In early August 2025, I stumbled upon what’s arguably one of the year’s best TikTok trends! People are creating their own monthly curricula for funsies and designing personal lesson plans around whatever sparks their curiosity at the moment. From academic subjects like history and psychology to whimsical topics like the science behind chocolate chip cookies and fashion magazine reading sprints, TikTok users are treating each month like a personal semester and using self-made curricula—custom-tailored to their interests—to expand their minds and engage with their hobbies and interests more often. And I am loving every ounce of it as someone who’s done similar things in the past (or at least attempted to before getting distracted by other obligations).
In this article, we’ll explore what the “self-curriculum” trend is all about, how and when it started, and why so many people are taking part in it. We’ll also take a look at some examples of what creators are including in their monthly plans and why it matters (because I think it’s essential for us to touch on the importance of hobbies, intellectual curiosity, and making education fun and low-pressure).
Keep reading to find a step-by-step guide on how you can create your own self-curriculum. We’ll cover picking topics, finding resources, and organizing your “syllabus.” Plus, if you’re looking for ideas to include in your curriculum, you’ll find plenty within this article.
Self-directed learning is something that’s always excited me, so I’m eager to share everything I’ve learned about this recent trend with you! Let’s dive in!
What Is the Self-Curriculum Trend?
First of all, what is the self-curriculum TikTok trend that’s been taking over the FYP?
Simply put, a self-curriculum is a personal learning plan you create for yourself, most often each month, but some people create quarterly curricula instead. You have full control over the “subjects” you’ll study, whether that’s taking the time to learn the history of cereal marketing or revisiting the 70s Disco craze by listening to the legendary artists of that time (like I am!)
The trend took off on TikTok as people started sharing videos of their monthly lesson plans for the topics they’re passionate about. It’s rooted in curiosity, playfulness, and self-motivated education. Instead of learning what you have to, you learn what you want to. And of course, that differs from person to person.
Some curricula look like traditional academics (science, literature, language learning, psychology, etc) while others are fun and quirky (such as a unit on “trees of the world,” or on baking the perfect cookie). There are no limits; if it interests you, it can go in your curriculum.
This trend is about making learning fun and low-pressure. There are no exams or grades, and you’re responsible for holding yourself accountable. This is all about taking the time to engage with things for your personal enjoyment and exploring topics that genuinely interest you at your own pace, without fear of failure.
This is a great trend to participate in if you want to tap into your child-like curiosity and go down rabbit holes that fascinate you. Whether that means learning about ancient civilizations, reading philosophical nonfiction, exploring new recipes, learning about K-pop history, binge-watching 90s cartoons and writing an essay about them, finally finishing the anime show you’ve started a million times, or doing anything else that interests you, the self-curriculum trend is about learning for the pure joy of learning.
It’s also about taking the time to engage with your hobbies, which I think is one of the most important aspects. A self-curriculum can help you blend serious learning with playfulness, allow you to do the things—like learning to knit, crochet, play a certain game, solve a puzzle, teach yourself to tap dance, etc.—that you previously never took the time to do, and even give you a structured way to expand your knowledge or develop new skills.
Many people even include personal development tasks (such as journaling, affirming, meditating, etc) and “scary must-dos” (AKA, tasks that require some adulting and have been put off for an egregious amount of time) in their curricula!
The key is to ensure your self-curriculum includes your own custom mix of topics and activities. There are no right and wrong ways to do it, and no rules for what you may or may not include. If you want to spend the month learning about dirt and worms, you can.
As one TikToker put it, “I think it holds us accountable to not let the month go by without doing anything that stimulates our brains.”
In other words, it’s a fun way to ensure we’re continually feeding our curiosity and not letting our free time slip away with no thought or purpose.
Where the Trend Started – Who Started It, and How
Every trend has an origin story, and for the self-curriculum movement, most roads lead back to one TikTok creator: Elizabeth Jean (@xparmesanprincessx). Elizabeth Jean is widely credited with starting or popularizing the trend.
While she’s created tons of videos about learning, manifestation, and self-help throughout the year, in July of 2025, she posted a viral video summarizing her personal curriculum for the month, and it struck a chord with thousands of viewers. In that video, she broke her month into “units.”
One of her units was on baking (specifically, baking cookies), for which she had a couple of recipe books lined up to try. Another unit was a monthly memoir (she picks one memoir to read each month), and she even had a unit on manifestation and spirituality and something she called “inner alchemy,” focused on self-reflection and personal growth.
Side note: Almost every self-curriculum video I’ve seen was made by a baddie who knows about the power of using manifestation to change their life, and I love that!
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On top of all that, Elizabeth was working through Julia Cameron’s famous and also trending creative workbook, The Artist’s Way, as part of her studies. It was like a college course load, except every subject was something she genuinely cared about, but never had the structured time for until she created it for herself.
