How to make a study plan, with a checklist to paste into Experto

In Brazil, October 15 is Teachers' Day, a good moment to remember advice almost everyone heard at school: a little studying every day beats pulling an all-nighter before the exam. To turn that advice into a routine, you need to know how to make a study plan: a goal and a date, weighted subjects, weeks split into blocks and reviews on set days.

Here's the step by step, with three lists ready to copy and paste into Experto. At the end, a way to keep up with your kids' homework without asking every night if it's done.

How to make a study plan in 5 steps

A study plan answers three questions: what to study, when to study and when to review. The five steps below cover all three, whether you're preparing for an entrance exam, a certification, college or a short course.

1. Set the goal and the date. Write down the goal and the day of the exam, the deadline or the end of the course. That date sets the pace for everything else.
2. Measure your real free time. For one week, note the hours left after classes, work, commuting and sleep. A plan built on the time you wish you had falls apart fast.
3. List the subjects and weigh each one. More hours for what shows up most on the exam and for what you know least.
4. Split the weeks into blocks. Each block has a start, an end and a single topic, like "Math: linear functions".
5. Schedule reviews and practice tests. Without a fixed time, reviewing is the first thing to vanish from the week.

The checklist to build your plan

The first list turns the five steps into tasks, each with an estimate of how long it takes. Create a list called Study plan in Experto and paste the block below into it.

Set the goal and the exam date
  The course, certification or score you want, and the exam day
Estimate: 30 min
Gather the exam content
  Official syllabus, exam guide or course outline
Estimate: 1 hour
Note your free time this week
  The hours you really have left, day by day
Estimate: 30 min
Weigh each subject
  More hours for what shows up most and what you know least
Estimate: 30 min
Build the blocks for week one
Estimate: 1 hour
Create the review list
  A list connected to itself, with a 1 week estimate
Estimate: 15 min

How do you paste it? Click Copy list, open the list in Experto and paste into the New item field, or press ⌘V on Mac or Ctrl+V on Windows with the list open. The Create several items window shows a preview, and you just click Create 6 items.

Each line becomes a task, and a line that starts with a space becomes the description of the task above it. The full rules are in the tutorial on how to paste multiple tasks at once.

Your weekly study schedule

A study schedule is your week built in blocks, each with a start and an end. In the example, the week of October 19 to 24, 2026, with one block per evening and a practice test on Saturday morning.

Math: linear functions
  Theory and the chapter exercises
Start: 10/19/2026 7:00 PM
End: 10/19/2026 9:00 PM
Reading: text comprehension
  Two passages from past exams
Start: 10/20/2026 7:00 PM
End: 10/20/2026 9:00 PM
Biology: cell structure
Start: 10/21/2026 7:00 PM
End: 10/21/2026 9:00 PM
History: the colonial period
Start: 10/22/2026 7:00 PM
End: 10/22/2026 9:00 PM
Practice test of the week
  A full past exam, timed
Start: 10/24/2026 9:00 AM
End: 10/24/2026 1:00 PM

Swap the subjects and dates for your own. You can do it right in the preview, before creating the items.

Missed a block? It turns red, and on Mac and Windows the tab on the edge of the screen lets you know right away. In the panel, the Due today filter shows only what's due today.

Reviews that come back on their own: your study routine

Reviewing at intervals works better than rereading everything the night before. In a review of ten study techniques published in 2013 in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, only two received a high utility rating: practice testing and spreading study out over time. Rereading and highlighting were among the low utility ones.

In Experto, reviewing becomes a routine with a list connected to itself:

1. Create a list called Reviews.
2. In the list settings, under Connected list, choose Reviews (this one, becomes a routine).
3. Under Estimate, choose 1 week.

Reviewed a topic? Complete it. It comes back open right away, due one week later, without you rescheduling anything.

Review: linear functions
  Redo the exercises I got wrong
Review: text comprehension
Review: cell structure
  One-page summary, without looking at the book
Review: the colonial period

The same idea works for anything that repeats, from the evening medicine to the monthly bill. The guide to daily, weekly and monthly routines has more examples.

Parents and kids: homework you follow in the app

Your kids can join as guests and check off their own homework, while you follow everything in the app. Guests are free, don't take a seat and see only their own tasks, as shown on the Experto for personal organization page.

To set it up, as the account admin:

1. In Administration › Account, switch on Turn on sub-accounts and, under Call them, pick Contacts.
2. In Manage contacts, click New contact and type your child's name. A list just for them is created along with it.
3. Open the contact and use Invite guest with your child's email. Each dependent signs in with their own email.

Paste the week's homework into their list, with due dates. They check off what's done, you're notified right away, and you can even follow along in the task app for iPhone.

Want to share more tasks with the kids? The same approach works in the kids' birthday party checklist.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours a day should I study?

It depends on the free time you measured in step 2 and how far away the exam is. A smaller plan you keep every day beats a huge one that stalls in the first week. Start with what fits and add more once the routine sticks.

How to make a study plan for a big exam?

Start with the official syllabus, which lists the subjects and the weight of each, and give more blocks to the heavier ones. To review at growing intervals, use three connected lists in a row: the study list passes to Review 1 with a 1 day estimate, Review 1 passes to Review 2 with 1 week, and Review 2 passes to Review 3 with 1 month.

Is Experto free for studying?

Yes, for you and one more person: free forever for up to 2 members, with every feature and no credit card. Your kids, as guests, don't pay anything either.

Now you know how to make a study plan, so it's time to put it into action. Create your free account, paste the first list and let Experto remind you of the next review.