Backwards planning for long term projects, and upcoming tests and quizzes works like this:
1. Start by writing down when the assignment is due, or when the test/quiz is. Write this in on the day it's due/ being given.
2. Count back the days you have to work on it; that is, count backwards from the due date to today.
3. Think about the amount of material you have to produce, or review to prepare for the test or quiz. Divide it into chunks that make sense for whatever the assignment it. For example, if you have a math quiz on chapter 1, sections 1-3 four days from now, maybe you chunk down the material into sections (one per night), then use the fourth night to review all of the sections together. If you have a first draft of a five-paragraph essay due three days from now, maybe you work on brainstorming and outlining tonight, writing the three body paragraphs tomorrow, and then writing the intro and conclusion the next night.
4. Write down EXACTLY what you will work on each night, and how you will "work on" it. Writing "study" in your planner doesn't really remind you of what you should be DOING to study. Instead, write down "make flashcards and play mix-and-match game with flashcards" or "make and complete an active practice on section 1."

The idea behind backwards planning is to get larger assignments or tasks done by attacking it in smaller and more manageable pieces, in the days leading up to a due date or an assessment date. Practicing backwards planning can help you to see a large assignment as more manageable, and it can also help you to not procrastinate on the work!


Estimating the amount of time each nightly assignment will take, and writing down that estimation, can help in two ways: first, it can be a goal to then complete the assignment in that amount of time, which may lead you to be more efficient and focused; second, it can help you to get an idea of when you should work on each task. For example, if you think that reading a chapter for English will take you about 20 minutes, and writing a response for History will take you about 30 minutes, and you know that you have only 20 minutes left before having to eat dinner, you could complete English in that amount of time rather than feeling interrupted when working on history. Also, generally speaking, the longer something is going to take, the more brainpower it is going to require. So, it's often a good idea to complete longer assignments before working on shorter ones.


Plan out the order in which you'll complete your assignments, before beginning them. Simply numbering assignments or subjects 1, 2, 3, ... can help you to feel like you have a road map to your nightly homework. Again, for most people, it works best to start with the most difficult assignments first, because that's when they have the most brainpower or mental energy. However, other students report that starting with something they like, or something that's relatively easy, works well because they feel like it's motivating and it gets them on a roll with their work, and gives them confidence in their ability to complete the work (even when the later assignments are more difficult).

So you have a vocabulary quiz coming up in English or for a foreign language course? As long as it's not Friday morning and you're looking at the words for the first time, you've got this!

Ideally, you'll make your plan and start preparing on Monday (or as soon as the quiz is announced). Here is an outline of what your study plan can look like, in the days leading up to the quiz. I am going to go with the hypothesis that the quiz is asking for straight recall where you're given the word in either English or the foreign language, and are asked to define or translate it.

Monday:
1. In your planner, write down that there's a quiz on Friday (or whatever day it is) in whatever the subject is. Then, write down to "study" for each of the days leading up the quiz.
2. Take a piece of paper and fold it into three columns.
3. In the left-most column, write the word that will be on the quiz.
In the middle column write the definition (in your own words) or the translation/meaning; use your resources to make sure you have the correct information or meaning to study! 
Fold the right side of the paper to cover up the middle column. Test yourself to see what you already know, by pretending this is a practice test, and taking the test. Then, look to see what you got correct. Read through the words again.
4. Fold over the paper so the first column is covered. 
5. See how you would do if that version of the word was presented on the test, by writing down your answers. Check your answers.
6. If you could correctly answer (pretty automatically) both versions of the word, cross out the word; you know this word. If you couldn't answer correctly, only knew one version, or if it took a while searching your brain to answer correctly, don't cross out that word.
7. Look at the number or words you need to learn, and divide by two (or however many days there are until the quiz, minus 1). That is the number of words you need to learn each night leading up to the quiz. You will need to review ALL of the words the night before.
Write down these details in your planner.

Tuesday
1. How many words are you supposed to learn today? Get another piece of paper, and set it up like you did yesterday, with three columns. 
2. In the first column, write the word. Second column: definition or translation. Third column: use a strategy to link the word to its definition or translation. Note that strategy here, either by explaining it or drawing a visual. See this post for more information on types of links or strategies to use when memorizing meanings for words. 
3. Learn those words; you'll know if you know a word by testing yourself again like you did yesterday. Make sure you assess your ability to recall the answer correctly when given the definition/ translation AND the English word.

Wednesday
1. Repeat yesterday's procedure with the remaining words.
2. If you have time, test yourself again on yesterday's words after you learn today's. 

Thursday
1. Review all of the words, mixing up the order, by making a practice test for yourself. Make the practice test look as similar as possible to what the real quiz will look like. Make sure that you can not only answer all questions correctly, but pretty quickly too. If you need to think for too long about a correct answer, go back and look at your strategy and either make it a stronger or more vivid strategy or come up with one that will work better.
2. Repeat this practice test again towards the end of your homework time, after doing something else for a while.

Friday
1. Ace the quiz!

The spread out studying, repeated practice of recalling the correct information, and use of active learning strategies like mnemonics and linking a visual to language, make this a study routine that you'll want to adapt and use for almost any quiz or test!

Try it and leave a comment below to let us know how it goes!