IB Study Planner: Free Weekly Template for DP1

An IB study planner should tell you what to work on, when you can realistically do it, and what can wait. For new DP1 students, a weekly view is a useful starting point: enough space to see competing deadlines, without trying to predict your entire first year.

The template below brings together fixed commitments, specific study tasks, and a short weekly review. You will find a blank version, instructions for filling it in, and a completed example you can adapt.

Starting the IB can make every subject feel urgent. A planner helps you separate what needs attention now from what simply feels unfinished. Its purpose is not to fill every evening. It is to make your next decision easier.

Your free IB study planner template

This IB template contains four elements:

• Week commencing: the Monday date for your plan.
• Three weekly priorities: the outcomes that matter most this week.
• A seven-day table: fixed commitments, study blocks and tasks, and a completion column.
• A weekly review: what worked, what needs moving, and what to change.

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Use the downloadable planner alongside the instructions below. These are the same fields shown in the blank version, so you can also copy them into a notebook or digital document.

Week commencing: __________

Three weekly priorities:

• ---

• ---

• ---

Weekly review: What worked? What needs moving? What will I change?

How to fill in your IB study planner

Start with the week you actually have

Write in school hours, travel, clubs, appointments, family responsibilities, and existing CAS activities before adding independent study. Protect meals, sleep, and time away from schoolwork too.

A Wednesday with training and a long commute cannot carry the same workload as a free Saturday morning. Planning both identically creates a problem that motivation cannot solve.

Use your school calendar and teachers' instructions to check deadlines. The IB Diploma combines six subjects with theory of knowledge, the extended essay, and creativity, activity, service. However, your school determines many interim milestones. Do not copy another student's coursework timeline.

For a broader approach, see RevisionDojo's guide to using a planner that fits the IB workload.

Choose three outcomes, not three vague ambitions

Look across your subjects and choose three priorities based on upcoming deadlines, difficulty, and unfinished work.

“Improve chemistry” is too broad. “Complete the bonding assignment and correct uncertain answers before Thursday” gives you a finish line.

Your priorities do not replace ordinary homework. They help you decide what deserves your best available attention. One might be a deadline, another a difficult topic, and the third a school-set core task.

If everything seems equally important, start with setting realistic goals for your first IB term.

Give each study block a visible result

Write a time window and an action you can check afterwards. Instead of “English revision,” try “17:00-17:30: annotate one passage and draft a paragraph.”

A useful task usually names:

• The subject or component.
• The material you will work on.
• The action you will take.
• The point at which you will stop.

Keep the first week's estimates modest. A short block that produces corrected work is more useful than a long block labelled “catch up.” If a task is unfamiliar, leave room for it to take longer.

Balance deadlines with practice

Homework already counts as academic work. Add independent review where it serves a clear purpose, rather than automatically doubling your workload.

Across the week, check that you have considered all six subjects. Equal time is not necessary: an approaching assessment may justify more attention than a topic you currently understand.

In RevisionDojo, a block might begin with Study Notes, continue with a small Questionbank set, and end with corrections. The guide to using an IB question bank effectively explains how to make practice more purposeful.

Leave space, then review

Keep at least one flexible window for unfinished work or an unexpected assignment. A buffer is not wasted time. It stops one delayed task from pushing every other task backwards.

At the end of the week, answer the three review prompts. Move unfinished work deliberately, checking whether it is still important before carrying it forward.

Completed example: a realistic DP1 week

This hypothetical student takes Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches, English A, Spanish B, and History. Their school has also set an introductory TOK task. The timings illustrate one possible week, not an IB requirement or recommended workload for everyone.

Week commencing: 12 October 2026

Three weekly priorities:

• Submit the chemistry bonding assignment on Thursday.
• Correct errors in mathematics function questions before Friday's quiz.
• Prepare one example for Monday's TOK discussion.

Weekly review: Short evening tasks fitted around activities. History took longer than expected, so TOK moved into Sunday's buffer. Next week, allow more time for writing and check essay instructions earlier.

Notice that the student did not complete the original plan perfectly. The planner still worked: it revealed where an estimate was wrong and provided somewhere for the unfinished task to go.

Match your resources to the task

Your planner decides when to work. Your resources should make it easier to begin.

Use RevisionDojo's Flashcards for a brief recall block, or AI Chat to unpack a confusing explanation before attempting the task yourself. Check AI explanations against course materials and teacher guidance.

As DP1 develops, Grading tools, the Coursework Library, and Tutors can support more demanding assignments. Keep assessed work your own and follow your school's academic integrity rules. Predicted Papers and Mock Exams belong in later assessment preparation when their scope matches what you have studied, not automatically in your first weekly routine.

RevisionDojo brings these resources together, so your plan can lead directly to a useful action rather than another search for materials.

Build a routine you can repeat

The best first-week plan is not the most impressive one. It is the one that helps you start, finish something specific, and return the following week with better information.

Keep the layout stable while adjusting the workload. A missed block is something to investigate, not a reason to abandon the whole system. For help choosing between formats, explore bullet journals and digital planners for IB students.

Create a free RevisionDojo account to download the free DP1 planner. Start with your real commitments and three useful priorities. This free IB download is a small tool, but paired with the right study resources, it can give your first year a clearer weekly rhythm.