You check the clock and see that it’s midnight, and you still have piles of homework to do and two tests tomorrow that you aren’t prepared for. We have all been there, and the start of a new year gives you a new opportunity to take control.

The first step to improve your study tactics is to make a study schedule. Making a plan of when you are going to study helps assure that you are prepared for class everyday. Without a schedule, it is easy to lose track of assignments or let them pile up. Scheduling certain times to study for your classes helps you retain the knowledge you are studying. This will allow you to be prepared for semester exams in December and at the end of the year.

Once you’ve made your study schedule, figuring out the best way you personally learn makes studying more rewarding. If you are a visual learner, making flash cards might be a helpful way for you to study. If you are an auditory learner, looking up videos on what you are confused about can help you understand the subject better. Understanding the way you learn helps you study and prepare for tests better. The best thing you can do is try a variety of methods and see what works for you.

Also, write down homework after it is assigned, so there is a record of what you need to get done. It is much easier to look in an agenda and have all of your assignments in one place than to scramble to remember which assignments were due. Put your iPhone to good use and create alerts in your calendar when assignments are due.

Organizing all of your assigned homework (that you’ve kept track of in your agenda) in one folder helps keep you coordinated. When your homework is all organized in one place, it makes completing your homework less stressful because you know where everything is that you need to complete.

No matter how organized you are, procrastination is your worst enemy. Avoiding homework only puts you in a stressful situation. Finishing your homework the night it is assigned prevents you from suffering from stress and having your other work pile up. More work causes more stress.

Now is the best time to change your study habits. The beginning of the year gives you the opportunity to create new habits before you get used to bad ones.