How To Make Homework Less Boring
Homework sucks; it's a fact of life. It's tedious, hard, frustrating and most of all, boring. Listed below are five fail safe ways to make homework less bad and more rad, less crappy and more happy, less painful and more gainful, and most importantly less boring and more... not boring.
1. Music
The issue of whether Music increases productivity is a hotly debated one, however it can't be argued that it makes doing homework more enjoyable. Pop on your favourite tunes, get those feet tapping and get working on that huge project you should have started weeks ago! It's a proven fact (maybe) that 100% of people (100% of me, at least) don't have such an issue doing homework when some head banging beats are blasting in the background.
(For some great free music services, check out my hub: Five Free Music services that you'll love)
2. Make a checklist
That feeling of crossing the last item off of a to-do list is the greatest thing man can experience. Okay, so that might be an over-exaggeration, but it is pretty great. Making checklists for the homework you have to do helps motivate you, thus expelling boredom. If you want to go all the way with this, making checklists for each piece of homework can help too. For example if you have a project you're working on, have a checklist with points like start plan, finish plan, start first draft ect. all the way up to, finish final proofread.
3. Reward yourself
A good reward helps to motivate everyone. When doing your homework, give yourself little prizes every time you complete a major goal. For example, when you finally finish that english essay that was due yesterday have a snack. Or when you finish that final calculus sum throw your calculator through the closest window and scream "I HATE LIFE!!" Both are equally as rewarding.
4. Take lots of breaks
Taking breaks has a double positive effect. It helps you to focus and it makes homework less boring. It's been scientifically proven that humans can only concentrate effectively for so long, and then we get distracted and don't work as effectively. A study that was conducted has shown that the most effective study to break ratio is 52 minutes of study to a 17 minute break. If you don't want to be weirdly specific with the numbers, a 50 minute homework session and a 15 minute break should allow you to work as productively as possible. Setting times breaks also helps to eliminate boredom from your study as well. It can be especially hard to be motivated about your studies if you have to work in massive two or three hour blocks, but by allowing a break in the middle of your allotted homework time you have something to look forward to when your nose is to the grindstone!
5. When all else fails... Give up!
If you've been sitting at your desk for the past hour and still haven't made any headway into your mountain of homework, accept that it isn't going to get done. This definitely isn't the advice your parents or teachers will give you, but take it from a fellow student: there are nights when you're not going to be able to do anything. Leave it for an hour and have fun, then come back to it. If you still can't concentrate, give up and try to do something else productive. Of course, in the long run leaving your homework until tomorrow is a terrible idea, so if you're deciding whether or not to screw it all and go to sleep make sure you take that into consideration. There are more important things in life than homework (cue gasp from all teachers) and, as long as you've tried your best to do it, leaving it until a bit later isn't a crime. If you end up in a sticky situation, here are Five Epic Homework Excuses to keep you out of detention.
Now that you've got some sweet new tricks to get you through your nightly homework routine what are you waiting for? Despite what you might hope, it won't do itself!
Have a good day, and happy homeworking!
Which do you think is the best tip?
If you have any ways that you liven up your homework routine, post them in the comments down below!