How to establish deadlines for myself

[deleted-176535]

Since I'm a homeschooled student, and I'm entering the science fair on my own initiative, I don't have any deadline for when to complete each part of my project (like research, experiment planning, doing the experiment, data analysis, etc.)

Could you please give me some guidelines of how much time I should allow myself for each step?
My project is due Mar. 10, so structuring my time is vital to making sure that I'm not "scrambling".

Thanks!

[deleted-71603]

Hello. Congratulations on entering a science fair under your own initiative! I'm sure you will have fun and learn a lot from the experience.

Timelines can be quite subjective. It depends on how difficult the experiment is. Some experiments can be completed in less than a day while others can take weeks. Do you have any idea how long collecting the data will take? Have you started at all with research, gathering materials, etc?

Since you only have about 6-7 weeks to go, this website may be useful:
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sc ... roject.pdf

1. I would begin with determining how long it will take you to conduct the experiment. The more time it will take, the sooner you obviously need to start.
2. Based on your knowledge of how quickly you work, estimate how long it will take you to analyze the results, write your report, and prepare your presentation board. If you like to take your time on reports and presentations, then that also factors in to how quickly you should start your experiment.
3. Usually, based on my experience, researching and planning can be the most tedious and time-consuming part of this process. If there is sufficient time to achieve what I have described above, the more time you have for researching and planning. The more time you can reasonably spend on researching and planning the better. More research / planning typically evolves into a more successful experiment.
4. Finally, try to give yourself wiggle room in your timeline. Things NEVER go the way you planned, so hopefully your timeline is flexible to allow for things like delays in supplies you ordered to arrive, the experiment didn't go right the first time and you have to do it again, etc.

Once you figure out how much time you think you will need for each step, back track from your March 10 deadline and write deadlines for each step on a calendar. Review this calendar every day and ensure you are staying on track. It is ok if your deadlines change A LITTLE once you start your experiment. After all, your initial deadlines are only an estimate of how long you think each step of the process will take.

I hope this helps. Feel free to write back if you have any further questions. Good luck and have fun!

[deleted-176535]

Thanks so much! This is exactly what I was looking for.

[deleted-71603]

Great! Best of luck!