Is it becoming increasingly difficult to maintain focus on homework? Owing to the number of distractions away from class or at home, it is no wonder children and students alike can’t seem to stay focused on their homework. Homework slowly becomes more of a burden than something you enjoy doing. Children, in turn, employ all sort of tactics just to avoid working on their assignments. From
- Stomach upsets
- Storytelling
- Wanting to help with the chores,
- Frequent bathroom breaks, the list is endless.
On the other hand, college students find themselves dosing off or getting easily drawn into other people’s conversations and their own thoughts. As a parent, it can be overwhelming to keep on asking your child to finish their homework. The good news is that this is a problem that has many solutions. Here are several tricks you can also get off your hat to focus on homework.
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Include breaks during homework
To help break the monotony, take breaks during your homework. During your break, go to the bathroom, take a glass of water, go breathe some fresh air, stretch, and take the designated amount of time away from your assignments. Sitting continuously for say thirty minutes to an hour without moving can be awfully unfulfilling for anyone. In addition, it is not healthy to stay for too long in the same position. So, how about include short breaks during time they are doing their homework? For every thirty minutes you are seated, for instance, take a five minute break. This helps your brain to refresh and recollect. Once you sit back down, you will realize how easy it is to work on your assignment.
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Invent an action plan
Inventing your own homework action plan helps you organize your time properly. But how do you come up with this action plan?
- Write a list of all the assignments you aim to work on each day.
- Start with the assignment that is more urgent and finish with the one that is not as urgent.
- Assign the approximate amount of time you intend to spend on each assignment and stick to it. For example, for harder subjects, you can assign more time compared to easier subjects which you can complete much quicker.
It is advisable to assign time for dinner for instance if you are going to take a dinner break before working on all your assignments. An action plan is a crucial time management tool that helps you stay on course in regard to finishing your homework on time.
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Keep any form of technology at arm’s length
Phones, tablets, the TV, the radio, any electronic device near you is a possible source of distraction that can negatively affect your focus levels. Social media can take a toll on your focus levels where you are thinking of what you saw on Instagram or Facebook for instance when you should instead be finishing your homework. Make it a habit to spend some time away from social media an hour or more before you begin working on your homework. Homework time should be technology free unless it is absolutely necessary and contributes to you successfully completing your homework.
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Set aside a study space
A study area usually has a table, a comfortable chair, ample lighting and is quiet. It is advisable to set your study space in a corner near a window where there isn’t much noise from other rooms in the house. On the drawers or table top, place all your pens, pencils, rulers, calculators and so on. Avoid setting up in an area with poor lighting or where there’s too much noise. This will either leave you dozing off or halting your homework to indulge in other distractions respectively.
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Identify and eliminate surrounding distractions
Ask yourself, which is that one thing that always manages to get your attention at the one time you should be working on your assignments. If you want to know how to focus on homework, this is the question whose answer will help you identify the problem and find its solution. It could be the internet, electronics, or people. You can hence choose to turn off the internet and shut off all electronics for the time you will be working on your homework. Choose a quiet place away from people where there’s little chance for you to lose focus.
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Ask your family and friends to keep silent
It can be very hard to focus on homework when there’s loud music playing in the living room with you in the next room. Also, people may keep getting in and out of your study room or your study area. This is guaranteed to curtail your efforts to focus on your assignments. It helps a great deal to inform your fellow students, roommates, family, and friends that you will need an hour or two of silence. This way they can move outside or accommodate you as you do your homework.
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Listen to focus music
There are music tracks specially developed to significantly help increase your concentration levels. The music is fashioned to keep your mind productive the whole time you are listening. It can be difficult to listen to music while simultaneously doing your math or writing your science paper. However, this is not the current club banger that makes you want to stand up and dance. Focus music is more laid back, smooth and silent. This kind of music makes it easy for you to gain and maintain focus the entire time the music is playing.
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Reward yourself
On completing homework, make it a habit to reward yourself. This way, you have something to look forward to and prompting you to finish your homework faster. This way, you are able to better focus on homework unknowingly. If you’ve been struggling to find options on how to focus on homework, this is a sure way to get you focused pretty fast
With the above pointers, you will notice a huge improvement. You can now bid goodbye to poor grades and enjoy better grades which will now be the norm. Following the above ways provides a long term solution to problems often encountered by both children and adults in school. Whether you are a parent with a child in elementary, middle school, or high school or you are a student in college you stand to benefit from the above.