Designing your study time in an organized way, will go a long way toward helping you be a better student, and getting grades that you can be proud of.

By learning how to use your time wisely, you'll be better equipped to succeed in all areas of your life, and thereby increase your overall happiness.

Organizing your time means not wasting it. You can never get back wasted time. On the other hand, using your time wisely, will continue to benefit you long after it passes.

To figure out where your time goes, create a sheet of paper similar to the one below, and fill in the hours of each day, with the activity that takes place during those time periods.

This exercise is one that you can use at any stage of your life to help you determine where your time is spent, and how to take better advantage of that time.

You might try making several of these, and fill one out each day for a week with the actual activities that you engage in. Customize the times to fit your schedule by indicating half hour increments if necessary, so that the worksheet is appropriate for your daily activities.

You might wake up at 6:30, or you might have lunch at 11:45.

You might have after school sports, or music lessons on certain days of the week.

You might find that you spend two hours per day watching television.

Make the schedule your own.

You could even take the worksheet a step fruther by dividing it into the days of the week. Many days will be the same, so after filling in Monday, just write "same" if that is the case.

Examine your schedule carefully, and look to find the best days and times to study.

Don't think that listening to music, or watching TV will help you study. The best atmosphere for studying is a quiet, well lit place where there won't be any distractions. Stay away from windows so that you won't be tempted to look out them. Don't allow yourself to be distracted by phone calls, or magazines, or pictures of your friends.

Know that this is the time you have set aside for studying, and don't let anything interfere.

Invariably, something will come up that throws your schedule off. If there is an emergency, or other situation that takes the place of a regularly scheduled activity, you must be sure that you adjust your schedule appropriately so that the missed activity makes it back into your schedule.

Try to set up your schedule in such a way that you do the same activity at the same time every day. Having a well structured plan of your time will end up saving you time, and making you more effective as you go through life.

Don't expect that your first schedule will be perfect, and don't be discouraged if it doesn't quite work out. Be flexible at first, and make adjustments as needed.

Finally, give yourself some time to get used to keeping your schedule. It may take two or even three weeks before you really start to notice the benefits of organizing your time.