One question she asks herself while creating her curricula is: “What would my inner child want to be spending time on?” By framing her learning this way, she’s able to tap into passions that stem from her childhood interests and long-suppressed curiosities. And as mentioned earlier, she emphasizes that there are no rules. If she doesn’t finish everything in her monthly curriculum, nothing bad happens. “It simply rolls over to next month because this isn’t school, and there are no rules,” she says.
That sentiment is a pillar of the trend. Learn because you want to, and don’t stress about completion.
Elizabeth Jean’s creative approach—mixing practical skills with creative arts and self-help—inspired tons of other people! After Elizabeth lit the spark, other TikTok creators quickly fanned the flames. By August 2025, users of all ages and backgrounds were flooding TikTok with their own curriculum videos, and the trend took off with countless posts of people outlining their August learning plans.
How Various TikTok Creators Have Made The Self-curriculum Trend Their Own
Here are some of the creators who’ve contributed to and helped grow the trend, plus the unique spin each brought to it:
⭐@queenragmar – One of the early adopters, who believes “curiosity is currency,” queenragmar shared her own curriculum. Her’s blended academic subjects with pure indulgence in hobbies. She mentioned that she creates a breakdown of her curriculum in Notion and enjoys having days where she does open-ended learning and takes notes, plus days where she quizzes and tests herself on what she learned. She also does final projects towards the end of the course—because she works in semesters—usually a research paper, since she enjoys interacting with information that way. For her most recent curriculum, she focused on learning about physics and trees (primarily through reading books about the subjects) as well as enjoying romantasy novels
⭐@katielinnaea (Katie) – Another creator, Katie, is using the curriculum format to plan her dream life. She looked at all her goals and asked herself, “If this were a college course, what would my required reading or tasks be to achieve this goal or to complete the course?” In a viral video, she shows how she’s treating her big life goals as if they were classes in a personal university. For example, if one of her goals is improving wellness, she imagines it as a “Health 101” course with a list of practices and books as the syllabus. Another goal, say starting a small business, becomes “Entrepreneurship 202.” This creative twist turns self-improvement into a fun, gamified project. Creating her curriculum involved her taking a look at the past three years of her life to see where she was, where she’s at now, and how she can move forward. It also involved her describing what her dream life entails and journaling (daily) about it. This process has helped her organize her life, stay consistent with new habits, and understand why she’s doing the things she’s doing and how they’re leading to her accomplishing her goals. Her approach demonstrates that a curriculum framework can be used not only to learn facts but also to facilitate personal growth.
⭐@bokchaiiz (Lex) – This creator approached the trend with a focus on creative hobbies and joy. In her popular “August Curriculum” video, she outlined a month full of artistic and leisurely pursuits. She started with her “non-negotiables,” which included finishing a prop for an upcoming cosplay convention, starting The Artist’s Way, and finally cleaning out her closet*.* Then she moved on to discussing her “menus,” which included things that she wanted to do—some of which would give her joy, others that would make her feel despair. (This categorization allows her to be more intentional with the media sheconsumes since she knows some things will affect her negatively, and others will affect her positively.) Her menus included things like rewatching Bojack Horseman (despair) or The Good Place (Joy), finishing Soul Eater and Nana, finishing the books she’s been reading, playing fun games like Super Mario Odyssey, and more. Her curriculum is an engaging mix of activities that show how a curriculum can be as lighthearted and personalized as you want it to be. Lex’s video, in turn, inspired others. For example, TikToker @deepti.michiko mentioned that Lex’s August curriculum video motivated her to start her own!
⭐@deepti.michiko (Deepti) – Deepti, a grad student, also showed how the curriculum trend can be centered around hobbies, but her August curriculum also included a “Scary Hour” (AKA list of important, non-negotiable tasks) with things like filling out her FAFSA. It also included a “Learning” section—where she, like most, is working through The Artist’s Way. She’s also learning Spanish and taking tennis lessons! Her curriculum included various activities, such as completing books she had previously started, starting new ones, learning more about cooking and baking, listening to a new album, and exploring new TV shows, movies, and podcasts.
⭐@kaylathehutt (Kayla) – Kayla visited her public library to gather resources on topics she’s always been interested in learning about. For her August curriculum—since she enjoys being able to spew out random facts about random animals at any given time—she’s learning about Octopuses. She’s also learning about the history of New Orleans, baking and cooking, and self-development.
⭐@pageswithashley (Ashley) – Ashley broke her curriculum into four different categories: Books to read, creating something, learning something, and partaking in physical activity. Her goal is to read two or three books, create a sketch or painting (and learn how to be patient with the creation process instead of feeling like she needs to finish something within a few hours of starting it), research a new topic or refine a hobby/craft, and continue being physically active by running, cycling, and lifting weights. Her curriculum shows how you can include making mindset shifts and staying on top of your physical fitness part of your monthly curriculum as well!
