As a high-school freshman, you'll find that your academic and extracurricular obligations are considerably greater than they were in eighth grade. High school doesn't ask you to do the impossible—you'll have to wait for college for that—but it also doesn't make it easy to catch up when you slack off. When you enter high school, the world starts treating you as a grownup.

That's why you need grownup strategies to get the most out of high school. You have a lot to accomplish over the next four years and a limited amount of time to do so. You need to set your priorities carefully, then manage your time wisely to meet all your goals. Following the strategies outlined below will help ease your transition into high school. It will also create a template for success that you can follow clear through to graduation day.

Setting Priorities
In a perfect world, you'd have all the time you need to get your schoolwork done, participate in a broad and fulfilling slate of extracurricular activities, and enjoy oodles of leisure time. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. That's why you have to be ready to set priorities. Decide which obligations are most important and commit to fulfilling those before attacking less important tasks.

Make academics your top priority; they are by far the most important part of your high school experience. At the beginning of freshman year, take it easy on all non-academic activities. Wait until you know how much time you have to set aside for homework before you start committing to extracurricular activities. If you have an extracurricular commitment that starts up at the beginning of the year-a fall sport or a music ensemble, for example—be extra-vigilant about keeping up with your academic commitments.

Eventually you'll figure out how many extracurricular activities you can fit into your schedule. Start exploring different options at the beginning of the year. By early November, you should have a good idea of how much time you can dedicate to extracurriculars. Start with an activity that you really enjoy—perhaps one that you're really good at as well. This will help you find your comfort zone. Explore some "stretch" activities—things you're interested in but have never been involved with before—but don't get involved with them until January or February.

Finally, make a priority of carving out some free time for yourself. High school is like a marathon; you'll need endurance to maximize your four years. Overwork yourself early and you run the risk of burning out early or fading in the finish.

Time Management
The secret to managing a busy schedule is carefully budgeting your time.

Think about it: There are 168 hours in a week. You probably sleep 55 to 65 hours a week. You're in school 30 to 35 hours a week. That leaves you with approximately 75 hours a week to play around with. That sounds like a lot, huh?

Hold on, though. Do you have weekly chores? Do you participate regularly in religious or community activities? List all your must-do obligations. Tally up the number of hours you spend on these activities each week and subtract it from 75. Subtract another 10 hours from the result to account for meals, travel time to and from school, and other things. The result is the amount of time you have to devote to homework, extracurriculars, and leisure.

The number is probably a lot smaller than you thought it would be. That's why it's so important not to over-commit at the beginning of your freshman year. It is very, very easy to overbook your schedule, causing you to fall quickly behind on schoolwork, extracurricular obligations, sleep...

Make an honest appraisal of how much time you need to complete your homework well. To be on the safe side, multiply the number by 1.25. Subtract the result from the number of hours you had left to play with. That's the amount of time you have for extracurriculars and leisure time. Plan carefully so you can use those hours wisely.

A calendar and a day planner are great planning tools. Buy one (or both!) at the beginning of the school year and constantly update it with assignment due dates, test dates, extracurricular meetings, and other obligations. Make daily to-do lists. In short, stay organized! Stay on top of your obligations and you won't wake up one day to find them raining down on you.