In my experience, when you have 3 or 4 essays due plus tests looming in the next week you don't give a damn about a fee you'll have to pay in 3 or 5 or even 10 years time. In first year you don't particularly care about graduation either, some people might, but I know when I am stressed out hiding in a corner at home seems fine if the only consequences are fees in the distant future and a possibly delayed graduation, also in the somewhat distant future.
Post it notes may seem immature or inconsequential but when you can immediately wake up or have breakfast and look at your wall or where ever you keep your post it notes and have a task written clearly on a small piece of paper, then all of a sudden it seems more doable.
Its easy, a little sentence outlining what you need to do, that you can pick up and walk away with. When its done you can just screw it up and throw it away. It gives a sense of completion and achievement, as well as breaking large multi-part projects into small, easily achievable parts.
A white board sets out your big picture so you can keep on top of it before crappy time management skills ruin your essays. You know what it is and when its due, and it keeps reminding you every time you see it.
Obviously everyone has different methods, but for me, small tasks, constant reminders and achievable goals work wonders for my motivation.