Often, the biggest challenge which you will face as a student is not overcoming the complexity of your subject matter or preparing for the big exam.  Instead, it is the difficulty of proper time-management, which can have a determinant impact on your ability to comprehend classroom material or to perform adequately on a test.  Today, the average student is expected to balance a full academic workload, a host of extra-curricular activities, part-time employment and a healthy social life.  Though this may seem overwhelming, there are a few simple steps which you can take to better organize these activities according to the time which you have your disposal. 

            The first measure you should consider taking is defining a sensible schedule for yourself.  By designating a specific set of hours each week for schoolwork, and conditioning other responsibilities to reflect this schedule, you will find that there is less pressure to fit work in during the last minute.  With after-school activity schedules and work schedules typically functioning on explicitly defined timetables, you should be able to divide the remainder of your time between academic responsibilities and personal interests.  Starting each week with a clearly demarcated designation of time for each of these items, incorporating homework and studying into your daily routine will help to diminish the impression that you are frantically juggling these responsibilities to the detriment of one another.

            In addition, by setting aside time for studying and review of class-room material everyday, you will find yourself in less of a need to ‘cram’ the night before an exam.  A continual review of study materials over an extended period of time will stave off the pinch of the last-minute study session.  And as a byproduct, you will find yourself considerably better acquainted with the content being tested. 

            You should also attempt to eliminate procrastination from your schedule.  Many students are guilty of wasting time by stressing over a pending assignment rather than simply sitting down and beginning the process.  When you begin to face the work in question, you are likely to find that the assignment is well within your abilities and that the time spent agonizing was unnecessary. 

            This diligence should not, however, come at the expense of your health and peace of mind.  Take regular study breaks in order to ensure that the time spent studying is optimal.  If you find yourself losing focus, wearying or failing to absorb information, it may be a good time to take a short break for a snack or even a nap. 

            This points to another important part of balancing your schedule.  Your responsibilities should not cause you to sacrifice sleep.  A healthy and regulated sleep schedule will help to energize you and direct your focus so that the time spent studying is effective.

            Finally, you may benefit from a daily checklist.  As a supplement to a homework planner, you might consider creating a to-do list when you start out each day.  Incorporating personal, educational, extra-curricular and social responsibilities into a single itemized list, you are likely to find that laying out the required activities of the day in a visual form will keep you on task and keep you aware of all that you must accomplish over the course of that span.

            When you have organized your activities and responsibilities accordingly, you will find that you not only have more time to attend to the demands of your everyday life, but that you are better able to meet the requirements of your academic workload with confidence, comfort and proficiency.