We’ve all been there, freaking out with only 30 minutes to get a whole project finished.

We’ve all sat down knowing what we need to get done but not wanting to climb that mountain yet.

The thing is, all of that is avoidable.

I’ve reached a position where I avoid procrastination and I know I’m not alone. Not all of us have though. If you need a way to avoid procrastination here is my advice:

The first thing I recommend is to get a planner. The school provides a good planner but yours has to be one you won’t mind looking at every day.

The key step to avoiding procrastination is to constantly remind yourself of what you need to get done. That way you don’t forget something assigned to you. Nobody likes the look of disappointment on a teacher’s face when you hand in a blank sheet of paper as your homework assignment.

The second your teacher says, “Your next assignment is…” pull out your planner and write it down. I’ve completely forgotten about a worksheet before, only to be saved by a reminder in my planner or an alert on my phone.

You will also probably want to write the day the assignment is due for future reference. This will help you in the next step. Jot down all of the requirements as well so you don’t forget the small part of a project that’s worth 50 percent. I’ve seen it happen before and it’s not a good way to pass a class.

The next thing I would do is make a plan. For worksheets and simple assignments like that, your plan is to just get it done by a certain date. For larger projects your plan may look a little different.

What I like to do is to write down on what day I’m getting certain requirements done. For example, I would write down that I want to finish the outline on Monday and then I will put another part of it together on Tuesday.

If you divide up as much work as you can before the due date you won’t feel so overwhelmed because you will be getting some work done each day. Keep your schedule in mind. If you are busy on a certain day, plan around it.

The most important thing is to stay busy but not overworked. When you become overworked you are less likely to make any progress and everything will seem harder.

If you set up plan that divides the work out so that you get everything done in a timely manner, not only will you get the work done but you will get it done in time.