Tips for actually doing homework :~

[WEO]

Sorry if this is a stupid thread.....

Ok well its my last year in High School this year and I want/have to get really good results all year round.

To be honest I have never really done much homework for school like most other kids do who get ok to good results. I consider myself lucky though becuase like last year I did my math homework probably about once per semester lol and still got 78% for it at the end of the year. It's like that with all my subjects for me. If I have to compare to other students who don't do their work they are the 50percenters.

So I know that I can do REALLY good this year if I start doing my homework. But I'm just too fucking lazy or tired to do it :(. I'll get home after school, eat and play Computer games online all day, sleep or go out and smoke weed with some of my friends.

I've tried in January to do it everyday but it only lasted like 1 week then I was back at not doing shit everyday. So do you guys have any tips so that I can get into a routine and do my homework everyday?? :/ :/

edit: Oh yeah and I also have a procastration problem...

[INFERNO]

I'm assuming you want to go to a college or university so you can try to use that as some motivation, or a possible future career that you really want to get. I'm in 2nd year university and although the professors don't give you homework in terms of doing certain questions, you have to do that for yourself. My point is, you need self-discipline. It starts with discipline from others, so tell your parents you want to get your act together, sort yourself out and do your work. For me, I was unfortunate and fortunate. Starting from grade 8 or so, maybe a bit before that, if not only I didn't do my homework but screwed up on a test, I'd get the usual punchings and stuff then have to make my own food as my parents refused to make any for me, only for themselves. I'm not suggesting your parents kick the living shit out of you but that they check your work, take away computer games, unplug the internet, etc... . Sounds childish but that's where you start. Or, simply you do that yourself. Come home, get a snack, take a drink and extra snacks to your room, close MSN, facebook and whatever else you use, and if you're not doing any research online, shut down the computer, turn off the cell phone, music, etc.. . If your house is loud, get ear plugs.

Alternatively, if there's a library near-by, tell your parents you'll go there to work as you cant play games there. Once you finish, then you go home, get them to check your work then get food.

You may be fairly intelligent academically, but not doing any work in university and hoping for high grades is not likely to happen. Maybe for some of calculus but if I give you, say, a simple parabola, I'm sure you could tell me the equation and all that baby stuff. If I tell you to find my the area under the curve, that takes a bit more work, or telling you to find me the volume or surface area (have to rotate it in your mind to be a 3-D image or draw it 3-D, then find the volume or surface area).

You may have the potential to get good grades but just need a kick in the ass to get moving.

Also, make a timetable or agenda. Time management is very important, so estimate how much time for a certain task. Give yourself a little bit extra, that way if you finish early, you have time for a quick break then go onto the next task.

[Kaleidoscope Eyes]

Inferno, great advice. :)

I'm in college myself right now, and I agree that you need motivation to get the work done. You will have assignments that you are required to turn in, but many classes don't turn in work on a regular basis. My math class, for example: There's an assignment to go with every lesson we cover in class. We'll go over issues during the next class, but nothing is ever checked or counts for credit. The whole point of doing it is so you'll be prepared for the quizzes/exams, which DO count for your grade. My Psychology class is much the same. The only homework is to fill in the study guides for each chapter and to take notes. Study guides are never checked, but you get to use them on the exams (as long as no one is caught cheating by photo-copying the book, etc.). The homework really helps you out, but no one is going to breathe down your neck to make you do it.

Most classes also require that you read out of the text on your own time. Your syllabus will list which chapters go with which week of the semester, and you're often expected to have it read before class that week so that you understand the lectures. You can get behind pretty fast in some classes if you don't read the book.

So start now. Inferno's advice about taking away privileges is a good one. In high school, when my work was usually due the next day, I wouldn't let myself get online until I was done. Even if I had to use the computer to do it, I wouldn't check my e-mail or sign into any instant messaging crap. It really does help. It also helps to go to a friend's house after school (someone who actually does do their homework) and work with them for an hour or so. For a year or two in jr. high my mom couldn't pick me up until 4:30, so I'd walk home with a friend and we'd do homework together. I was usually done before my mom came to get me and I'd have the rest of the afternoon to myself. Another thing that helped was to make a check-list. I'd write my assignments in my agenda book, and make a big deal out of crossing them out when I'd finish. Gives a sense of accomplishment so you feel good about getting it done.

[Jean Poutine]

Not doing homework is addictive.

Being gifted with an insane memory, I never did any homework since childhood and always got away with 85%+, and today, in a part of my life where I need it most, I still cannot, for the life of me, bring myself to do my work.

Homework is just so damn boring.

A suggestion, I suppose is to take it easy. Do only the work that counts towards your final grade at first. Then escalate gently towards doing the rest.

I'm preaching and yet I have a philosophy homework that I'm pushing off until tomorrow...it's due tomorrow. I'll do it in the 3 hours before class.