Study smarter not harder
Photo courtesy of Charlotte Weiss
STUDY HARD. Sophomore Grace Koo spends her Aviator bell doing homework to minimize her daily work load. Most students spend Aviator bell with their friends instead of taking advantage of the thirty minutes of study hall they have each day. Make sure to spend your time wisely to ensure you will have free time that night or on the weekend. “Outside of school I try to keep a list of goals for the day because it helps me stay on track and be focused on my priorities. And if I have trouble focusing at home doing hw and assignments I go to the library or a coffee shop bc the change of setting gives me a better working environment and motivation,” Koo said.
As we approach Thanksgiving break, followed by exams and winter break, it is important to update your study habits to ensure the most amount of sleep and success. Use these few easy tips to improve your school experience and let you focus on having fun rather than doing homework.
Write down your homework assignments in a planner or on your phone.
We all forget about some assignments because they slipped our mind or were assigned a week before. Be sure to carry around a planner or even get a planner app, like AwesomeCalendar, on your phone to keep track of your homework. Even add things you have to do at your house to be able to check off more items and have a successful day!
Be productive over the weekend.
Even though we may want to spend hours with friends or go to the mall over the weekend, try to get ahead on school work to minimize stress during the week. Catch up on history notes or finish them the first weekend you get them so you do not worry about doing notes during the week. This can also help when in class, you may have some idea about what your history teacher is talking about and can ask more in depth questions.
Plan out an order to do your homework.
Sometimes we may want to do all of one subject before another leaving math or history at the end, but try to sort your homework into three groups. Have one group of homework due the following day, one group due within the school week and a final group due multiple weeks in the future. Even color code these groups in your planner or phone so you can easily see what to do first, second, and third. First, start with finishing all of the homework due the next day. Next, do a few things due within the school week, whether it be history notes or a science packet. Lastly, work a little bit on the assignments due in the weeks to come. Now you can relax!
Do not forget to follow these three steps to ensure you are the most productive after school. Before starting this process, grab a snack and decompress a little to prepare you for a productive night! Good luck!
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