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Introduction
Homework tends to be a daunting task that never seems to leave and never come back. For students, dealing with homework is an endless loop that is also their day-to-day reality and life.
The worst part? It takes forever -in most cases- to get done. When a teacher assigns a 10-page packet for homework to be completed for the next day, the last thing anyone wants to do is that packet.
Today, we’ll go over a very important skill that you need to learn ASAP: getting homework done faster. It takes up a large quantity of time on our schedule, leaves us with a minimal amount of time to do what we love, and makes students hate school any more than they do (which is fair).
So, let’s end this.
The Essentials
Do this before doing anything that proceeds. If you don’t have these essentials checked off, it will only take longer to get that assignment done.
- A good work environment – This includes placing your phone in a different room, not working on a comfortable surface, being well rested, and various more tips.
- A plan/to-do list with all your assignments in a favorable order
- Set goals and time constraints (to assure that you get everything done on time and accordingly)
- Getting some rest (if necessary, or too tired to do anything productive)
What I Won’t Tell You
If you were to search up “how to get homework done faster”, you’ll usually find tips like staying organized, preparing yourself, getting rest, eating healthy, and so many other things.
The truth is, they’re right. But, I won’t provide you those suggestions because it’s too obvious. You’re here because you seriously want to get your work done faster.
The prerequisites are listed, so let’s get on to the serious stuff. How do I actually get my work done faster?
Organized Images – Unsplash.com
How to Get Work Done Faster (Step-by-Step)
We’re going to do this in an orderly fashion, and we’ll be quick too. After all, you need to get that assignment of yours done.
Step 1:
Firstly, what class is this for? Is it for math, science, english, history, art, music, technology, engineering, or anything else? The reason this matters is because it’ll determine the way in which you’re supposed to get work done for that class.
For example, for math may require the usage of a calculator and the familiarity and comfortability with a certain concept, while science may require the usage of a digital simulator and memorization of a certain lesson, while history may demand of the mastery of a particular historical idea or figure.
Homework gets easier when you pay attention to what’s going on in class, and when you are right on track. Homework is on what you’ve already learned, so start with the bare bones here.
Step 2:
Secondly, if you’re doing several assignments in one sitting, which one is the easiest to get done, and which one is the most challenging?
If you don’t know, in which class do you know the most on what’s going on compared to other classes? Are you more comfortable in math, or in English?
From there, start with the easiest and progress onwards. Please note: there will likely be people to tell you online to start with the harder assignments first, and then get easier. BUT, you should only ever do that right after waking up from a long rest, not a 45 minute nap. If you start with hard and then get easier, it’ll burn you out faster and you’ll take longer to get work done.
If you wish to get your assignments done ASAP, you start easy. You only ever start difficult when its early in the morning and you just woke up. That’s when the mind is most fresh and when it can handle nearly any task with ease.
Step 3: Optional
Not everyone may be able to do this, but the idea here is to contact a friend/classmate/instructor. The idea here is that because you’re getting assistance from others that too are completing the same task, everyone is willing to help each other.
Very commonly, if I am working on something that troubles me, I’ll contact a friend that is occupied with the same task, and we can both help each other complete the task easily and quickly. It saves time, constructs a bond, and is credible in most cases.
AND, if you don’t have access to this, you can always access communities online that are willing to help you with this, free of charge.
Step 4:
Most importantly here is to enter a flow state. I always mention it because it changes the way you learn, observe, and the pace in which you get things done. It’s a game-changer. There’s no full post on it yet, but I discuss it briefly here in this post. Feel free to check it out and learn more on it.
Step 5:
If you’ve already referred to in-class notes, the easy-to-challenging strategy, and have tried contacting a friend for assistance, but yet nothing has worked, then it’s time to get serious.
The first thing you can do is use Google. Use it to scavenge notes and information online on whatever it is that you’re learning. Of course, this won’t work for every subject (math is a prime example), but it’ll work for quite a few. Personal suggestion here: make this quick. No need to waste time or obsess over such a simple activity.
The second thing that you can do is watch content on YouTube. Subjects like math are great here because you can view lectures of other professors completing the concept that you’re homework is on.
The third suggestion is to use free online resources and tools. In many cases, for the subjects that you’re working and studying, you’ll be able to easily find a bunch of materials on that said concept.
Step 6:
Lastly, you must apply your lessons learned toward the assignment that you’re currently working on.
Now, I know that those steps probably didn’t seem as promising as you might’ve hoped, and that’s because the process is fairly basic. There is no magical potion to get work done faster, but rather to understand the assignment, use resources and assistance to guide you, build familiarity, and then proceed to answer with ease.
PLUS, I’ll leave a tip near the bottom of this post that you can implement right now to get your homework done right now. Maybe you’ll consider that the magical potion.
Construction Images – Unsplash.com
Actionable Step
What homework assignment do you have right now that is troubling you? Maybe you just can’t seem to get it done, and it won’t disappear.
Here, I want you to choose that specific assignment and implement the steps above. The big idea is that you want to build familiarity, comfortability, and master the concept as you learn so that the homework becomes “lightwork” and is easy as making a PB&J.
3 Methods To Get Homework Done Faster
Method #1: Use Resources Online / In-Class Notes
I won’t go too in-depth here as we’ve already covered it, but all you need to know is that leveraging online resources will be so critical towards getting work done quickly. It helps you build understanding fast, thus making it even simpler to complete a task built off that understanding.
In-class notes are another thing to use too. Sure, they won’t solve all your problems but will guide you in the right direction in terms of what you need and don’t need to know.
Method #2: Use What You Already Know
Let’s say that you have an assignment on a recent lesson in class that you just weren’t paying attention to, or were confused on.
Though you are not the most confident, you at least know something; even if it isn’t much.
What I’m trying to guide you to is to use only what you know and answer the questions that you can answer. From there, try connecting it to the other questions and forming a response based on what you know, combined with outside knowledge. You don’t need to be an expert, you just need to be familiar.
Method #3: Leverage A.I.
Maybe you expected it here or didn’t. But, if all things go to sh*t, and you just can’t get anything out of the tips above, then A.I. will be your best friend.
There’s many tools out there that are AI-powered that’ll get the precise task that you need to get done, but we aren’t always lucky when it comes to these type of activities.
For that reason, I’m specifically directing my message towards ChatGPT. If you don’t already have an account, then create one; you won’t regret it. With it, you’ll be able to prompt it questions on anything you have inside of your homework assignment, and too get the answers that you are searching for.
Ask it for in-depth explanations, tables of data, lists, and any sort of information that you’re looking for.
Not everyone will favor this method because some may see it as cheating. But, I see it as a smarter way to do the same thing. Maybe I don’t want to scavenge the internet for an answer, and that’s respectable. Nobody really wants to do that, but many of us have no choice but to. So, why not take the smarter route and simplify that process of research and understanding?
“AI and Human shaking hands”
Conclusion
You want to get homework done fast? Well, I hoped those tips helped.
If you want an easier way to remember what you learned here today, keep these tips in mind:
- Build familiarity with the concept if you haven’t already in class. You cannot get the work done if you have no idea what the f*ck is going on.
- Create connections within the content. “Oh, so X happens because of Z, and Y happens because of X? That’s cool!”
- Craft a decent understanding that allows you to answer questions regarding that concept with ease. Use resources online or A.I. to do exactly that and help you research tough topics like the ones your focused on.
Homework sucks. That’s something so many of us have to endure during our school lives. So, the best thing you can do is jump in the ride with a clear strategy that is crafted for success.
If you need more help, I suggest taking a look at this website’s post on the brain’s reward system here. Learning it will train the brain to love doing work, and even crave it.
