You may wonder how you’ll be able to fit time for just one college class into your busy schedule, let alone do the coursework and study for tests. Don’t fret – it can be done. It just takes developing a strategy to make you successful in school.

Here are five ways adult students can keep up with their assignments.

1. Slot in the time.
Your kids may have chore charts, so make your own visible hour-by-hour schedule, either on your phone or on the computer or on a piece of paper. You can outline not just when you will be in class but when you plan to study, do the required reading, and complete assignments.

Philip Freeman, author of “Lecture Notes: A Professor’s Inside Guide to College Success,” writes: “As mundane as it sounds, making a study chart will help you plan your available hours like nothing else. Knowing on Tuesday afternoon that you are going to devote a nine solid hours over the next few days in preparation for your Spanish exam is a powerful tool for reducing stress.”

2. Factor in professor meetings.
For major papers, Freeman suggests planning at least three tips to the teacher’s office. One to clarify any questions and plan a strategy, another to present an outline and a few sample paragraphs and another to go over the rough draft.

It could pay off. Freeman says, “If you give them enough time, professors are usually glad to read an entire paper informally before you turn it in officials for a grade and will often give you lots of helpful comments you an incorporate into the final product.”

3. Think about special circumstances.
Go into a class with a long-term look about what personal events (your kids’ school holidays or even planning for birthday parties) will occur throughout the semester. Those events could keep you from staying ahead of your studies, and even though professors understand if you have to miss class because of a sick child or because a babysitter fell through, they’re less likely to understand if you have to pick up streamers for your toddler’s Dora the Explorer party.

4. Don’t just plunge into required reading.
The books you’ll be assigned to read in class can be very difficult reads that require concentration and few interruptions. Freeman suggests “never being a challenging text by simple starting at the first page.” Instead, he recommends reading a description of the book on the back or inside cover to get a feel for the author and what the book is all about. Then you can look at the table of contents to see what the book will cover.

Don’t ignore the introduction or comments from the editor, which can give you insight into the book. And don’t miss maps or glossaries, which can help you as you go through the book. You can also do a quick skim by briefly looking at passages and summary headings at the beginning of chapters. Then you’re ready to read.

5. Recognize that falling behind may happen.
If you start to fall behind, don’t panic. Instead, Freeman says it’s OK to meet with your professor to explain that you’re having difficulty in the class. The point is not to beg for a good grade but to explain that things are overwhelming and ask for advice on how to improve in the class, he says. Then you’re going to have to make a tough decision and cut out something in your schedule for extra study time. “It won’t be fun for a month or two, but in the end it will pay off,” he writes.

You’re not alone in your concerns about keeping up with schoolwork and organizing your assignments. But by recognizing the potential pitfalls and creating a strategy before the class starts, you have the ability to make the grade you desire.

-Lori Johnston