Getting started

When I embarked on my Master's degree in 2002 I planned... when I trained for my first marathon in 2013 I planned... when I registered for the DipWSET in 2022 and only gave myself 1 year to complete it what did I do? I planned.. and today as I climb up the challenging steep mountain that is the Master of Wine program, well you guest it I planned, I am planning and I will continue to finetune my plan.

Here are the 5 steps to creating a study plan:

Step 1: time, you must identify how much time you really have

how long the program/course you are studying for x how many hours a week you truly allocate 

for example: 12 weeks between the moment a course starts and the day you sit the exam, looking at your schedule you know you can study 5 hours a week that would be a total of 60 hours

you need to allow for 1 week of downtime, 1 week of taper time pre exam, and 1 week allocated to mock exam

so realistically you have 9 weeks,

Step 2: what's the expectation? how will you be assessed? what are the examiners looking for?

go take a look at past exam questions,

read the syllabus,

read the examiner report,

you must identify the key knowledge pillars and skills that you are required to demonstrate at the exam

Step 3: know yourself, do you know what your strengths and weaknesses are?

based on the course & exam requirements what do you think you will be good at and what do you foresee as being more challenging?

the goal is to convert your weaknesses into strengths and your strengths into superpowers

identify short term objectives and milestones to hit so you can track progress

Step 4: allocate time & resources

list out the resources you have access to (websites, memberships, coursework, teachers, co-workers, books etc.)

against each item of the syllabus copy paste 1 or 2 exam questions, 1 or 2 sources of education, determine if that area is a strength or a weakness and allocate how much time in % of total study time available you can allocate to that topic

Step 5: schedule

now take your calendar/scheduler and timeblock the moments you will study along with the item from the syllabus you will study

remember to also include days off, weeks off, mock exam & feedback week, pre exam taper week

Bonus tip:

remain realistic

best to overestimate how much time things take than underestimate

be honest with yourself

keep evaluating

be flexible and adaptable

Good luck! If you need help and would like to schedule a custom study planning consultation session contact me on sb@stephbwine.com