Homework is a daily test for schoolchildren and students. Everyone wants to get an “excellent” rating, but not everyone succeeds: usually, there is a lot of homework, but there is no time for it. We will tell in the article what to do to complete this task quickly and efficiently.
Make a plan
In order not to clutch at all the homework in a row, you need to write a plan – a list of everything that needs to be done for the day. And this is literally EVERYTHING – from rereading notes from classes to preparing for the upcoming test.
When making a plan, follow these steps:
- Find out how much time you have to do your homework.
- Write down all the tasks to be done.
- Estimate how long it will take to complete each task, and make sure you don’t need to free up an extra half an hour to an hour for homework. Be realistic.
- Once you’re done with the list, get to work. Now you can not stop after each completed task to understand what to do next. Do it step by step.
- And the best part – put a tick next to the finished task!
If you have completed a plan and realized that you don’t have enough time for all assignments, it is better to google do my assignment. You will find experts that will help you with any type of task. With such assistance, all your points of the plan will be fulfilled.
Prepare everything you need
To do your homework, you may need a calculator, another notebook, pencils, or pieces of paper. You have already made a plan, so think about what you will need to carry it out. Prepare your workspace and check that everything is in place. And do not forget: order on the table is order in the head!
Don’t forget about your workspace
You sit down to do your homework, and then – ding – a message comes on Facebook, a friend posted a new photo on Instagram, the dog enters the room and demands attention, and a mother asks you to look into the kitchen. And now you need to urgently answer, comment, like, scratch behind your ear, or help someone. As a result, you get distracted from your homework and lose focus.
The best way to overcome this is to create a workspace and eliminate distractions. No matter where you study – at home, in a coffee shop, or in the library – full concentration on the task will not allow you to make a mistake and get a bad grade.
Checklist to create the right atmosphere:
- turn off notifications and put your phone on silent mode;
- remove from the table items not related to study (food, magazines, and books);
- turn off the TV;
- ask your family not to distract you.
Make time for breaks
We need breaks. Divide assignments into small tasks. Solve one, and then take a short break to stretch. This will revitalize your brain and body to continue working efficiently. We recommend the Pomodoro method: 25 minutes of work and then 5-10 minutes of rest.
Complete tasks in sequence
Productivity drops when you switch back and forth between writing essays in literature, solving math problems, and learning new Spanish words while being distracted by social media and chatting with friends.
Research shows that multitasking is less effective than focusing on just one thing: it blocks the flow of information into working memory. The information that we do not have time to process does not pass into long-term memory. The desire to do many things at the same time reduces our ability to complete tasks.
Be consistent in completing the tasks (that’s why we indicated making a plan as the first point!) – in this way, you will experience satisfaction when you finish the first task. This will give you the incentive to do the next one.
Eat right and sleep well
When you are mentally and physically tired, it is almost impossible to concentrate on tasks and find the motivation to do homework. In order to have enough energy for everything that you have in mind, eat right and devote enough time to sleep.
To stay productive throughout the day, adults need seven to nine hours of sleep, while teenagers need eight to ten hours.
Forget about perfectionism
There is the Pareto principle, also called the 80/20 rule. The idea is that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. Think about it. When you do your homework, you try to do it perfectly. At the same time, you forget that no one expects perfection from you: you study at school or university in order to become better and gain knowledge. You are on your way to perfection.
Throw away perfectionism – it destroys motivation and prevents you from performing important tasks.
Use the right memorization methods
For example, I remember material best when I write it by hand. It is easier for some to perceive the new information visually; for others, it is easier to memorize information in the form of audio. Think about what suits you, and 100500 words for a Spanish lesson will be learned faster!
Use only reputable sources
You will miss the information from the textbook and want to get into Google. Do not forget that there is a lot of unreliable and incomplete information. For example, you should not rely entirely on online translators when translating texts from English into Spanish. Although they are getting smarter every day, they are still far from human thinking. It is better to use English-Spanish dictionaries, for example, Cambridge Dictionary.
Focus on the assignment
I understand that many are comfortable when music is playing in the headphones, and the TV show is on in the background, but you lose your attention because of this. Are you sure everything is turned off? Read the task. Even if it seems easy to you, carefully look at the text. Re-read it several times to be sure that you understood everything.
If you absolutely do not know how to do homework, then do not be afraid to come up with unfinished assignments and ask the teacher to explain the topic again. Do not forget that the primary purpose of homework is to consolidate the material and knowledge, not to evaluate.