Setting small daily goals helps you stay on task, work more efficiently, and gain energy as you go through your working day.  Getting little tasks out of the way, like grocery shopping or running errands, can help you focus on larger tasks that need to be accomplished later in the day. If you have long-term objectives or big projects, break them down into smaller goals that you can make progress on and tackle in a series of small steps or stages. This will help you feel like you're getting work done, which will encourage you to keep going. Prioritizing tasks is not quite the same as making a to-do list. Rather, you are categorizing to-do items and prioritizing those that are small and manageable or most pressing and important.  Set up a chronological list of when things need to be accomplished by and start with the most pressing items first. Once these are off your plate, you can take a breather and focus on the one's that are due later. After you’ve mastered the daily short-term plan, you can start creating long-term plans to organize your future work and tasks.  Knowing what you need to accomplish ahead of time -- whether it's a big term paper at the end of the semester, or an international conference trip -- can help you stay on top of your preparations.  Make a monthly calendar for yourself, or create a calendar for your entire school semester term. Note any big deadlines or due dates and pencil in some reminders a week or so before the actual deadline.  This will help you work more efficiently and get your big tasks done in easier increments. This type of advanced planning will also help you schedule leisure actives, breaks, and vacations. If you know when things are going to be due, you can more easily plan around them and make sure you have enough time to get things done as well as thoroughly enjoy your break time. Many of us procrastinate or put things off (especially things we don't like) which can negatively impact our productivity as well as overall work quality.  Don't fall into the faulty misconception that "one does their best work under pressure."  Psychological studies have shown this to largely be untrue!  Procrastinators who wait until the last minute often get less done and produce work with more errors. Give yourself a carrot at the end of the stick: plan a celebration or treat for yourself when you complete your task on time or even early. If you have something fun to look forward to you'll give yourself extra motivation to get your work done.

Summary:
Set small goals. Prioritize tasks. Plan ahead. Put an end to procrastination.