⭐@giannajackson_ (Gianna) – Gianna took things a step further by creating a syllabus for each unit, complete with outlines detailing what she’ll learn, weekly assignments, and a final project. Her first unit, “Art 101 – Creative Recovery Studio,” involves her reading and completing the twelve-week program in the book The Artist’s Way. Her second unit is “The Memoirs That Made Us,” where she’s reading Just Kids by Patti Smith. Her next unit, “Manifestation With Neuroscience,” involves reading Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza. For fun, she has “The Fundamentals of Interior Design,” which is where she’ll learn more about the history of interior design and read through the magazines she receives in her subscription to Architectural Digest. Lastly, she wants to include a “Self-Discovery through Astrology” Unit!
⭐@Whateverasia (Asia) – This creator has included learning more about playing the Autoharp, getting into photography, working on her writing—which includes working through Julia Cameron’s Write For Life book—and working on personal development. Her curriculum is an excellent mix of skill and personal development reads, which makes it a great example of a nice curriculum for creatives!
These creators (and many others) have transformed TikTok into a giant, collaborative learning club, and I wanted to showcase their curricula to provide examples of how unique and relevant you can make yours!
(In need of even more ideas? My August curriculum includes: Doing more haircare, creating 30 days worth of content for 4 platforms, playing Dress to Impress more + growing my 18+ DTI Discord community, getting back into reading fanfiction, scripting, meditating, robotic affirming, eft tapping, and doing breathwork daily, getting back into learning Korean, doing a disco deep dive, watching 5 new movies, listening to 3 new albums, watching 30 new music videos, and starting 1 new anime. I also gave myself a ‘Gifts for Me’ section within my curriculum with 4 gift options to treat myself to at the end of my month if I’ve completed at least 80% of my goals!)
Why This Trend Matters
You might be wondering, beyond the novelty, why people are so excited about this.
The self-curriculum trend strikes a chord because it addresses some deep needs and desires in our modern lives, such as:
Encouraging Hobbies and Personal Interests
Many adults have recently come to realize that they’ve stopped prioritizing the things they love to do or always wished to learn. Work, chores, familial responsibilities, and doom-scrolling can easily consume our days. This trend explicitly carves out time for YOUR interests and passions. It’s essentially scheduled “me time” with a purpose. Setting aside time for yourself is deeply rewarding, and frankly, it’s a form of self-care. Remember: Hobbies are not frivolous; they rejuvenate us.
Learning Becomes Fun and Low-Pressure
For many, the word “curriculum” might bring back memories of strict school schedules or dreaded exams. But TikTok’s self-curriculum trend flips that on its head. It’s intellectual stimulation without the pressure, and it’s a reminder that education can be joyful, which I think is super important.
Prioritizing Intellectual Curiosity in Adulthood
After formal schooling ends, many of us fall into a rut of not learning much beyond our job requirements. But being curious and learning new things is a core part of personal growth and can be deeply satisfying. Being a lifelong learner can make our lives feel richer and keep our minds sharp!
Media Literacy and Research Skills
Surprisingly, creating your own curriculum can build modern skills like information literacy. Why? Because once you pick a topic, you’ll search for materials. You may search Google for articles, visit the library to check out books, or find lectures on YouTube. You have to research and find reliable sources, figure out what content is high-quality, and maybe even learn to digest academic papers or long books for the first time in years. This hones your ability to filter the firehose of information online and pick out what’s useful, which is a crucial skill in the digital age—and with the state of the world right now.
Creativity and Personalization
Designing a monthly curriculum is a creative act. You’re essentially storyboarding your month of learning. A lot of people get super artsy with it by making aesthetic Notion pages, Canva slideshows, or bullet journal spreads to map out their “syllabus.” Even aside from visuals, just coming up with fun ways to engage with a topic is creative.
Mental Health and Well-Being
There are some subtle mental health benefits to this trend that are worth noting. First, it gives a sense of purpose and structure to your free time, which can be very helpful if you’re feeling aimless or stuck in a rut. Having a list of things you want to do (and enjoy doing) can make you excited to get out of bed or finish your work so you can dive into your curriculum activities. It adds positivity to your routine. Second, learning new things and achieving small goals (like “I read 3 chapters!” or “I cooked a new dish from my history of cooking unit!”) can boost your self-esteem and confidence. It’s gratifying to see yourself grow, purely for yourself and not for a grade or boss.
Third, many people incorporate elements like journaling, meditation, or exercise into their curricula (sort of like including a “gym class” or “mindfulness class” for themselves). This is effectively building healthy habits under the fun guise of a curriculum.
