1. List down clear objectives.  Not only should you have a big goal in mind (e.g. producing an A-level essay), you should apportion it into several milestones that you can use as guideposts to ensure you’re on the right path.

2. Have a definite schedule.  Don’t just target a deadline for the main goal (e.g. finish the essay after three weeks), set certain finish times for each milestone (e.g. research notes by Tuesday, initial outline by Wednesday, final outline by Thursday).  Allot necessary time for each activity.

3. Keep daily work in small chunks.  Don’t plan to finish an entire essay within a day.  Be realistic with your goals.  The more you can divide it into small chunks, spread out over several days or weeks, the easier it will be to accomplish.

4. Stick with the schedule as much as possible.  When you suddenly find yourself with extra time, it can be tempting to rearrange your schedule.  My advice is to stick to it if the situation allows.  The more you adhere to previous plans, the more concrete that schedule becomes in your mind.

5. Use software tools to aid you.  There are plenty of tools out there that can aid in project scheduling and general productivity, as well as software that can help your writing.  Use them to your advantage.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for people to get over is the difference between business writing and classroom writing.  Sure, they both comprise of words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate ideas.  Heck, they both benefit from the crafty guiles of a qualified grammar software.  Yet, they do it with a different aim.

In school, writing usually accomplished one goal: to display your knowledge of a subject.  The more arguments you make and the more information you fit in, the better the grades that you end up getting.  Writing was an exercise to showcase your ability to research, present information and think in a critical manner.

Once you enter industry, though, the whole dynamic changes.  Try using your writing as a platform to demonstrate how smart you are and you end up with a document that reads terribly.  Can you imagine an engineering report laid out with this goal in mind?  Chances are, you’ll end up reading dozens of information that barely push the subject forward.  But, hey, that writer sure sounds like he knows his stuff.

As a takeaway, always keep in mind: business writing requires you to get to the point in as clear a manner as possible.  That whole “smart” thing may have kept you afloat in school, but it won’t do you any good outside classroom walls.