Self Education Plan and Why You Need It

In a broad sense, self-education is learning something new on your own. In this article, we will tell you how to start self-education and how to make an individual plan of education for yourself. Self-education is one of the forms of education.

If you decide to graduate in the form of self-education or just want to pump up some skill, you will need an individual study plan for yourself. Without one, it’s hard to self-organize and easy to lose motivation.

Two Ways to Plan Your Self-Education

To do your self-education most effectively, and to keep yourself motivated, you will need a strategy to get closer to your goal. Below we will talk about two ways of planning, which you can use separately or in combination.

Self-Education Plan Based on Goals

In this case, the education is arranged based on the desired result, without a strict fixation on the dates. When implementing such a plan, you need to prioritize: do only what brings you closer to the goal, and discard everything that distances you from it.

In this way, the student can build an individual educational route and focus on the subjects that are most needed.

A Time-Based Plan for Self-Education

Achieving a goal here is connected to a deadline. For example: learn to write essays by December 1, solve 50 tasks by May 15, and so on.

To implement such a plan, you need a schedule where each subject will be given a certain amount of time. This is a very responsible task because not many students have time management skills, so often students have to buy evaluation essays, for example.

How to Make a Plan For Self-Education

Find Your Motivation

Find out why you need to study certain subjects. You need to get to the heart of your personal motivations. The educational itinerary should fill you with enthusiasm. If the intention is imposed by parents or friends, the plan will fail.

Ask yourself three questions:

Have you ever lost track of time in a major class?
Do you enjoy facing and solving challenging problems in your chosen field?
Would you like to associate your future with this field of study?

If you have at least two “yeses,” you’re on the right track – it’s time to make a plan for self-education.

Also Read: 5 Educational Technologies That Change Learning

Formulate a Goal

Before you write a self-education plan, arm yourself with a piece of paper or create an electronic file. Write out all the possible goals you’d like to achieve in an area that inspires you.

Set the resulting list aside for a few days. Then choose the goal that will open up the most opportunities for you. It should be ambitious, but not prohibitive. It will help you start learning for yourself and not quit halfway through.

Make a List of Resources for Self-Education

Resources are things that will help you reach your goal. For example:

Courses. Attend not only basic but also in-depth classes, be sure to do your homework.
Books. Make a list of the most important books in your chosen field and put them in your self-education plan. Read them one by one.
Instructors. At university, guys get help from teachers and classmates. It is great if they will share your interests and you will quickly find common ground.
Blogs and websites. Keep up with news and opinion leaders in your chosen field.
Conferences, workshops, internships, camps – be sure to add them to your self-education program. Take advantage of any opportunity to exchange experiences and gain practice.

Make a Daily Routine

Self-education is the Sun around which all other plans should revolve. Learning should be a priority.

Create a daily routine and stick to it in your self-education program. Make sure you master time management skills and learn how to manage your time properly.

Identify Learning Points

The learning process is long and sometimes tedious. More than once along the way, you may want to quit. To prevent this from happening, you need to set points of reference on which you will track your progress.

Suppose your goal is to become a programmer. Criteria in your self-education plan can be: the maximum number of points for a certain course, winning academic competitions, and for the year in computer science, and so on.

Track Your Self-Study Progress

You can track your progress using a diary or special apps (Degreed, Diigo, and others). Write down everything you studied, how much time it took, what results were obtained.

This will help you identify trends, understand your strengths and weaknesses, and adjust your behavior and self-education plan in time.

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