How To Get Yourself To Do Homework: 10 Helpful Tips


Most people don't want to do homework. It's hard, it's boring, but it has to be done. There's no way to avoid it. Some students do, but it greatly impacts their grades. There are a lot of reasons that people don't want to do it. There are also a lot of excuses not to do it. Whether you're tired, in a bad mood or you just can't seem to get yourself motivated, I'm here to help. Here a ten tips to get you started:

  1. Get rid of distractions. Music has always helped me focus on whatever work I'm doing, but your phone, TV or iPad are not things you should have around you when you're struggling to complete your work.
  2. Divide your assignment(s) into smaller, more manageable portions. If the reason you can't get motivated is because you're feeling overwhelmed, dividing your work can make it easy to do. Whether it's due tomorrow in several times, you can decide what portion of work you want to do over the time you have. You can do this over hours, or if you have more time, you can set time aside to complete certain parts of your work, project or assignments over several days.
  3. Sets goals. Tell yourself what you're going to accomplish, whether it's reading pages, writing them or researching for them. Do one thing at a time.
  4. Take breaks. Your mind needs to rest. If you're frustrated or overwhelmed, then you won't be able to do your homework anyway. Step away, get something to eat, recharge your batteries and then come back to your work.
  5. Ask for help. If you don't understand your work or just need a little help, ask a parent, friend or sibling to help you.
  6. Do the hardest questions first. I've done this so many times I've lost count! The more you work, the tireder you will get. Homework can wear you out. I always found it easier to do the hard questions first when my energy level it at it's highest. Then the easy questions are saved for when you have less energy to give.
  7. Don't procrastinate. It's easy to say that you'll get to it later, but time passes quickly, and it's also easy to forget. Before you know it, you've let the whole day go by without doing the work that's due. Start your homework while you're thinking about it.
  8. Prioritize your work. If you don't have to do it all at once, then don't! Focus on what's most important to finish. Decide what needs to be done first. That way, if everything's not finished by the end of the day, you know that you still have time to complete the other assignments that are not yet due.
  9. If you're tired, take a nap. If you're too tired to do your homework then rest your eyes and set a timer or have someone wake you up. Then you'll have one less reason not t do your work. The less tired you are, the more focused you will be.
  10. Reward yourself! This often motivated me. Whether you reward yourself with candy, a bowl of ice cream or a marathon of your favorite TV show, this will give you something to look forward to when your homework is finished.