Short answer
Step 1. Write down every exam date
A timetable is a plan for the time between today and your exams, so you need the end points first. Get your personal exam timetable from your school or college and write down the date of every paper, not just every subject. Many subjects have two or three papers on different days.
If your exams are GCSEs, A levels or AP Exams in 2027, the official dates are collected in our guides to GCSE and A level exam dates 2027 and AP Exam dates 2027.
Then count the weeks from now to your first paper and to your last. Weeks are a more useful unit than days when you are dividing time between subjects.
Step 2. List what each paper covers
The NHS puts it simply: work out how much you have to do and the time you have to do it in, then break it down into manageable chunks.
For each paper, list its topics. Your specification, course outline or a past paper will show what can come up. The University of Reading's Study Advice team suggests looking at past papers early to see how many questions you will have to answer and what they look like.
Next to each topic, mark how confident you feel: green for solid, amber for shaky, red for "I don't really get this." Reading's advice is that you will probably need to give more time to topics you are less confident in, however tempting it is to stick to the ones you like.
Counts down to each exam on a home-screen widget, with reminders on the days and times you choose.
Get it on Google PlayExam Countdown does not build the timetable for you. What it does is keep the days left to each exam on your home screen with a free widget, so you always know how many weeks your plan has to cover. You add each exam with its date, and set reminders for exam day or any number of days before, at the time you choose. The free version holds 5 countdowns; Pro removes ads and makes them unlimited.
Step 3. Decide how many blocks you have each week
Before filling in subjects, work out how much time you actually have. Block out school or college hours, travel, work shifts, meals, sport and anything else fixed. What is left is your revision time.
Reading's guide suggests deciding on your most alert time of day and committing to fixed revision sessions at that time, so you do not waste time deciding when to start. The NHS suggests aiming for a few hours of revision each day. How long each sitting should be, and how many you can manage, is covered in how many hours a day should I revise.
Keep time free on purpose. Reading recommends keeping at least one day free for relaxation in a revision week, and building in "wiggle time" so you can reorganise when something unexpected happens.
Step 4. Spread and rotate subjects
This is where most timetables go wrong. It feels tidy to finish one subject and then move to the next, but the evidence points the other way.
- Spread each subject across the weeks. A review of ten common learning techniques, published by the Association for Psychological Science, rated distributed practice, spacing study sessions out over time, as high utility. UNC Chapel Hill's Learning Center gives the same advice: short sessions on each subject over several days and weeks, rather than marathon sessions.
- Rotate subjects within a day or week. Reading advises against revising one whole paper before going on to the next, because swapping subjects regularly helps you make connections. It also suggests at least one study block for each paper every week, so no paper gets forgotten.
- Put red topics in your best slots. Use your most alert time for the topics you find hardest.
A simple way to fill the grid is to cycle through your subjects in order, then go back and swap a few slots so weaker subjects appear more often.
Step 5. Decide what you will do in each slot
A slot that just says "Biology" is easy to waste. Give each one a task you can finish and tick off. Reading recommends a list of achievable targets for each session.
Good tasks are active ones. The APS review rated practice testing as high utility, and rereading and highlighting as low utility. UNC makes the same point: reading is not studying, and active work such as making your own quiz, explaining a topic aloud or working problems is what helps you learn. So a slot might read:
- "Biology, cell transport. Answer 10 past paper questions, mark them."
- "History, causes topic. Write a one-page summary from memory, then check."
- "Maths. Redo the questions I got wrong last week."
As exams get closer, shift more slots to timed past papers. The NHS recommends practising exam papers in the set time limit, and Reading suggests writing timed answers by hand without notes.
Step 6. Add breaks and rewards
The NHS advises regular short breaks and says studying for hours and hours will only make you tired and ruin your concentration. YoungMinds says rest is productive, and that taking a break is just as important as revising. Put breaks into the timetable as real entries, along with exercise and time with friends, so they do not feel like slacking off.
Step 7. Review it every week
Your first version will be wrong somewhere. That is normal. YoungMinds advises being real about what you can do in a day: if your plan feels like a mountain, change it. A weekly check takes ten minutes:
- Which slots did you actually do?
- Which topics have moved from red to amber or green?
- Which papers are coming up soonest?
Move the next week's slots to match. If you keep missing the same session, the session is in the wrong place, not proof you are lazy.
Paper, spreadsheet or app
The format matters less than using it. Excel, Google Sheets, Notion and Word all work, since a revision timetable is just a grid of days and slots. A printed grid on the wall is fine too. Choose whatever you will look at every day, and keep your exam dates somewhere you see without opening anything.
A quick checklist
- Every paper and its date is written down
- Topics are listed and marked by confidence
- Weaker topics get more slots
- Each subject appears every week
- Each slot has a specific, active task
- Breaks and at least one free day are in the plan
- There is spare time for things going wrong
- You review it once a week
If the plan starts to make you anxious rather than calmer, see how to deal with exam stress.
