Study Tips

It’s Friday, and you’re eagerly anticipating the weekend. Suddenly, your English teacher assigns a group project, your math teacher deals out five pages of homework, your socials teacher asks for an essay on World War I and to top it all off, everything is due next Monday!

It’s likely we’ve all been there, done that. But with a good homework schedule, we can still get everything finished…with plenty of time left to hang out with friends or binge-watch your favourite Netflix reruns. And I know what you’re thinking: you’ll sit down at your desk with every intention to get started, but somehow find yourself scrolling endlessly on Instagram or getting sucked into Snapchat drama. Now, there may not be a quick fix for this, but you could try taking breaks in between each subject of homework. For example, you could work for half an hour, then mess around on Netflix for ten minutes before returning to work for another half hour. Starting homework knowing you’ll have a break later can actually increase your productivity, because now you know you don’t have to dread working straight through it all.

You could also try eliminating all potential distractions before starting your work. That means putting messages on mute, signing off Instagram and closing Netflix. It can also mean letting your family or friends know you’re about to start your homework, so they know not to bug you for a while. This is harder to do than it sounds, especially when something intriguing is going on in social media or in real life, but that only means that you have something to look forward to later.

Another helpful tip is to make lists of everything you have to do and what day you plan to do it on. That way, you have a plan and you don’t have to worry about doing too much (or too little) each day. Also, reward yourself when you do finally complete your homework! Go out with your friends and treat yourselves to well-earned Starbucks Frappuccino, or spend some quality time reading or drawing if that’s what you enjoy the most.

Overall, sticking to a plan with your homework can be hard at first, but you just need to find the right strategy for you. After that, all of it can eventually fall into place.

Written by Caitlin Astrom De Witt