[Pat P.]

Redisbest,
In a sentence, plan your week ahead. Assign time for working, friends and relationships. But be flexible. A good plan allows resources (time) for unforseen events also (a quiz announced during the week, an extra assignment, etc.)

These are some ideas worth of trying:
1) To maximize grades:
- concentrate your time and effort on those activities that weight more on your final grade. Usually these are exams, so prepare for that. Although homeworks and lab. work are important, I wouldn't use all my time perfecting a report instead of preparing a test.
- Do not reinvent the wheel; if you are stuck on a homework problem, go to the office hours and ask for help. TA's and instructors are willing to help you most of the time.
- For the reading work, write summaries of the stuff you are reading/studying along the way. It can save you time on the long run, but do not get too fancy (avoid the trap of trying to do it on a computer). Also, if you reading speed is average (200 - 250 wpm) try taking a power reading class in your college if it is available. It can help you work more efficiently when reading.
- For the writing work (lab reports, homeworks, papers), I would recommend a direct writing process (See Peter Elbow's "Writing with Power", chapter 4). In simple words, it is a process to write a lot in a limited time window. The main characteristic is that you suspend the abitual critic/create mode (writing a sentence takes you an hour), by decoupling the writing process components. The steps are:
(a) Freewriting: Write non-stop and without erasing about everything you need in your paper/report. Everything that comes to mind. Write every other line and on one side of the page, so you have space for later additions or corrections and can cut later.
(b) Cut-and-Paste Revision: select (cut) the passages that include the ideas you want to express in the paper. Add words, sentences if necessary. And paste on a new sheet of paper.

You will end up with a nice, clean and structured first draft that you can grow into a nice report on little time.

- If you are allowed, tape the lectures; it will help you having more complete notes, and even give you hints of exam questions. You can edit later, but again, do not waste too much on this task.

2) To maxime health:
- Try to do exercise every day. If you tape some of your lectures, you can listen them while exercising.
- Avoid junk food. If you live by yourself, try to decide once a week a meal plan for the week ahead. Check on Jan 07 issue of the Entrepreneurial Magazine for a healthy meal plan for people with little time.
- Do some meditation. I can clear your mind and lower the stress.

3) Relationships/ Friends/Family:
- Reserve a day a week for entertaiment/family/friend activities. If the weather is nice, go for a match of some sport you like (or play if you can).

I have used some of these ideas for my classes for several years (I am finishing a Ph.D. on engineering next spring), and others for just the last year. Experiment with these suggetions; maybe you could use the 30-day trial idea that Steve uses regularly for installing new habits, and evaluate the success you get.

Good luck,
Pat