What this template is for
Studying for a multi-week course creates a familiar problem: you see the entire syllabus at once and feel paralyzed by the volume. Eight chapters, two practice exams, review sessions, and a final -- all competing for attention from day one. The instinct is to either cram everything or procrastinate on everything.
This template uses start dates to sequence eight study tasks across an 11-week course. Each task only becomes active when its start date arrives, creating a natural progression that prevents overload. You see one or two active tasks at a time, not eight.
Example tasks
| Task | Importance | Effort | Deadline | Start date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1: Fundamentals | 5 | Days | Week 2 | Week 1 |
| Chapter 2: Core Concepts | 5 | Days | Week 4 | Week 2 |
| Chapter 3: Practical Applications | 4 | Days | Week 6 | Week 4 |
| Chapter 4: Advanced Topics | 4 | Weeks | Week 8 | Week 5 |
| Practice exam 1 | 5 | Hours | Week 5 | Week 4 |
| Practice exam 2 | 5 | Hours | Week 9 | Week 8 |
| Review weak areas | 4 | Days | Week 10 | Week 9 |
| Final exam preparation | 5 | Days | Week 11 | Week 10 |
How Klara handles these tasks
Start dates are the key mechanism here. Until a task's start date arrives, Klara keeps it dormant at minimum urgency. Even an importance-5 task stays in "Skip it" before its start date. This is not a limitation; it is the design working correctly. You should not be thinking about Chapter 4 during week 1.
In week 1, only "Chapter 1: Fundamentals" has passed its start date. With importance 5 and days of work ahead against a week-2 deadline, it claims "Do now" with no competition -- every other task is still dormant.
Week 2 introduces overlap. "Chapter 2: Core Concepts" activates while "Chapter 1" may still be in progress. If Chapter 1 is not yet complete, both tasks compete. Chapter 1 now has a tighter deadline (days away versus weeks away), so its urgency rises and it retains "Do now." Chapter 2, with a week-4 deadline and plenty of breathing room, settles into "Later." Klara gently pressures you to finish Chapter 1 before moving on.
The most interesting competition happens in weeks 4-5. "Chapter 3" (importance 4, Days effort), "Practice exam 1" (importance 5, Hours effort), and possibly a lingering "Chapter 2" all become active simultaneously. The practice exam is a quick task with high importance, while Chapter 3 requires more effort but is rated lower. The practice exam's combination of high importance and its approaching deadline typically edges out the chapter reading.
"Chapter 4: Advanced Topics" is notable for its Weeks effort level. This is the largest effort in the template. Even with a week-5 start date and week-8 deadline, the work fills the entire available time -- there is zero margin. Urgency is immediately high upon activation, and the task dominates "Do now" for its entire active window. This reflects the reality that a three-week study block requires sustained daily attention.
In the final weeks, "Review weak areas" and "Final exam preparation" activate sequentially. Each faces tight deadlines relative to the work required. The template naturally funnels your attention toward the exam without requiring you to manually reprioritize.
Tips for customizing
- Map the tasks to your actual course syllabus. The specific chapter names matter less than getting the effort estimates right -- a dense theoretical chapter might be Weeks rather than Days.
- If your course has group projects, add them with appropriate start dates and use collaboration features to assign portions to study partners.
- Add a recurring "Review flashcards" task at importance 3 with daily recurrence. It will sit in "Later" or "Maybe" most days, surfacing only when no chapter work is active -- a natural spaced repetition schedule.