One of the most common areas where students in the senior years fall down is not a lack of ability, but simply a lack of structure in their schedule. Students find themselves struggling during busy periods of revision and exams, and often forfeit all of their activities outside of school to focus on study, leading to unproductive behaviour, without realising they can build a schedule that accommodates all their needs.

Firstly, without a schedule, especially during the later years of school, students become unproductive and normally do not complete desired tasks over a specified period of time. They do not organise their time efficiently and will normally come to the end of a day thinking about how much time they spent at their desk compared to how much work they completed. An effective schedule will remove all of this and minimise stress at the same time, by creating a weekly plan that maps out when you will revise for specific subjects or complete certain homework. It makes a larger goal more tangible by breaking it down into smaller, achievable and manageable tasks.

A schedule builds consistency into a student’s routine, leading to continued improvement as the student will have more regular, focused practice.

One of the most important parts of having a schedule during the back end of high school is that it allows the student to manage academic commitments, with extracurricular activities, sports, social activities and downtime, providing piece of mind for the student that they are meeting all their needs, rather than simply giving up on all these activities and focusing on school, which will be detrimental to the student’s wellbeing as they will not distance themselves from academics.

Finally, a schedule will lead to accountability and a sense of fulfilment for the student by following it closely. Regarding the academic side of the schedule, it creates momentum and will fill the student with confidence/trust in their preparation, meaning they can walk into assessments knowing they left no stone unturned. This is extremely valuable when students get close to their final exams.

Ultimately, a thorough schedule will create greater productivity, consistency, variety and confidence for students, especially as they approach important milestones in their high school life.

Hayden McCarthy