As mentioned, some even refer to healing their inner child—doing activities their younger self loved or was deprived of—which can be emotionally healing. Fourth, this trend allows you to engage with whimsy more often, too, which I think is important if you want even a shot at having good mental health. Above all else, the trend encourages a growth mindset: you start seeing yourself as someone who can learn and change at any age, which is great for mental well-being.
Lifelong Learning & Empowerment
Perhaps the biggest reason this trend matters is that it empowers people to become lifelong learners outside of any institution. It’s a gentle rebellion against the idea that education is limited to school or requires a formal program to learn something. TikTok’s curriculum creators have shown that anyone can pick up a topic and start exploring it. In an era where knowledge is abundant (hello, internet!) but attention is scarce, this trend reclaims our attention for constructive use. If you ask me, it’s a form of self-advocacy: you’re saying, “My interests matter, and I can teach myself.”
To sum it all up, this trend matters because it encourages people to invest in themselves, their minds, their interests, and their happiness in a very positive way. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s flexible.
But of course, as with any self-improvement trend, there’s a balance to strike.
One caution: don’t fall into the trap of thinking you must be productive every second or that you “fail” if you don’t finish your curriculum “on time.”
What Is Included in a Self-Curriculum?
As mentioned before, one of the best things about a self-curriculum is that it can include anything you want to learn or do. I keep harping on this because I think it’s important to understand. So many of us forget that we have free will and that our interests matter. We focus on learning about or spending our time only on things that we deem “productive” or anything that we think we can make money from, and we abandon focusing on anything else, even for a second. This is why a lot of us feel like crap all the time. Focus on what makes you happy or the things that interest you, even if you don’t deem them to be “important!”
There’s no standardized list of what you should be including in your curriculum, and as you saw in the examples above, your curriculum will look vastly different from someone else’s. That’s the point!
But with that being said, here are some common elements and examples of what people include in their self-study curricula:
Academic Topics
Pick a subject you’ve always been curious about. It could be something traditional like astronomy, World War II history, psychology, philosophy, or marine biology. Or it could be an “unconventional” niche like the history of witchcraft, quantum mechanics for beginners, African mythology, 1960s French film, feng shui, or cryptography. If you can name it, you can put it in your curriculum.
Hobbies and Skills
Your curriculum could include any of your hobbies. Some examples include gardening, learning to crochet, learning a new instrument, practicing a new language, learning embroidery, scrapbooking, or things like baking a new dessert every week and going thrifting every weekend. You might dive into an artist’s discography (listening through all albums by, say, Beyoncé, while reading about the era of each album as a mini music history lesson), or finally commit to playing the video game that’s been on your shelf collecting dust for the longest.
One popular approach is to pick a theme and then include a hobby related to it. I saw some commenters saying they were having a “Japanese Culture” month, which might consist of learning basic Japanese phrases, learning more about the culture, enjoying Japanese artists, and more.
Everyday “Adulting” Tasks
Some people like to include a few practical tasks that they otherwise procrastinate on, almost like giving themselves assignments. They’ll put one or two not-so-fun but necessary things on the curriculum for the month to ensure they get done.
Think activities like updating your portfolio/resume, finally scheduling that dentist appointment, organizing your closet, or re-evaluating your budget.
When framed as part of your “Education” or personal development, even chores can feel a bit more motivating. For example, someone might label these as their “Life Skills 101” unit.
Pop Culture and Media
It is completely valid for a curriculum to include tasks like “Binge-watch Season 1 of The Crown,” “Rewatch The Golden Girls for the millionth time,” or “Finish the entire Harry Potter film series.”
A lot of people incorporate movies, TV shows, books, or comics they’ve meant to start, finish, or catch up on. You can also set a goal to explore new podcasts or audiobooks, read magazines, or catch up on true crime videos.
If you love anime, your curriculum can have an “anime appreciation” unit; if you’re a Marvel fan, you can make a Marvel movie marathon a part of your learning (you could even supplement it by reading about the comic history or the filmmaking process!)
Personal Development & Wellness
A lot of self-curricula incorporate self-improvement tasks! Common inclusions are things like: maintaining a daily journal (to reflect and improve writing or mindfulness), meditating, starting Pilates, doing yoga regularly, sticking to a manifestation or gratitude routine, or even practicing therapy homework.
Even drinking your water or taking your vitamins and supplements consistently can be part of your curriculum!
Random Fun Stuff
Perhaps the most charming part of self-curricula is the inclusion of totally random curiosities. People aren’t just sticking to serious goals; they’re indulging their whimsical questions and interests.
For instance, you might have a unit called “Oddities” where you allow yourself to go down an internet rabbit hole on something different each week (one week you watch videos on how conspiracy theories spread, another week you research the history of toys from the 80s, the next you learn about cryptids like Bigfoot, and so on).
One TikTok commenter shared that in her curriculum, she planned a day to visit a local antique bookstore and then wrote a little report about an interesting old book she found, which was a totally spur-of-the-moment idea that she turned into a “curriculum activity.”
