T hink of things you need to do.

• First make a list of things you need to do for a particular day or a particular week.
  
  
• Then make another list of things that you want to do for that day or week.
  
  
• If there are things that you need to do and also want to do, list them in both columns.
  
  
• Think about why you need to do each of these things and also why you want to do each of these things.

A rrange the things you need to do into categories.

• Use the following four categories: school, work, home, and social.
  
  
• Go back to the list of things you need to do and sort them into each of these 4 categories.
  
  
• Do the same with the things you want to do.
  
  
• Compare the differences between the sorting of categories for things that you want to do and the things that you need to do.

P rioritize.

• Prioritize each of these four categories on the basis of what is most important. School must be ranked first if a student is to be successful academically. Being successful in school will lead to being successful in the workplace. Work or home may be second depending on your specific situation. Social activities may be least important for success for you.
  
  
• Now prioritize each of these four categories on the basis of what is most important to you. Compare your rankings with the rankings necessary to be successful as a teenager and an adult.
  
  
• Ask yourself, "Am I willing to prioritize school as #1?" If you are, then you need to go back and look at all the tasks that you have to do that you listed in the category of school, and do them.
  
  
• As a way of helping yourself do tasks that you need to do, use tasks that you want to do as reinforcement for doing tasks that you need to do. For example, you may hate to write term papers, but you know you have to do this if you are to pass your English class. You may want to go to the movies. Use going to the movies as reinforcement after you have completed your term paper.