Before I dropped out of school altogether, I decided I would try devoting as little time to it as possible. I started forcing myself to write essays faster and faster. It got to the point where I would sit down in front of my computer for five to ten minutes and literally write a stream of consciousness vaguely connected to the topic. I could turn it in for a C or a D. We've all heard about the 80/20 rule, but it seems like there's a 60/1 rule too. The hardest part about it was putting my name on such low quality work. But if you just want to optimize returns on your time, it's amazing how little effort is required.
This is what I did towards the end of high school. I did no revision outside of class (and did most of my homework in other classes), instead spending my time at home coding or socializing. I still took an A* in math and As in sciences and a few other subjects, with the remainders as Bs (except for Ds in woodwork and religion!) .. Didn't harm my future prospects at all and the coding practice helped a ton in getting my first couple of jobs.
