Create a method to track homework assignments. This might be a whiteboard or a simple piece of paper. But get something in place that enables both you and your child to see the big picture of homework.
List all homework on your whiteboard or paper. This includes all assignments and the tasks that make up the assignment. For example, your child might have a paper due; the assignment is the paper and the tasks are topic choice, research, rough draft, edit and final draft.
Estimate the time it will take. This doesn't have to be exact. After all, sometimes things go swimmingly and other times it takes much longer than anticipated. For example, the tasks for the paper could be broken down in this fashion: topic choice, half hour; research, three hours; rough draft, two hours; edit, 15 minutes; and final draft, one hour. You can refine these as the school year goes on, but only if you find that homework is taking a much longer time than originally estimated.
Determine how much time you have each day to work on homework. With total homework time per day in mind, and with the estimates, plot out the days that your child will work on each of these tasks. For example, if your child has practice until dinner time on Mondays, don't count on Monday as being particularly productive. Perhaps load up a bit more on Sunday or Tuesday.
Track how the homework is going. Each day, sit down with your child and see where she is expected to be and where she actually is. Some days, she'll be further ahead and others she might be a bit behind. If she's a little behind, ask her what she thinks she can do during the week to catch up.