The point is, nothing is too silly or too small. If you’ve always been curious about something, no matter how trivial, you now have a license to explore it and even geek out about it as part of your “studies.”
You can choose to learn all about the different types of cheese, watch How It’s Made, Bill Nye the Science Guy, or Monsters Inside Me for educational purposes, study the evolution of early 2000s fashion, or take an online intro class to birdwatching. The weirder and more you, the better. Your self-curriculum is allowed to be a mix of Harvard seminar and summer camp, as serious or as playful as you desire.
So, what should your self-curriculum include? Whatever you’re genuinely interested in, plus maybe a couple of things you’ve been meaning to get done or try.
One person’s curriculum might be all books and research papers; another’s might be mostly hands-on projects and excursions; another’s could be split between reading, writing, and watching videos.
Most people aim for a mix of some intellectual content (like reading or documentary watching), some creative output (like writing an essay, painting, or doing something you deem creative), some physical activity (stretching, walking, learning a sport), and some personal growth (journaling, practicing a language, etc.). But again, that’s not a rule, just a common pattern.
Just make sure your curriculum is personal to you and allows you to learn about or do things you previously didn’t get to. For instance, if you’ve been putting learning to use your DSLR camera on the backburner or thinking, “I wish I knew more about ___” or “Someday I want to ___” those are exactly the things that belong in your self-curriculum.
In the next section, we’ll get into how to actually create your own self-curriculum, step by step. If your mind is already brimming with ideas (or even if you’re not sure where to start), don’t worry! We’ll break down the process of choosing topics, finding resources, organizing your plan, and keeping it fun and flexible.
How to Create Your Own Self-Curriculum
Ready to craft your own monthly curriculum? The goal is to make a plan that you’re excited to follow! Let’s break it down:
Start with Selecting Your Interests
Ask yourself: What have I always wanted to learn more about? This is the heart of your curriculum.
You can grab a journal or open a blank doc and brainstorm a “curiosity list.” Write down any topic, skill, or activity that sparks your interest or that you feel drawn to, plus anything you’ve been wanting to get done. Don’t censor yourself. It could be anything from learning about medieval castles to understanding quantum physics or finally trying to bake sourdough bread.
If you’re not sure, pay attention to what excites you in everyday life. What kinds of YouTube videos do you end up watching late at night? What section of the bookstore do you gravitate toward? What conversations or podcasts light up your imagination? Those are clues to your interests.
Next, pick a few items from your list to focus on for this month. It’s important not to overload yourself at the start. I’d recommend choosing maybe 2 or 3 main topics or goals for your first month. You can always add more later if you find you have time, but it’s better to start small and actually enjoy it than to overwhelm yourself with 10 subjects and feel like you’re “falling behind.”
For example, you might decide to focus on learning about Ancient Egypt, practicing sketching, and doing some home organization tasks you’ve neglected. That’s a nice balanced trio: one academic topic, one creative skill, one practical task.
Also, consider any pressing needs or upcoming events in your life. If you’re traveling to France next year, maybe add learning basic French to your curriculum.
Another approach is to focus on a single overarching theme for the month, such as “All things Italian culture,” which can encompass language, cooking, history, and more, providing a cohesive way to tie everything together. This method broadens your curriculum, giving you more flexibility while still providing a coherent direction.
Decide Your Learning Format
Now that you have what you want to learn, think about how you want to learn it. One of the coolest parts of a self-curriculum is the fact that you’re not limited to textbooks or lectures! You can mix and match all kinds of media and activities. Consider incorporating a variety of formats to keep things interesting and cater to different learning styles (visual, auditory, hands-on, etc.). Here are some formats and resources to choose from:
Books
Good old-fashioned books are fantastic for deep learning. Depending on your topic, you might use nonfiction books, novels, or even textbooks. You don’t have to buy them because your local library is your best friend (more on library resources later).
There are also eBooks and audiobooks if you prefer. For example, if one of your units is “civil rights movement,” you could read a memoir by a civil rights leader or a historical overview from the library. If your topic is more skill-based (say “learn guitar”), a how-to book or songbook might be useful.
Articles and Blogs
If you want a shorter read or more up-to-date info, look for articles online. This could mean Wikipedia as a starting point (nothing wrong with a Wikipedia rabbit hole for general knowledge), or online magazines, scientific articles, etc.
For credible sources, consider using Google Scholar to find scholarly articles (if you’re doing a more academic topic). Many academic papers are available for free in PDF format or can be accessed through a library. There are also tons of blogs and forums for niche interests! Just be mindful of credibility.
Podcasts
For auditory learners or multitaskers, podcasts are golden. There are podcasts on just about every topic now. Listen during a commute or while doing chores and consider it a class session.
