5-Day Study Plan

Following the 5-Day Study Plan will help you organize your study materials and spread out your study sessions in a way that maximizes your learning potential and prepares you for success on your exams.

Key Concepts of the 5-Day Study Plan

• Preparation: Figure out what you need to know
• Review: Make sure you know it
• Switch it up: Start in advance and switch between preparation and review

How to Create a 5 Day Study Plan

Step 1: Space out your exam preparation over a period of at least 5 days, devoting up to 2 hours each day to studying.

Step 2: Divide your materials into 4 or more sections or chunks (e.g. by chapter, topic, lecture, etc.). Each chunk of information will be either prepared or reviewed in a study session. In the example below, the chunks will be named A, B, C, and D. Chunk A might be Chapters 1-2, Chunk B is Chapter 3, etc.

Step 3: In each study session, prepare a new section of materials (say, Chunk B), followed by a review of what you studied the previous day (Chunk A, for example).

Step 4: Use study strategies to prepare and review study materials.

Step 5: Test yourself by attempting to recall information from memory. Try using flash cards.

Sample 5-Day Study Plan

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
Prepare Chunk A: 1-1.5 hours*	Prepare Chunk B: 1-1.5 hours	Prepare Chunk C: 1-1.5 hours	Prepare Chunk D: 1 hour
	Review Chunk A: 30 minutes	Review Chunk B: 30 minutes	Review Chunk C: 30 minutes	Review Chunk D: 25 minutes
		Review Chunk A: 15 minutes	Review Chunk B: 15 minutes	Review Chunk C: 15 minutes
			Review Chunk A: 15 minutes	Review Chunk B: 10 minutes
				Review Chunk A: 10 minutes
				Self-test on all chunks: 1 hour

*Use the Pomodoro Technique to give yourself breaks during your study sessions.