In my previous blog post I recommended that if you have never really been an academic and therefore not accustomed to doing work at home, simply focus on reading over your notes and completing your assignments for the day. I explained that a high school student should not spend (occasional exceptions are allowed) more than two hours per night on school work.
The point was made that if your homework time exceeds two hours then your first goal is to work on getting it down to that two hour time frame. Here is a list of possible reasons why your homework could be taking you longer than it should and possible interventions that may be taken:
Not understanding work covered in class and/or work assigned.
It is quite possible that you are spending extra time on work at home because you don’t understand the material covered in class. What happens is that the time that should be spent on simply doing the work is spent on trying to understand it. The way to avoid this problem is to try your very best to understand what is taught in class within the class period. The way to do this is to ask your teacher questions whenever you don’t understand something. It is up to the teacher to dig deep and explain whatever it is that you are not understanding.
Another reason for not understanding what is taught in class is that you are possibly distracted. Distraction comes in mainly two forms:
- You are distracted by your own mind, that is your mind strays.
- A friend constantly distracts you in class.
The way to reduce the frequency of your mind going astray is to try to be more self-aware and attuned to when your mind actually strays. When you become aware of your straying mind, refocus and fix your attention on what the teacher is saying. The problem is that quite often students are unaware that their minds have gone astray. When you develop the habit of ‘catching’ yourself whenever your mind strays, overtime your mind will learn that this is not desirable and your straying mind will be a thing of the past.
If you find that you are being distracted by a friend, simply ask the teacher if you could change seats.
A tired brain
As a student, your brain is your most important asset. A tired brain could be the reason why you take longer than desired to complete your work at home. For a brain to be healthy it needs three things: healthy food, a body that exercises and rest.
Ensure that you are eating foods rich in vitamins and minerals (a good rule of thumb is to avoid junk food at all costs).
Being active is very important. A brain housed in a physically fit body can think and problem solve more effectively. If you are not one who likes to exercise, try taking up a fun sport like football or even table tennis.
In order to ensure that your brain is getting the rest it needs, try to enjoy more down time so your brain can truly rest. This means making an effort to spend far less time on your cell phone. Time spent on your cell phone is time that could be used to recharge your brain. Less screen time means more opportunities to rejuvenate your brain through genuine relaxation.
As a side note, if you are spending more than two hours to complete your homework it makes sense to start your homework earlier to ensure that you get 8 hours sleep. Otherwise the negative effects of an unrested brain will be compounded and the cycle of spending too much time on homework will continue.
Teacher assigning too much work
As a teacher I have been guilty of this. It’s amazing how we teachers forget what it was like to be a student. I would strongly suggest that if you truly believe that your teachers are assigning too much work, that you let them know. It is important that you offer a good argument. Break it down. Let them know the number of assignments you have to do and explain how long it has been taking you to complete them. If your teacher has a heart he or she will make adjustments. There are teachers who won’t, but at least you have made them aware of the fact. Informing them is better than leaving them in the dark.
Once you have addressed the possible reasons why your homework takes longer than it should, it’s time to now make your routine as efficient as possible. In my next blog post we will begin to explore in more depth how to make your homework routine as efficient as possible, freeing up even more time.
See you then!
Unleashing your true academic potential 