YouTube & Online Video Series
YouTube is basically a free university. Channels like CrashCourse, TED-Ed, and many other educational creators produce high-quality, engaging explainers on countless topics. If you’re a visual learner, this is perfect.
There are also MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) on platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and edX if you want something more structured, and many are free to audit.
And don’t forget documentaries on Netflix, PBS, or other streaming platforms, which can be both informative and entertaining.
TikToks and Social Media Content
Since this trend lives on TikTok, it’s worth mentioning that TikTok itself can be a resource if you use it wisely. Don’t believe everything you see and hear there blindly, but use it as a resource to help you begin your learning journey. There are educators and enthusiasts on TikTok sharing quick lessons and they can provide bite-sized information or lead you to resources.
Instagram and Pinterest can be sources of infographics or diagrams for visual topics (like art or anatomy). Use social media for inspiration and quick tips, but for substantial learning, pair it with longer-form content.
Hands-On Practice
If your subject is a skill or hobby, include actual practice sessions. Want to learn painting? Your curriculum should schedule time to paint. Learning coding? Set aside time to follow coding tutorials or build a simple project. Learning a new language? Practice speaking or do exercises from a workbook. If it’s something like gardening, your hands-on learning might include tending a small herb garden daily.
You could even give yourself assignments like a teacher would: e.g., “write a 500-word short story” if you’re studying creative writing, or “cook a meal from Victorian England” if you’re studying Victorian history.
This is where your curriculum becomes really active. It’s not just consuming content, but also doing stuff. These little projects make the learning tangible and fun.
Interactive or Community Learning
Consider whether there are ways to involve others or interactive elements. Maybe join a book club for the novel you’re reading or attend a local workshop/class. For instance, if one of your subjects is pottery, maybe take a one-off pottery class as part of the month. Community colleges or community centers sometimes have free lectures or events that might align with your topic, too!
Engaging with a community can enrich your experience and hold you accountable. Plus, everything’s more fun with a friend, and perhaps you can find a friend who wants to do a monthly curriculum with you as a buddy!
Mix it up so you don’t get bored. The variety will keep you engaged and help you learn more dimensions of the topic.
Organize and Schedule It
Now you have topics and resources, so it’s time to get organized. A little planning goes a long way to ensure you actually follow through and don’t forget about that one podcast you meant to listen to.
Choose a format to organize your curriculum. This could be digital (Notion, Google Docs/Sheets, Trello, Milanote, Goodnotes, Notability, etc.) or physical (a notebook, planner, journal, binder, etc).
Many TikTokers use Notion to create an aesthetic dashboard for their curriculum, with pages for each “unit” and checklists. If you’re into that, go for it! Notion is great because you can embed links, videos, and checkboxes in one place. But a simple Google Doc or a bullet journal spread works fine, too.
Consider making a week-by-week breakdown. For example, let’s say you have three units for the month. You might assign one unit as the focus each week, or rotate them throughout the week. Some people literally make a little calendar: Week 1: do X, Y, Z; Week 2: do A, B, C, etc. This isn’t to make it rigid, but to give you a rough roadmap.
If you have specific media, schedule them. For example: Every Wednesday night, watch one documentary episode or read 20 pages of your book each weeknight.
A sample of what a weekly schedule might look like:
⭐Mondays: Read one chapter or article.
⭐Tuesdays: Listen to a podcast during your commute.
⭐Wednesdays: Watch a YouTube lecture or documentary.
⭐Thursdays: Do a hands-on activity or write a reflection in your journal.
⭐Fridays: Free choice. Explore anything related or catch up on what you missed.
⭐Weekends: Perhaps do a bigger project or field trip—visit a museum, go hiking if your topic is nature, etc.—or simply catch up if the week was busy.
Of course, tailor this to your life. If you only have time on weekends, cluster activities there. If you prefer a little bit each day, do that. The idea is to schedule your learning like you’d schedule any other important activity.
Stay flexible! This is your curriculum, not a binding contract. If you fall behind or get busy, give yourself grace. Unlike in a real school, you can change the syllabus anytime. If you find a book boring, drop it and pick a different one. If you get sick for a week, just resume when you can.
Remember what Elizabeth Jean said: if you don’t finish something this month, it just rolls over. No guilt needed. In fact, many people intentionally keep it loose – they have a list of things to do but not a strict day-to-day schedule, so they can choose what they feel like doing in the moment. You could maintain a checklist of items to get through and simply chip away at it as your mood and time permits
Documenting progress
It can be motivating to track what you’ve done. Simple ways to do this include checking off tasks in a list, jotting a one-line daily log (“Today I watched XYZ…”), or rating the books/movies you finished.
Notion and Trello are good for dragging “tasks” to a “done” column, which gives a sense of accomplishment. Or use a habit-tracking app if you have daily goals (like “practiced piano today, yes/no”). This is optional, but it can be rewarding to see all that you did at the end of the month.
