It's time to get down to it

Planning to study: The brain is a muscle that loves routine. You will concentrate better if you stick to a consistent, daily pattern of study.

You should be studying for three hours a night, Sunday to Friday, and eight hours a day on Saturday and Sunday. No days off. You should cover all of your subjects every day, allocating a set time for each. Many students find that like to start the session with the subject they like the least when their brain is freshest.

Even sitting down to study can be difficult. One mental trick is to tell yourself that you are going to sit down and open a book for only 45 minutes, then take a short break. Usually, you get so caught up in the study that the 45 minutes flies by and before you know it you are well into your three-hour study period.

Keep a tight schedule so that you have time to relax afterwards. Procrastination steals away study time, but also robs relaxation time. When you wander around procrastinating, you're not relaxing and you're not studying. You're in a limbo land of anxiety. So stick to the clock.

On weeknights, for example, you should come home, have a light snack, then get straight down to work. If you study solidly from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. - including one 15-minute break for a meal with the family - you'll be finished by 8 p.m. and be able to sit down in front of the TV. Now that's not so bad, is it?

Many schools are now offering evening study programmes, which impose this discipline on students. When both parents are working outside the home, this may be the only solution. But where a parent is available from 5 p.m. the parent can do just as good a job of supporting the study.

On weekends, be an early bird. Wake up at 8 a.m. at the latest - sleeping in will wreck your body clock. Hit the books from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. with a 15-minute break for lunch. Take a short 15-minute break in the morning, and another in the afternoon. Then, at 5 p.m. you're done. If you want to go out with friends, only do this on ONE night. A better idea would be to have friends in for pizza and a video - with everyone in bed by 11 p.m.

I know it sounds tough, but it will all be worth it in the end.