There are many schools of thought on how to use a student planner effectively. However, there’s one thing that most of us can agree on. Before you can focus on using your planner to help you excel in school, you need to find the right format for you. The good news is, this is simple once you know what to look for.
In this post, we’ll cover:
- What is an academic planner?
- What should be included in an academic planner?
- Types of student planners
- How to design your own student planner
Let’s jump in.
What Is an Academic Planner?
An academic planner is a tool that helps you organize your life, particularly around school. It can help you make sure that classwork and extracurricular activities are in balance so that you don’t get overwhelmed or burned out.
What Should Be Included in an Academic Planner?
Your academic planner is most effective when it sets you up for success. A good academic planner should include the following:
Your Schedule
Always know what classes you have and when. This is particularly important to pay attention to if you have a rotating schedule. Being late or missing class is an easy mistake to make if you meet on different days and times.
Assignments
No one wants to be stuck with hours of work to do at the last minute. Keep track of all your assignments and schedule them by noting them all in your planner. That way, you can space them out and do your best to avoid overwhelm.
Deadlines
Missing a deadline can wreak havoc on your progress in class and your grades. Mark down your deadlines as soon as you know what they are so you don’t miss your chance to turn in any critical assignments.
Reference Guides
If you tend to struggle with certain subjects, it’s wise to keep reference guides in your academic planner. This could be anything from a glossary of terms that come up often to math formulas you need to use. These pages can help you stay on track and give you the information you need at a glance, so you don’t have to go digging for it.
Aside from these three things, think about any other elements that are important to the way you complete your work as a student. You may need to include other elements in your planner or test out a few different things to make it work for you.
Types of Student Planners
You don’t have to take a one-size-fits-all approach to your academic planner. Instead, you can design your own student planner and customize it to fit your specific workload and needs.
Planners for High School Students
Planners in high school are all about keeping track of everything on your schedule. Include all of your classes and teachers so that you always have access to this information.
After that, you’ll want to make sure there’s lots of room to track your assignments and any small notes you may need. Planners are also a good place to list your goals, either in school or extracurricular activities.
Planners for Graduate Students
Graduate students have even more to navigate, from a strenuous school schedule to mounting life obligations. Use your planner as a space to keep track of your progress in class, and what other requirements you may need to complete your program.
Planners for Nursing Students
Nursing students should include many of the same things in their planners as others, but there are a few extra things worth adding. This may include things like a place to mark off specific times for studying or clinical hours.
Having everything down on paper will ensure that you can meet all your obligations.
Planners for Students with ADHD
If you have ADHD, one of the most important things you can do is tailor it to how you work so that you can more easily stay on task. This may mean including things like space for checklists and lots of notes.
You may also want to take more time to include what your plans are after school. This way, you’ll know exactly what you need to get done and when.
How to Design Your Own Student Planner
Once you understand what kind of planner you need, you’re ready to design your own. You can put the layout together yourself or find a template that speeds up the process.
How to Make an Academic Planner Using Shutterstock Create
Are you ready to design your own academic planner? Here’s how Shutterstock Create makes the entire process simple.
In Create, click Create new > Templates. Search “planner” in the Templates sidebar. Select your favorite template to preview it in the Editor. If you don’t see any templates you like in the results, try a more specific search and more templates will appear.
Click Images > Upload. Search and select stock images or upload your own. Customize further with graphics, effects, colors, and more.
Click Download on the top toolbar to export your masterpiece as a JPG or PNG.
Want to start from scratch? Just click Create New > Blank Canvas. Select from the Facebook templates listed, or type your own dimensions into the dimension boxes in the top-right corner of the blank canvas screen.
The best part about using digital tools to create your student planner is that you can make adjustments whenever the need comes up. For example, if you decide you want to be able to get a bird’s eye view of every month, just locate one of those planner pages.
In Shutterstock Create, you can log into your account, make changes to your existing project, or add new pages to print out for the planner you already have. The possibilities are endless.
Want even more planner ideas and inspiration before you jump into the design process? Read How to Make a Digital Planner You’ll Actually Want to Use next.
License this cover image mockup via ViDI Studio, Oksana Nazarova, and Bibadash.