On the other hand, some people find habit tracking to be tedious, stressful, and demotivating. If you’re one of those people, then, of course, you don’t have to do it!
Include “buffer” periods and fun days.
Since life can be unpredictable, don’t pack your schedule completely full. Leave some buffer days for rest, or if you need to catch up. Also, consider setting aside a free day each week where you just do whatever you feel like, even if it’s outside your curriculum.
How and Where to Find Pre-Made Curriculum Templates
If all this planning feels overwhelming, you’ll be happy to know that since the trend took off, people have been creating and sharing pre-made templates and examples for personal curricula. You can find inspiration or even ready-to-use frameworks in a few places:
Notion Template Marketplaces
There are public galleries where Notion users share templates for others to duplicate. Try searching for “Notion curriculum template” or check Notion template sites. Notion is popular in this community, so there’s a good chance you’ll find something that fits your vibe!
Pinterest is surprisingly great for this kind of thing. Search for “monthly curriculum template” or “self learning plan.” People often post images of their journal spreads or link to their blog posts where they outline their curricula. You might stumble on a perfect template or at least design inspiration for how to go about laying yours out. Pinterest might also lead you to printables or PDFs that others have made.
Go back to TikTok and use hashtags like #selfcurriculum, #monthlycurriculum, #curriculumclub, or simply #curriculum. Many users have shared their templates or provided Google Docs links in their bios.
Reddit Communities
Reddit has forums for just about everything, including self-education. Communities like r/Notion, r/Productivity, or r/Selflearning might have threads on personal curricula. There are also education subreddits where teachers share lesson plans, and while those are for classrooms, you can adapt ideas for yourself. If you’re into a specific topic, that topic’s subreddit could have a sidebar or FAQ with learning resources that essentially serve as a pre-made syllabus!
Blogs and Articles
A simple Google search can yield gold. Try searching “personal monthly curriculum (topic)” and see if a blogger has posted their experience. Use those as loose templates.
Reminder
When using pre-made curricula or templates, remember to tailor them to yourself. It’s tempting to copy someone’s exact plan (especially if they make it look so nice and productive), but make sure every element in your plan is something that truly interests you or benefits you. The template is there to inspire and guide, not to dictate.
Free Tools & Research Resources
One amazing aspect of doing a self-curriculum today is the wealth of free or low-cost resources available. You can get a top-tier education (seriously) with just a computer and a library card. Below, I’ve compiled some of the best tools and websites for researching your topics and organizing your learning. Many of these will help you dive deeper without hitting paywalls or spending a fortune on materials.
For Research & Learning Materials:
Your Local Library
Never underestimate the power of your library! A library card can give you free access to countless books, ebooks, audiobooks, databases, and even online courses. Many libraries use apps like Libby that let you borrow eBooks and audiobooks on your phone or Kindle, which is super convenient if you can’t visit in person.
If your curriculum involves you reading up on any subject, check the library first instead of buying the books. Libraries often also have free online resources: for example, access to JSTOR (academic journals), language learning software, and Kanopy (free streaming of documentaries and classic films). Of course, it depends on your local branch, so be sure to check to see what resources your library offers.
Support your local library and save money while doing it!
JSTOR
JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. Normally, it’s something universities pay for, but individuals can access a lot for free. JSTOR offers a limited number of free reads per month to registered users. So if you’re doing a scholarly project like researching a historical event or a literary analysis, JSTOR is gold. It has older journal articles going back decades, which can be fascinating. Check if your library grants you access too (some libraries let cardholders use JSTOR without limits).
Google Scholar
When you need serious, scholarly information—say you want peer-reviewed articles or studies—Google Scholar is your friend. It’s a search engine that specifically pulls up academic papers, theses, conference proceedings, etc. If you’re diving into something scientific or historical, Google Scholar can find sources that regular Google might bury under less reliable fluff.
Project Gutenberg
Are you including any classic literature or historical texts in your curriculum? Project Gutenberg offers over 60,000 public domain books for free download, including the works of Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Sun Tzu, etc., as well as a lot of pre-1927 nonfiction.
If you’re doing a “literature month” or want to read something like Frankenstein or The Odyssey, Project Gutenberg likely has it free in ePub/Kindle/text format. It’s a fantastic way to access classics with no cost.
Also great for random exploration! You can find antique cookbooks, travelogues from the 1800s, and more.
Open Library
Open Library is like an online lending library for books, run by the Internet Archive. You create a free account, and you can “borrow” digital books (mostly scans of print books) for a limited time, similar to a library eBook.
The selection is huge, with over a million books, including many published in the 20th century that aren’t on Project Gutenberg. If your library doesn’t have a book you want, check Open Library. You might find that obscure 1970s science book or that out-of-print biography available to borrow digitally!
