Seton Home Study School Study Skills Online

The first step for any assignment is planning. If you have a report due on a certain date, or if you want to finish up a high school course by a certain date, the first step is to GET OUT YOUR CALENDAR and mark the date.

Count how many days or weeks you need to accomplish your goal. Be sure to NOT COUNT days you know you cannot work on your lessons, such as a wedding in the family, a day you need to work on a job, or a family event away from the house.

Count backwards from the date due to determine when you need to start the assignment. Be realistic. Give yourself an extra week for unforeseen events, such as being sick or taking care of someone in the family.

Now use your calendar to write down the days or weeks for the steps in the assignment. For instance, if you are doing a research report, put on your calendar a full week to just do research. You might even need two weeks depending on how long your report needs to be and how many references you need to have.

Remember that for a research report, you need to do note cards and bibliography cards, so give yourself the time on the calendar.

You can reduce your anxiety about a project if you do the necessary planning on your calendar, week by week, even day by day. However, you need to stay on the schedule you have planned. Tell yourself that if you fall behind, you will catch up on a weekend, on a Saturday or Sunday evening, perhaps. Do not allow yourself to fall behind on your scheduled plan.

        Next: Lesson 5.