A good study plan is modified when needed.
Sometimes test takers create to-do lists and quickly get overwhelmed when a mountain of tasks pile up because they had an off day. Your past self may have outlined a great study plan, but your current self might be struggling with any number of things in your personal and/or professional life, so it's important to look at your study plan as a guide with the option to modify or take a detour as needed. If you're looking at your to-do list for the day and know that it will be nearly impossible to effectively do it all, then it's time to modify the plan. You're aiming for quality study time and not just logging hours or checking a box to say you did it because ultimately, you'll need to remember what you studied, and nothing is more frustrating than staring at a book for 2 hours and not remembering anything because you were already mentally drained.
Be proactive.
Look at your study plan for the week or even the next day and look at your schedule. Ask yourself, is it realistic? If not, try spreading out the tasks over the course of the week. Maybe what is realistic for that day is to review flashcards for 5 minutes, take a small quiz, or even attend a lecture so you can stay in contact with the material. When you're proactive, you're taking control of your plan instead of the plan taking control of you.
Keep a list of smaller, less intensive tasks on hand for those busy days.
This might vary from person to person, but consider some of the following so you can still make progress:
- Short flashcard drills (5 minutes, nothing fancy!)
- Reviewing notes from the previous day
- Listening to an audio lecture while doing laundry or making dinner
- Attending a live lecture
- Doing a quiz
- [insert what works for you here AND add it to the comments below to help others!]