It’s a lifesaver for niche topics where you don’t want to buy a used copy.
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is the parent of Open Library and is a treasure trove of not just books but also videos, audio, and webpages. It even has a Wayback Machine that can show you old versions of websites. Also, many public lectures or university events end up on the Archive as videos. It’s free and legal, and you don’t even need an account to download most things. Think of it as the attic of the internet where lots of knowledge is stored.
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
DOAJ specifically lists academic journals that are open access, meaning you can read all their articles for free online. If you’re doing research in a field like biology, sociology, or literature, and you want the latest research without paywalls, DOAJ can point you to reputable journals that publish open articles. It’s indexed by subject, so you could find open-access archaeology journals, education journals, etc.
While Google Scholar will often surface these anyway, DOAJ is nice if you want to browse and discover relevant journals for your self-study. It ensures you’re not just getting summaries, but also full articles you can dive into.
For Organization & Productivity:
Notion
I’ve mentioned it a lot, but I’ll mention it again since I swear by it. Notion is a free (for personal use) all-in-one workspace app where you can write notes, create tables, databases, calendars, etc. There are tons of free Notion templates out there for habit tracking, reading lists, and yes, personal curricula. It’s great for organizing because you can have toggles, checkboxes, embedded links, and videos. You can view the databases you create in various views, including gallery, calendar, and table, and add useful filters to help organize information more effectively.
You could have a Notion page as your “dashboard” listing each subject, and sub-pages for each where you list resources and notes. You can also journal in Notion daily about what you learned. It syncs across devices, so you have it on your phone too.
If you like things tidy and aesthetically pleasing, Notion allows for a lot of customization (icons, cover images, etc.)
There are community templates tagged under #Notion on Pinterest or Reddit that you can duplicate and tweak, so take advantage of those.
Google Calendar (or any calendar app)
If you live by your calendar, try scheduling your curriculum like events. Having it on your calendar can help protect that time from other plans and serve as a mental commitment. You can set recurring events for habits, too.
If you use Google Calendar, consider creating a separate “learning” calendar with a nice color, so you can easily toggle it on/off to view just your learning schedule. This can help with keeping a routine and ensuring you allocate time appropriately.
GoodNotes or Notability
If you have an iPad or tablet and enjoy taking handwritten notes, these apps are fantastic. You can create a digital notebook for your curriculum, maybe one for each subject. You can import PDFs or images (like worksheets or diagrams) and annotate them, too.
The advantage of apps like GoodNotes is that you can include multimedia (screenshot an interesting diagram from a website, stick it in, and highlight it), and it’s all backed up.
Milanote
Milanote is a lesser-known tool, but super cool for visual organization. It’s like a drag-and-drop canvas (imagine a digital corkboard) where you can combine text, images, to-do lists, and more. Great for brainstorming or mind-mapping your curriculum!
The free version has some limits, but it should be fine for planning for one month. If your curriculum is creative or research-heavy, you might use Milanote to make a mood board or concept maps. For example, if you’re studying architecture, you could pin photos of buildings, notes about architects, and links to articles, all on one aesthetic board.
It’s very good for seeing the “big picture” at a glance and organizing nonlinear ideas. Some writers use it for planning novels (I’ve got to get on that), and you can use it for planning your learning journey!
Others
There are many other tools like Evernote (for clipping web articles and note-taking) and OneNote (Microsoft’s note app, very robust for organizing notes in sections),
If you prefer analog, a binder or a multi-subject notebook could physically separate your topics.
The key is to use whatever system you will actually use. If you adore writing on paper, do that. If you know you’ll check a digital to-do list more, do that. The tools should make the process smoother, not be a distraction themselves. So try out a couple and stick with what works best.
And remember that organizing should aid the learning, not become a procrastination method (we’ve all spent 10 hours making a pretty Notion page and 0 hours actually using it 🙃).
Now you know what a self-curriculum is, why it’s great to have one, and how to create one!
The last (and optional) thing to do is share yours with the community! I’m looking forward to seeing how this trend continues to grow, and I hope that if you’re reading this article and decide to create your own curriculum, you’ll share it!
Post a video or carousel on TikTok—the self-learning community is super supportive, and I bet they’d love to see what your personal interests are!
Final Thoughts
The rise of the self-curriculum trend on TikTok is everything to me. I love the curiosity and creativity everyone is spreading. I love the no-rules and no-pressure approach people are taking with their curricula, and I truly hope to take an even deeper dive down the self-learning rabbit hole soon!
Most people probably already have a good idea of what they want to take the time to learn, and I tried providing lots of examples in this article to give you even more, but if you don’t yet know what you might be interested in including in your monthly curriculum, let me know down in the comments! I’d love to write an article listing ideas because I have a lot of them haha.
Thanks for reading!
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