How to deal with tons of homework?

I’m pretty sure that this is a topic that has been requested by a lot of you guys, and of course, I hear you! As we move into high school, we start to have much more homework, which can create a lot of stress for you guys - especially when we are participating in a lot of other activities outside of school. Well, a solution can be that we quit all homework, but of course, that is not a choice - at least if you are serious about your education and are ambitious in picking a top-tier college in the future. Personally, I am enrolled in the AP diploma - I am taking 3 AP classes at school, as well as self-studying 3 other AP subjects - and because of this, there is a lot of homework that I have to do every night. But, not to flex or anything, but I am always one of the few students in my class that always finish work on time - and because of this, many people have asked me who have I been able to manage this. As this is an issue that a lot of people have, in this post I am going to share with you guys some tips that you can take in order to help yourself with your academic life, so that you can both finish homework while having other time to dedicate towards other things!

The first, and probably the most controversial (and for me, important) tip is that please utilize what you have at school in order to do homework. Many people at this point may disagree with me on this - “I have to socialize with my friends and do sports also, so how can I spare any time towards doing homework?” I completely understand with you guys on this - I like to talk to my friends as well as doing different things at school as well! But hey, let’s ask yourself one thing - if by spending all the time at school to do different things, you are not able to finish your homework, then is it worth it? Here, I am not discouraging you to not do stuff - please don’t just sit in a corner at breaktime! - but what I mean here is that if there are times at school when it isn’t that necessary to do stuff, use it to do your homework! Another benefit of that is that since teachers are still at school, you can easily access them by basically going into their office and asking them for different questions, in case you need clarification or help with questions.

The first tip is when you’re at school, and now let’s talk about what you should be doing at home: you need to be able to figure out how much time you can dedicate towards homework per day, and make sacrifices if needed. I know that you have different things to do as well, but at the end of the day, homework is one of the most important components, not only of your grade, but of your future college application as well. Because of this, based on the amount of homework that you are having, please recognize how much time you will need to finish the homework, and sacrifice your time towards other activities that are not that important. Apart from that, you need to also figure out what homework to do first. Some people tend to do work based on their preferences (which means that they tend to do their preferred subjects’ homework first and then the ones from the bad subjects later). But I actually don’t really like this idea - if you are to choose the preferred subjects to do first, chances are, by the time you start to tackle work that you are less fond of, you may not actually want to do it. Because of this, my advice on the approach to homework is to do work based on two things: deadline of the homework and the importance of the homework. If a piece of homework is due earlier on, you may want to do it first and then do some homework with a later due date later on. Likewise, you may want to do homework that is more weighted first, and then do one with less weight later on.

Another thing is to make your learning experience effective. There are a lot of “aspects” to this really: first of all, before you even start to study, please avoid all kinds of distractions. This means to put your phone on airplane mode, clear your table in order to make the studying space neat, and close your door if there is noise outside your room. Apart from that, you can implement different study techniques, such as using flashcards or practice the pomodoro technique. Additionally, try to make the learning experience fun by listening to some lo-fi music or bringing some snacks in! Lastly, don’t be hesitant to ask people around you for help in case you don’t understand some certain things. This means that you can ask your family members if you have any questions, as well as texting your friends (but again, don’t turn this into a distraction!)