Improve Your Score in Any Class with these 5 Simple Study Tips
By Garrett Lonsberry
Homework is never the most heavily weighted grade for a class, but it is essential to improve your score. If you do poorly on tests, improving your homework habits can help save your grade. Even if you do well on tests, you won’t be able to keep good grades if you can’t keep up with your homework.
If you’re anything like me as a high school student, you struggle to complete your homework timely and effectively. The first struggle is remembering you have homework in the first place. Then, you have to force yourself to sit down and start working on it. Once you’ve figured all that out, you still have to produce a quality response to the assignment.
To help make the entire process easier, we’re going to go over 5 quick, easy tricks to improve your homework habits.
Keep a Planner
The easiest step you can take to improve your homework habits is to keep a planner. Maintaining a consistent schedule makes it easier to keep track of what you need to do. Personally, I’d say the easiest way to stay consistent would be to write down each assignment immediately after you find out about it. However, there’s no one surefire way to keep a planner, it’s totally up to your personal preference. As long as you have some sort of system to record your assignments somewhere, it’ll be significantly easier to keep track of what assignments you have, which in turn makes it significantly easier to complete them.
Don’t Procrastinate!
I know, much easier said than done. I struggle with it, I’m sure you struggle with it. Your assignment isn’t due for 2 weeks, so obviously you’re not going to start it for another 13 days. However, if you can manage to sit yourself down and start working on said assignment, the hardest part of the homework process is over. The easiest step you can take to stop the procrastination process before it starts is to use that trusty planner. We’ve already established that we’ll be writing all our assignments down, but now we can take it a step further and form a schedule for when we need to complete each assignment.
If you’ve been given two assignments, one due tomorrow and the other due in two weeks, then obviously the one due tomorrow should be a priority. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t start scheduling out the plan for the long-term assignment. Instead of taking four hours to complete the work on the night before it’s due, we can space it out in four, one-hour increments on the nights leading up to the due date. When you cram, the end result will always be worse than if you spread your work out. If you can stay disciplined and do the assignments as they come, you’ll improve your score in no time!
Healthy Body, Healthy Mind
The first thing I do before I start an assignment is fill up a big glass of ice water. The easiest way to derail your attempt at finishing your homework is to distract yourself. The easiest way to get distracted is by being hungry/thirsty. Personally, if I start getting hungry, I’m not going to be able to think about anything else until I stop what I’m doing and eat. So, I always make sure to eat a little snack and get some water before I set out to complete any assignment. It helps me keep a clear headspace, which consequently helps me do my work effectively. The science checks out too!
Set a Regular Homework Space
The 2nd easiest way to get distracted is by anything surrounding you. So, the most effective way to avoid all external distractions is to designate a space specifically for homework. While it’s really tempting to sit in bed while you do your work, you’ll be more productive if you distance yourself from distractions. This space could range anywhere from a desk in your bedroom to a coffee shop to a study space like Studyville.
Take Breaks
Don’t burn yourself out! Ideally, you leave yourself enough time to space out your work over a few days. However, sometimes you just don’t have enough time. Even in that worst-case scenario, it’s never beneficial to drive yourself into the ground with work. Taking short breaks in between will help your brain recharge, ultimately resulting in a better product.
Improve Your Homework Habits at Studyville
So, now you know how to more effectively and efficiently complete your assignments. If those steps don’t provide enough of an improvement, you could always book a private session at Studyville!
