Recurring Calendar Events & Academic Planning

Think about your weekly schedule. Do you have classes that meet at the same time every Monday, or maybe every Monday and Wednesday? Maybe a regular team practice every Tuesday? Or a weekly meeting for a club?

These are what we call recurring events. They happen over and over again, following a pattern. Instead of adding each one separately to your calendar every single week, your digital calendar has a smart feature for this.

Setting It Once, Seeing It Forever

The best thing about recurring events is that you only have to set them up one time. You tell your calendar when the event happens, how often it repeats (every day, every week, every other week), and when it stops (like at the end of the semester). Then, your calendar fills in all those dates for you, automatically. This saves a huge amount of time and makes sure you do not accidentally miss a single class or regular meeting.

Making Your Schedule Efficient

Using recurring events makes your calendar much more efficient.

• Saves time: You avoid typing in the same information repeatedly.
• Reduces errors: No more forgetting to add a class on a specific Tuesday.
• Clear overview: Your regular schedule is immediately visible, week after week.
• Consistency: It helps build good habits by keeping your regular commitments front and center.

For students, this means your entire class schedule can be put into your calendar in minutes.

You can also add regular study group meetings, work shifts, or any other activity that happens at the same time on a repeating basis. It is about automating the predictable parts of your life so you can focus on the unexpected.

This trick isn’t just for students. As a faculty, I spend a few minutes at the beginning of every term, putting my class schedule into my personal and professional calendar. I then share this information with others (which we’ll show in the future) with people who need to see this information.

Beyond Fixed Appointments: Time Blocking

Your calendar is not just for things you have to do, like classes or appointments. It is also a powerful tool for planning the things you need to do, like homework, studying, or working on a big project.

This idea is called time blocking. It means you intentionally set aside specific blocks of time in your calendar for certain tasks.

Why Time Blocking Works for Students

Many students struggle with finding time for deep work, like writing an essay or preparing for an exam. They might wait until the last minute or feel overwhelmed by a long to-do list.

Time blocking helps you:

• Prioritize: You decide what is important and dedicate time to it.
• Focus: When you have a “study math” block, you know exactly what you should be doing during that time. This helps you avoid distractions.
• Be Realistic: By scheduling time for tasks, you get a clearer idea of how much free time you actually have.
• Avoid Procrastination: When a specific time slot is set for “work on history paper,” you are more likely to start it. It becomes an appointment with yourself.

For instance, if you know you have a big biology test coming up, you could block out two hours every evening for “Biology Study” on your calendar. This makes studying a scheduled part of your day, not just something you hope to get to.

Managing Assignments and Deadlines

One of the biggest challenges for students is keeping track of all their assignments and their due dates. This is where your calendar can become an invaluable assignment tracker. Instead of relying on scraps of paper or just remembering, you can put every assignment into your calendar.

How to Calendar Your Assignments

Calendaring your assignments can be quite difficult if you don’t have a plan. Luckily, I’m giving you a sample plan you can use below to make calendaring your assignments easier.

• Create an event for each assignment: Make a new calendar event for every major assignment, paper, or project.
• Use the due date: Set the event for the day the assignment is due. You can make it an “all-day event” if it does not have a specific time.
• Add details: In the event description, include everything you need to know:
  • What the assignment is (e.g., “English Essay #1”).
  • The topic or prompt.
  • Any specific instructions or requirements.
  • Links to readings or assignment guidelines.
  • How long you think it will take.
• Set reminders: Set reminders for the assignment event. You might want one a week before the due date, and another two days before, to make sure you are on track.
• Break down big projects: For a very large project, create smaller time blocks or events for each part of the project. For example, “Research for Bio Project,” “Outline for Bio Project,” “Draft Bio Project.”

By putting your assignments directly into your calendar, you are not just listing them; you are actively placing them within your schedule. This helps you see how they fit with your classes, work, and other commitments. It makes sure that a due date never sneaks up on you.

The Bigger Picture of Academic Planning

When you combine recurring events for your classes and regular activities with time blocking for studying and specific assignment deadlines, your calendar becomes a powerful academic planning tool. You gain a complete overview of your academic workload. This allows you to:

• Spot busy periods: See when you have multiple assignments due or heavy exam weeks.
• Distribute your workload: Spread out your study time and project work so you are not doing everything at the last minute.
• Plan ahead: If you see a tough week coming up, you can start working on assignments earlier.
• Maintain balance: Make sure you are also scheduling time for self-care, exercise, and social activities.

Effective academic planning using your calendar can significantly improve your grades and reduce your stress levels. It moves you from reacting to deadlines to proactively managing your learning journey. This proactive approach is a hallmark of successful students.

But don’t think this is only going to help you in school. This skill will help you wherever you go after school as well. I’ve worked with brilliant individuals who had a hard time looking good at work, because they didn’t learn how to manager their time and schedule events. I’m also met others who mastered time management skills, and were able to push further along because they could be relied upon to get their projects done on time.

Next up, we’re going to look at how to look at your calendar. Not just from a to-do list for today, but Visualizing Your Week.

Recurring Calendar Events & Academic Planning was originally found on Access 2 Learn