Study Time Estimator (Tasks → Plan)
This calculator converts a list of tasks into a day-by-day study plan that respects your deadline,
your available time, blackout days, priorities, and an optional buffer for breaks and uncertainty.
What you enter
- Deadline date: the last day you want work scheduled.
- Available study days: choose weekdays you can study (and optionally set blackout dates).
- Minutes available per day: either one number for all days, or separate weekday/weekend minutes.
- Tasks: each task has a name, size (minutes or pages/questions), priority, and optional mini-deadline.
- Pace (if using pages/questions): how many minutes per page (or per 10 questions, etc.).
- Buffer: extra percentage (e.g., 15%) to cover breaks, setup time, and surprises.
How time is calculated for each task
Each task is converted into an estimated number of minutes:
\[
\text{task\_minutes}=
\begin{cases}
\text{entered minutes}, & \text{if you type minutes directly} \\
(\text{pages})\cdot(\text{minutes per page}), & \text{if you use pages} \\
(\text{question units})\cdot(\text{minutes per unit}), & \text{if you use questions}
\end{cases}
\]
Then a buffer is applied to the total:
\[
\text{total\_needed}=\left(\sum \text{task\_minutes}\right)\cdot(1+\text{buffer})
\]
Example: if tasks total 600 minutes and buffer is 15%, then
total_needed = 600 × 1.15 = 690 min.
How available time is computed
The calculator builds the list of study days from today (or your chosen start) up to the deadline,
then removes blackout dates and non-selected weekdays.
\[
\text{total\_available}=\sum_{d\in\text{study days}} \text{minutes\_available}(d)
\]
If your settings are “60 minutes on weekdays” and “90 minutes on weekends”, the daily capacity changes
based on the day of week.
Planning logic (how tasks are placed on the calendar)
The scheduler distributes work across available days while respecting:
- Priorities: higher priority tasks are assigned earlier.
- Mini-deadlines: if a task must finish before a date, it is scheduled into days before that date.
- Daily capacity: each day has a maximum number of minutes; the plan tries not to exceed it.
- Even vs front-load (if enabled): even spreads work; front-load places more work earlier to reduce risk.
Conceptually, the planner uses this idea:
\[
\text{remaining\_minutes}(t)=\text{total\_needed}-\text{assigned\_minutes}(t)
\]
\[
\text{day\_load}(d)=\sum_{\text{segments on }d}\text{segment\_minutes}
\]
If a day is full, the remaining portion of a task is carried forward to the next available day.
What the outputs mean
- Total time needed: sum of all tasks after buffer is applied.
- Total time available: sum of minutes across all valid study days.
- Status:
- Fits if
total_needed ≤ total_available
- Shortfall if
total_needed > total_available
- Daily plan: date → which tasks you should work on and for how many minutes.
- Recommendations: if you have a shortfall, it suggests the minimum daily increase needed
(or what to trim) to meet the deadline.
\[
\text{fit ratio}=\frac{\text{total\_needed}}{\text{total\_available}}
\qquad
(\text{shown as a percent on the ring})
\]
How to read the visualizations
- Progress ring: shows the fraction of your available minutes that are needed.
If it exceeds 100%, you don’t have enough time with the current settings.
- Timeline: stacked bars show planned minutes per day.
When a bar reaches the day’s capacity, that day is “full”.
Tip: if the timeline shows several days at capacity early on, try reducing buffer, extending the deadline,
adding study days, or increasing minutes/day.
Good practice tips
- Use a realistic buffer (10–25%) if you often underestimate time.
- Give high-priority tasks earlier mini-deadlines to protect them from last-minute crunch.
- If you fall behind, update progress and re-run the plan to re-balance the remaining work.
