TIP SHEET #11: By Time or By Assignment?

Knowing how to use time wisely is a life-long set of skills that carry over to work, home life and school, of course. Homework and studying can be done two different ways: by setting aside a specific amount of uninterrupted time to study, or by completing specific assignments or tasks. The idea is to use your time wisely and not allow homework and studying to drag on all night. Teens don’t need to spend all evening doing homework unless they are in a very difficult honors curriculum.

Which works best for you –

• finishing a specific job, topic or project, or

• using a specific amount of uninterrupted time to study and do homework?

Here’s an example:

I have to clean my messy house because friends are coming over for dinner. To motivate myself, I can:

1. spend a specific period of uninterrupted time cleaning my house so I know when I’ll be done with the chores and they won’t drag on all day, or

2. I can do specific tasks (dust furniture, clean the bathroom, clean the kitchen) for that feeling of accomplishment, relief and pride. We all want to feel a sense of accomplishment in the things we do.

Think about what technique of time management would work for you best in the evenings for homework.

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