universal-study-planner

name	universal-study-planner
description	Generates personalized study schedules for ANY university worldwide. Accepts exam dates, syllabus scope, difficulty ratings, available hours, and learning preferences. Outputs day-by-day timetables with built-in spaced repetition, active recall sessions, and break scheduling. Covers ALL subjects, ALL exam types.

Universal Study Planner

Overview

Creates optimized study schedules that maximize retention and coverage within available time. Uses principles from spaced repetition, interleaving, active recall, and time-blocking. Adapts to any exam schedule, syllabus complexity, and study pace.

How This Skill Works

1. User provides: Exam date(s), subjects/topics to cover, difficulty ratings, available study hours per day, learning preferences
2. System calculates: Total available time, per-topic time allocation based on difficulty and weightage
3. System designs: Day-by-day schedule with topic blocks, revision gaps, and active recall sessions
4. System outputs: Calendar-ready plan in table, markdown, or xlsx format

1. Input Dimensions

Required Inputs

Input	Example	Purpose
Exam Date(s)	2026-06-15	Calculate total available days
Subjects / Topics	Unit 1: Data Structures (Trees), Unit 2: Sorting	Define scope
Difficulty Rating	Trees: Hard (4/5), Sorting: Medium (3/5)	Allocate more time to harder topics
Available Hours/Day	6 hours on weekdays, 8 on weekends	Realistic scheduling

Optional Inputs

Input	Example	Purpose
Topic Weightage	Unit 1: 40%, Unit 2: 30%	Prioritize high-weightage topics
Existing Proficiency	Trees: 50% confident	Reduce time for known material
Learning Style	Visual, reading/writing	Match study methods
Break Preferences	Pomodoro 25/5	Structure focus sessions
PYQ Importance	From imp-topics analysis	Focus on high-probability topics

2. Time Allocation Algorithm

Total available hours = Days remaining x Available hours per day

Per-topic allocation:

Topic Hours = Total Hours x (Weightage Factor x Difficulty Factor) / Sum of all factors

Weightage Factor = Topic marks % / 100
Difficulty Factor = Topic difficulty rating / Max difficulty (5)

Adjustment Rules

Condition	Adjustment
Topic has high PYQ frequency	Multiply factor by 1.2
Topic is foundational (prereq for others)	Schedule earlier
Topic is standalone	Can be scheduled anytime
User has 50%+ proficiency	Reduce factor by 0.3

3. Schedule Types

Type 1 — Marathon Plan (30+ days)

• Pace: 4-6 hours/day
• Structure: 2 new topics + 1 revision session daily
• Revision: Weekly reviews, spaced at 1-7-14 day intervals
• Best for: Full semester coverage

Type 2 — Sprint Plan (7-14 days)

• Pace: 6-8 hours/day
• Structure: 3 topics/day, alternate new/revision
• Revision: Every topic revisited at least 3 times
• Best for: Pre-exam revision when basics are known

Type 3 — Cram Plan (1-3 days)

• Pace: 8-12 hours/day
• Structure: High-impact topics only, rapid cycling
• Revision: Mini-reviews every 2 hours
• Best for: Emergency last-minute preparation

Type 4 — Balanced Plan (15-30 days)

• Pace: 4-5 hours/day
• Structure: 2 new + 1 revision, rest days every 7th day
• Revision: Spaced at 1-3-7-14 day intervals
• Best for: Working professionals, part-time students

4. Daily Session Structure

Each study day is structured into focused blocks:

Session 1: Active Recall (30 min)   — Review yesterday's material
Session 2: Deep Work Block 1 (50 min) — New topic learning
Break (10 min)
Session 3: Deep Work Block 2 (50 min) — Continued new topic
Break (10 min)
Session 4: Practice / Problems (40 min) — Apply what was learned
Lunch Break (30-60 min)
Session 5: Deep Work Block 3 (50 min) — Second new topic
Break (10 min)
Session 6: Revision / Flashcards (30 min) — Previous topics
Break (10 min)
Session 7: Wrap-up & Review (20 min) — Summarize, plan next day

Pomodoro Variant

Blocks can be replaced with Pomodoro sprints (25 min work + 5 min break).

