is an essential preliminary to efficient work; it is the only method of avoiding hurry."

(vi) Finally, a carefully worked out time-table will help you to keep up to date, to form good study habits and to persevere.

How to frame a time-table?
In the light of psychological research, the following guidelines are suggested for making a time-table:

(1) A time-table is a guide. It is an aid, not a task-master. It must be flexible. It can be changed from time to time to meet present needs and exigencies.

(2) As much as possible use your day time hours for study.  During the day our attitude towards work is more positive, and as a rule, we have more energy and are less fatigued.

(3) Do not be too heroic: In order that you may live up to your time-table base it on a careful estimate of your capacity for work. A time-table that falls through has its disastrous aftermath. Fix a number of hours that you know to be within your powers.

(4) Having estimated the total amount of time to be given to study,  settle in what order these subjects should occur in your time-table bearing the following principles in mind:

(a) The more difficult subjects should come first and the easiest last.

(b) While the hardest subjects should generally come first and the easiest last, there is room for a certain alteration of the easy and the difficult. After a very hard subject a very easy one may be used as a kind of rest after the strain. But the alteration should be according to the different kinds of subject. For example, international law should be followed by sociology and mathematics by history.

(5) Introduce a variety of different kinds of tasks: spend some time reading, some writing, some on revision and so on. Follow a period of sociology with a period of geography. As Martin Rhodes observes, "Your mind responds to variety which prevents it from becoming stale and helps to keep it alert and lively."

(6) Have a target for each period of study, a fixed quota of work to get through, such as a chapter to read, an essay to write.

(7) Don't be overly rigid in the use of your time-table. If you cannot finish your target work at the exact moment when a new subject is due, don't stop when a few more moments might produce all the difference between complete and incomplete task.

(8) The length of the study periods to be devoted to each subject will depend upon the nature of the subject and your stage of advancement. Experts have suggested various periods (i) 40 minutes; (ii) 45 to 90 minutes and more. As a general rule 60 minutes forms a suitable average period of study for a subject.

(9) It is necessary to give equal time to your subjects. If you find a particular subject difficult allot more time to it than to others.

Rest Periods
Rest means abstinence of exertion or activity. There are optimum periods of work and rest for every task and for every individual. "The art of resting", says Andre Maurois, "is a part of the art of working." An individual who is tired and greatly in need of  rest cannot do any good work. The human organism cannot survive without alternating work and rest. Work produces fatigue; rest or recreation removes fatigue. Goethe said, "Repose is work's greatest achievement."

In the course of study, rest periods or breaks are essential and invaluable. Boredom, distractability, and dissatisfaction with work tend to set in after about two hours without a break.
The following guidelines on rest periods given by an eminent psychologist are commended:

During a session of continuous work on the same task, rest periods should be short in relation to the work period—of the order of 5 minutes  or so. If longer breaks are taken momentum will be lost and considerable effort needed before you become warmed up to the task again. A rest should be taken whenever you feel that you are slowing down and making errors.

A change in activity or posture during the rest are desirable, such as walking around the room, stretching your arms, etc.

Rest intervals between different tasks may well be longer—about 10 or 15 minutes. Then a short, brisk walk outside or some light refreshment, often serves to restore energies to their former level.
In general, it is sensible to take 15-minute breaks between tasks and smaller breaks in the course of a task.

Adhere to your time-table
Having drawn up your time-table, adhere to it. You must be ruthless and self-disciplined and permit only special circumstances to interfere with it:

  "See first that the design is wise and just,
  That ascertained, pursue it resolutely,
  Do not for one repulse forego the purpose
  That you resolved to effect."

George Stephenson, when addressing young men, was accustomed to sum up his best advice to them in the words, "Do as I have done—persevere."

If you want to reach your goal, you will have to give up your giving up and replace it with dogged perseverance. Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton once wrote: I hold to a doctrine, to which I owe not much, but all the little I ever had, namely, that with ordinary talent, and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.

Planning your work and working your plan will ensure your success. Make it a habit to work to your time-table. "Habit is a second nature! Habit is ten times nature", the Duke of Wellington is said to have exclaimed. Keep to this habit till you reach your goal. And don't ever be discouraged if every shot is not a bull's-eye.


--
with warm regards

Harish Sati
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068

(M) + 91 - 9990646343 | (E-mail) Harish.sati@gmail.com



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Author & Editor

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