The first step to tackling this issue is being aware of your time. When we go to school, we have a set schedule that tells us what time we have to be in certain classes, what time lunch occurs, and we become “programmed” according to this structured time. We structure our evenings according to the times that our favourite shows are on TV. The key is structured time. What we need to do is use an agenda and block off hour by hour each day what we are going to do. For example, Monday to Friday at 4:00 we work on our Period 1 school work and at 5:00 we work on Period 2 school work and 6:00 is dinner and so on and so forth. 

The second method is often referred to as the Seinfeld strategy: take a large month-to-month calendar and hang it on the wall. Pick ONE goal only, and every day you do some work on fulfilling that goal, you put a giant read “X” on the calendar. You do this each day until you see a visible ‘chain’ of red X’s on your calendar, and your task now is: Don’t Break The Chain. 

A third method is to have built-in accountability. If no one keeps us on our toes then we tend to tell ourselves, “I’ll do it tomorrow” and, of course, tomorrow never happens. So, pick a family member or close friend who you have to check in with each day to report on the work that had to be done. If you don’t check in, then your ‘accountability partner’ checks in on you and helps to motivate you to get the work done.