Can you juggle academic routine, project deadlines, after-school activities, and more while blindfolded? It might sound like a recipe for disaster, but it is precisely how many students navigate their academic journey. When every activity is isolated and not woven together for a meaningful bigger picture, it is expected to scramble frantically at the last moment for almost every exam fuelled by anxiety and stress. We at Excelsior American School, ranked among the Top schools in Gurgaon, spoke to numerous students to dive deeper into the root cause of these problems and found one common culprit – a lack of robust planning skills.
It might appear like an ordinary ability but is the hidden key to success. Strong planning skills can help students remove the blindfolded chaos and create a clear, purposeful, and organized roadmap to unlock their highest potential. If you’re wondering how mere planning skills hold so much power, the following points will give you better clarity.
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Better Time Management
Strong planning skills help students manage their time effectively, supporting a balanced routine. If students have too much on their plate, being intentional about their time can benefit them in every area of their life. For example, they can use their planning skills to allocate adequate time to study, attend online classes/tuition, do homework, practice a hobby, partake in leisure activities, and more, ensuring they don’t miss out on anything important.
This organizational approach enables students to engage better with their learning material to better understand, absorb, and retain the information, instead of gaining surface-level information on any topic.
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Purpose-Driven Goal Setting
We at Excelsior American School firmly believe that goal setting is a crucial aspect of strong planning. Students can leverage it to get a clear sense of direction in their academic journey. They can begin by establishing short and long-term goals that act as motivational milestones that keep students marching forward. For instance, if students want to score distinction in all subjects in the upcoming exam, they must set realistic goals around their study routine, effort, and study hours.
As they keep achieving those goals, they will experience a sense of accomplishment that will encourage them to continue following the next-in-line action plan outlined for the subsequent goal. This approach helps students focus more on the learning stage instead of the final outcome, significantly improving their learning experiences.
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Effective Task Prioritization
Strong planning skills are intertwined with task prioritization capabilities. So, if a student has incredible planning skills, he/she is more likely to be naturally good at task prioritization based on importance and deadlines. It enables students to focus on challenging topics early on, finishing assignments before the deadline, etc., while fostering a deeper understanding of the undertaken topic.
We encourage all our students to develop strong planning skills because we believe it will teach them how to focus on relevant, high-priority tasks without feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and stressed. The ability to prioritize within a well-structured plan promotes a systematic and more organized approach to learning – the one that contributes to improved comprehension and overall academic success.
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Consistent Study Habits
Nothing beats consistency. As such, it should always be the core focus of any activity. We have seen that when students begin leveraging their planning skills to enrich their learning experiences, especially academic-driven ones, they find it easier to establish a consistent pattern of engagement with learning materials. This regularity reinforces the understanding and retention of concepts because they are revised systematically.
We also believe that consistency aids in forming effective habits that make learning a routine part of daily life. It results in encouraging students to stay on track, avoid delaying work because of procrastination, and sustain a steady pace of academic progress.
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Improved Adaptability
Contrary to the widely believed misconception, strong planning skills don’t promote creating a rigid framework. Instead, it requires individuals to create a flexible framework that can be tweaked swiftly based on the present scenario or gathered inputs or results from past processes. Students with strong planning skills always create adaptable frameworks that promote making informed adjustments to the study routine or approach.
It basically entails creating a well-designed plan with frequent self-assessment breaks. So, if a student is following a study approach that isn’t contributing to achieving the desired goal, they can modify it for tangible improvements. This flexibility ensures that students can easily adapt to the evolving academic landscape by refining their study techniques and addressing areas that demand heightened attention.
Conclusion
Everyone wants better control over their daily routine and overall approach to life, but only a few get to achieve it. This is especially true for students who try their best to enrich their learning experiences but often don’t get the opportunities to achieve it. In this regard, we at Excelsior American School, regarded as one of the best schools in Gurgaon, firmly believe that while there are numerous ways to overcome these challenges, developing strong planning skills stands out as the most viable option. Planning isn’t about merely organizing tasks but charting a well-defined roadmap to success. So work towards fostering and honing this invaluable skill and reap its benefits throughout life.
