Plan Ahead

Most likely, you're on your own when it comes to progress and work on assignments. It can feel great to be your own boss, especially if you're a good one. Don't leave things until the last minute, though — you'll only end up working twice as hard to do half as well. Nerves and anxiety make it hard to stay focused and do a good job.

Set deadlines. At the beginning of each semester, make a calendar of due dates. Be sure you know what the main assignments are (if the teacher doesn't mention them at the start of the semester, ask) and what format they will take (a report, presentation, group project, etc.). Set clear goals.

Keep these questions in mind when organizing your calendar: What's the final product? When do certain components need to be completed? Answering these allows you to prioritize assignments by due dates, level of difficulty, and completion time.

Include nonacademic commitments on your calendar, such as team practices, drama rehearsals, etc. This will help you see when things might hit crunch time later in the semester.

Give yourself mini-deadlines for the stages of each project — planning, research, drafting, revising, and creating a final product.

Enforce deadlines. Decide how you'll enforce your deadlines. For example, will you reward yourself for meeting them? Ask you friends or parents to check in with you about your mini-deadlines so that you don't put them off. (Watch out if you ask parents to help, though. When they do, remember that they're not nagging you — you asked them to check in!)

If you have difficulty meeting deadlines but are making an attempt to improve your study skills and organization, talk with your teacher. He or she can help you to create reasonable short-term goals for a particular project or test.

Oh, no! That's due in 2 days! If something slips by and you find yourself surprised by a due date or stuck with very little turnaround time, try not to freak out. Do a breathing exercise to feel calm and focused. Then outline an approach to tackling the work. You can make an hourly or daily calendar of deadlines if that helps you structure your time.

If you're a perfectionist, it helps to remember that everyone can lose track of something once in a while. If this happens a lot, though, you need to get more organized.