What the Research Says About the Comprehensive Calendar:

Did you know that…

Making a master calendar of all of you course assignments at the start of the semester can help you stay on top of everything better.

Researchers helped a group of university students make and then try out a “comprehensive calendar” of all of their assignments at the start of the year.  Students were thought to be more organized at staying on top of their assignments and learned to be more realistic about how long assignments actually took. 

Here is how the comprehensive calendar works.

• During the first week of the semester, students made a table on notebook paper    (you could use a computer or an excel spreadsheet).  The first column listed the actual dates of the semester.  Then a column was made for each of the students classes, the researchers suggested color coding these. All the daily assignments, projects, papers and tests were then listed in the table.  The comprehensive calendar looked like this:

• Then once a week, students used their comprehensive calendar to layout a schedule for completing each task.  They estimated how long it would take to do the assignments and put them into their daily schedule.
• Students were asked to keep a record in their calendar of whether they did what they planned and how long it took.
• When they planned for the next week, they were encouraged to use what they were learning about how long assignments took to make a more accurate plan.

The researchers reported that having a comprehensive calendar, while a bit time consuming to make in the beginning, helped them be more organized and be able to see their busy times before they happened. Students became better at estimating how long they really need to do assignments.

How can you use the idea of making a comprehensive calendar this semester?

• If making one for the year sounds overwhelming, what about making one for smaller periods:  like from the start of school until fall or spring break? Or a month at a time?
• What about making a modified comprehensive calendar and just listing the dates of all big tests, projects and assignments in a table or on a semester calendar (see ASP website for copies?
• Considering telling a friend about this idea and coaching each other to follow the steps used in the study.
• Consider working with a staff member at the Learning Center to have support in making and using a comprehensive calendar.

Hildreth, Bertina L. (1995). The comprehensive calendar: an organizational tool for college students with learning disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 30, 306-308.