What are some good study/homework habits?

I hope this helps..
I know this might sound silly, but I always found that making a checklist helps.
I am also a bad procrastinator, so maybe I’m not the best person to answer this.
For some reason it helps me to take mini-breaks and complain loudly to my family about my workload.

I’m sorry your parents are getting divorced.

@IHateMusic Thanks for your answer! I usually do make a checklist, but in my mind, I always tell myself I could do it tomorrow, or maybe later, and it just never works out, but I try!
Complaining to my family never works, because I only live with my mom, and she works a graveyard shift at a hospital, so she’s not home or sleeping when I do my homework.

And it’s fine, just a bit messy, ya know?

I’m sorry about your parents.

I love and use the to-do list idea. I use Remember the Milk, but you could just as easily keep it on paper. The important thing to do is to create and stick to the due dates on it. When I’m working for long periods of time, I use the Pomodoro Technique. It consits of studying for 25 minutes, then taking a 5 minute break, then repeat.

This might sound silly, but sometimes I trick myself into thinking that the work is due earlier than it really is.

If I’m in a lazy mood, the only way I can get homework done is by playing music at the same time.

Just some little tidbits that work for me.

@starboyg Thanks :)

I tried using remember the milk once, but it was just too inconvenient for me. Most of the time, I use the task app on my Palm Pre phone, since I use it so much, and it gives you a little reminder at the bottom of the screen when there’s something due the next day. It worked pretty well for a while, but I kept not listening to it, and so on D:

@IHateMusic oh, wow, that actually sounds like a good idea ._. I’m changing around my planner now :D
And I usually listen to music hahaha. (I’m right now, actually :)

I was a terrible student all through high school and college, so I’m in no position to offer you advice.

However, I agree with the checklist technique. I made mine really pretty and bought stickers to use when I completed assignments, which was incentive to do them.

I also find that it helps to study with another person, so you can “race” your assignments.

On the computer, turn off your Airport/unplug your ethernet, whatever. When you open your browser and get the “can’t connect” screen, it’ll remind you to work. Write down all the stuff you want to do when you try to open the internet to do later as a reward.

If it’s an emergency, such as a huge project or paper due the next day that you don’t start till like 11 pm the night before and clearly have to do an all nighter, I suggest doing 20 minutes working, then 20 minutes napping. In high school there was a couch next to the computer, so I would literally keep setting my alarm for twenty minutes, and each power nap would power me for 20 minutes of writing. Hopefully it won’t come to this, but it always does sometimes.

Above all, if you only get a couple hours’ sleep, DON’T DRIVE!! That’s just unsafe.

Oh god, I’m not even in high school yet, please don’t make it seem scarier than it is hahaha… I’m almost there though—next year here we come :(

Whenever I study with another person, that does help, but my friends are always busy, god damn it D:

And most of the time, they give us assignments that require internet usage, so that always fails me :( i just spent like, an HOUR on facebook OH GOD.

And I think I’ve pulled about 2 all nighters this year. Dangit. And I’m only in the 8th grade, what is wrong with me augh.

Thanks for your advice and everything, very good ideas! But sadly, I can’t drive for another 2 years and 6 months by myself, so we’ll see.

Draw up a timetable. It shouldn’t just include your study commitments but other things you need to do too. Going to the gym, seeing family and friends, doing your housework. If you make sure you plan for all your commitment and build in some fun time, you are more likely to stick with it.

Work out when your best time for study is? If you are a nightowl and your brain is really firing at 10pm, there is not much point sitting down to study at 8am. It isn’t going to happen. Use that time to phone friends, do the housework and keep your high energy time for using your brain for study. We are all different. Find what works for you.

Work with your own learning style. If you are an auditory learner, put information on your ipod so you can listen to your notes while doing other things. If you are a visual learner, use concept maps, draw up tables and diagrams that you can visualise.

Don’t cram. Plan to study in small blocks. 30 minutes or so and then take a break. Don’t try to study the same thing for hours either.

Study actively. Take notes, Write your own questions to answer. Try to come up with real life scenarios for the topics you are studying to help make the material more relevant. Don’t just read and expect the info to stay in your brain. You have to do something with the information. The more often you use information actively, the more you will remember things.

Form study groups, but make sure you do study.

Tell your friends and family when you are studying. For instance, don’t phone me between 10 and 12 during the day, that’s my study time.

Reward yourself when you get work finished.

Recognise when you are procrastinating. Set yourself a goal, “I will do this for 15 minutes”. Once you get into the work, the chances are you will stick with it.

Make a schedule of when all your assignments are due so you can see at a glance when you need to get things finished.

Hope these tips help you to get through your work. There are heaps of resources out there to help you plan your study better. Watch the Tales of Mere Existence cartoon on YouTube about procrastination. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P785j15Tzk

Liz

I forgot to mention.. turn off your phone/Facebook/Twitter and while you may have to use the internet, shut down your email/fluther etc. Anything you know will distract you. They are so hard to resist.

Liz

(I say it every time…but it works) Bananas!! :-D seriously xxx

There I guess we have something in common. And that is procrastinating and always being bad a doing homework and habits.

This year my goal is to always do my homework as soon as I get it.

you could try that.

I’m sorry your parents are getting divorced. I agree with making a checklist. I would also set a timer. For every 30 minutes you work take a 5 minute break in between until all your work is done. Do your work / study when your most alert and before distractions get in the way. Hope this helps.

im just like you! i tell my self I will do it later, but later never really means later. I’ve been getting better, and what really helps, is this,
-get an agenda(calender/planner)
-go straight to your hw, so you can go on the computer afterwords
-eat a snack while doing it
-be alone with nothing to distract you
(: hope that helps!

leftt I know all about the delaying tactics! ha ha. yes…You are looking for a better way to do what you probably already know how to do better. So really, it is a struggle within yourself. You know you need to impose discipline on yourself to achieve your goals, but it is easier to think about how it should be done in theory than to actually do it! I can only tell you what works for me and you have to find what works for you. To me, preparation is the key thing. When you are in class you need to really pay attention and not be distracted. In one of my college classes, it was History of Eastern Philosophy, some of the students used to bring tape recorders to class to record the professor’s lectures. One day, Professor Malhotra said, “if you paid attention when I was speaking, you would not need the tape recorders!” And he was right. Taking good notes in class means you are paying full attention and trying to absorb what the teacher is saying. When you study the information later it should be just a review for you. Because you are going through a difficult time with your parents divorce, it’s probably hard for you to concentrate. Maybe if you got together with a friend to study it would help you focus and it would help you to have their support. As hard as it may seem, sometimes school or work can be a refuge from a difficult situation. Think of your future and what school means to your future. No one can do it for you! Do it for yourself, believe in yourself and find a goal that means something to you, then follow that goal and don’t let anything get in the way!!!(including your procrastination!) But also be good to yourself and reward yourself along the way. I hope this makes some sense. I wish you luck.