5. Spaced Repetition Schedule

Review #	Gap	What to Review
R1	End of same day	Same day's material (10 min summary)
R2	1 day later	Previous day's material
R3	3 days later	All material from past 3 days
R4	7 days later	All material from past week
R5	14 days later	Full subject review
R6	1 day before exam	Selected high-yield topics

6. Sample Schedule Output

User: JNTU CSE, 3 subjects, 30 days until exams, 6 hours/day on weekdays, 8 on weekends

Week 1 Sample: | Day | Session 1 (30m) | Session 2 (50m) | Session 3 (50m) | Session 4 (40m) | Session 5 (50m) | Session 6 (30m) | Session 7 (20m) | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Mon | R: Prev | DS: Trees (new) | DS: Trees (cont) | DS: Tree problems | OS: Processes (new) | Flashcards: DS | Review + Plan | | Tue | R: DS Trees | OS: Processes (cont) | OS: CPU Scheduling | OS: Scheduling sums | DB: ER Model (new) | Flashcards: OS | Review + Plan | | Wed | R: OS | DB: ER Model (cont) | DB: Normalization | DB: Normalization ex | DS: BST (new) | Flashcards: DB | Review + Plan | | Thu | R: DB | DS: BST (cont) | DS: BST operations | DS: BST problems | OS: Memory Mgmt (new) | Flashcards: DS | Review + Plan | | Fri | R: DS | OS: Memory Mgmt (cont) | OS: Paging/Seg | OS: Numerical probs | DB: SQL (new) | Mixed flashcards | Weekly review | | Sat | R: All Week | Deep work weak area | Practice tests | Practice tests | Weak area cont | All flashcards | Full review | | Sun | REST | REST | REST | REST | REST | REST | REST |

7. Study Methods Integration

Block Type	Method	When to Use
New Topic	Feynman Technique, Cornell Notes, Mind Mapping	First exposure
Practice	Active Recall, Worked Examples, Problem Sets	After understanding basics
Revision	Flashcards, Blurting, Self-Testing	Reinforcing memory
Review	Spaced Repetition, Interleaving, Summary Writing	Consolidating knowledge
Deep Work	Pomodoro, Time Blocking, Deep Focus	Complex topics

Overlapping-Exam Scheduling

When two or more exams fall on the same day or consecutive days:

Scenario	Strategy
Exam A on June 15, Exam B on June 15 (same day)	Allocate 60% time to higher-weightage subject on the day before; use interleaved review blocks
Exam A on June 15, Exam B on June 16	Study Exam A until 6pm on June 14; 2-hour review of Exam B on evening of June 14
Exam A on June 15, Exam B on June 17	Full focus on A until June 14; 1 day gap day for B on June 15 afternoon + June 16
Exam A on June 15, Exam B on June 14	Inverted gap — prioritize B first; A review on morning of June 15
3+ exams in 5 days	Treat as "exam cluster": high-yield topics only, 1-hour review blocks per subject

Recovery-Day Rules

• Mandatory 1 rest day for every 6 consecutive study days
• After a missed day: do NOT double the next day's load — redistribute over 3 days instead
• After an exam day: the remainder of that day is a recovery half-day (light review only)
• Recovery day activities: 30-min passive review (reading summaries), walks, sleep catch-up
• If 2+ days are missed, regenerate the plan rather than compressing remaining days

8. Adaptive Re-scheduling

The planner can adapt mid-course:

• User reports: "Topic X took longer than expected" -> Shift remaining schedule, squeeze lower-priority topics
• User reports: "I already know Topic Y well" -> Reduce allocated time, redistribute to weak areas
• Missed day: Carry forward planned topics, compress revision sessions
• Extra time available: Add practice tests, cross-subject integration sessions

9. Output Formats

Format	Use Case
Markdown Table	Readable in any markdown renderer, GitHub, Obsidian
CSV / Excel (.xlsx)	Calendar import, further manipulation
Calendar (.ics)	Direct Google Calendar / Outlook import
Text	Quick reference, printing

Calendar Export Snippets

.ics format for Google Calendar / Outlook import:

BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART:20260601T090000
DTEND:20260601T110000
SUMMARY:Study: DS - Trees (Deep Work Block)
DESCRIPTION:Unit 1 - Data Structures. Focus: Tree traversals, BST operations.
RRULE:FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=MO,WE,FR
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR

CSV format for spreadsheet import:

Date,Start,End,Subject,Topic,Block Type,Notes
2026-06-01,09:00,10:30,Data Structures,Tree Traversals,Deep Work,Focus on inorder/preorder/postorder
2026-06-01,10:30,11:00,,,Break,
2026-06-01,11:00,12:30,Data Structures,BST Operations,Practice,Solve 5 BST problems
2026-06-01,14:00,15:30,Operating Systems,CPU Scheduling,New Topic,FCFS SJB Round Robin
2026-06-01,15:30,16:00,,,Break,
2026-06-01,16:00,17:00,Operating Systems,Scheduling Numericals,Practice,Solve 3 problems
2026-06-01,17:00,17:30,All,Flashcard Review,Revision,Spaced repetition review

To export a plan as a calendar file, pipe the output to plan-to-ics.py or plan-to-csv.py from the scripts/ directory.

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Session Config

This skill integrates with the session config system (deps/session-profile.json). Before executing, check for an existing session profile:

• If deps/session-profile.json exists, read university, subject, pattern, and exam_type fields to auto-configure the skill.
• If the file does not exist, fall back to user-provided context or prompt the user to run setup-exam-prompt (or npm run init) first.
• Session config eliminates redundant context detection — detection happens once and is reused across all skill calls.

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10. Integration with Other Skills

• universal-pyq-analyzer: Provides topic weightage and frequency data for optimal prioritization
• universal-imp-topics-generator: Identifies high-probability topics for cram schedules
• universal-flashcard-generator: Populates flashcard review sessions with actual generated cards
• universal-last-minute-crammer: Emergency sub-plans for schedule shortfalls

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
No exam dates provided	Required input missing	Prompt user for at least one exam date
Impossible schedule (time < needs)	Available hours insufficient for scope	Reduce scope, increase daily hours, or extend timeline
Negative time remaining	Exam date has already passed	Switch to cram plan (Type 3) or imp-topics only
Subject/topic list empty	No scope defined	Prompt for subject list or syllabus PDF
Overlapping exams not handled	Multiple exams same day/cluster	Apply overlapping-exam scheduling rules
Calendar export fails	Missing conversion script	Run npm run init to install scripts; fall back to table
Difficulty ratings inconsistent	All topics same rating (unlikely)	Ask user to differentiate (Hard/Medium/Easy)
Abnormally high daily hours	>14 hours/day requested	Warn user; cap at 12 with mandatory breaks

Quality Gate

Before presenting the schedule to the user, verify:

• Exam dates are in the future and chronologically ordered
• Total study hours fit within available days (no over-commit)
• Each subject has at least one study block before its exam
• Spaced repetition schedule (R1-R6) is embedded in the timeline
• At least one rest/recovery day exists if plan exceeds 6 days
• Overlapping-exam rule is applied if multiple exams within 3 days
• Daily hours do not exceed 12 (or 14 for cram plans, with warning)
• Output format is available (markdown, CSV, ICS, or text)
• Calendar export file is valid if requested (.ics or .csv format)
• User can start immediately with the plan as presented

If any check fails, adjust the schedule or report the limitation to the user.