Written by Marie Kane and Abby Jasinski |
Photos by Abby Jasinski |

Work can be very stressful and difficult. When you have multiple assignments at once or if you have a sport after school, that could also be a challenge. I hope this article will make an impact on how you get your work done. I wish to make it easier for you to get your work done faster without feeling stressed.

How to get work done if you can’t concentrate:

It is extremely important to be able to concentrate while doing your work. It is difficult to complete your work if there are distractions all around you. In order to concentrate, you should have only one assignment out at a time. When you have more than one assignment out, it can cause stress because you begin to think that you have to rush because you have more than one assignment that you have to complete. 

Another way to keep focused, is to listen to classical music and to put the volume on low. This will make you calm, and it can bring creative ideas to your mind while you do your homework. You should also do your work at your desk, table, or any other quiet place besides your bed. If you do your homework in your bed, your mind will believe that your bed is where you do your work, and when it comes to night time, it will be hard to fall asleep. 

Something else that will help is taking away your devices unless you need to go online to search something or to complete an assignment. When you get notifications on your phone, it is very tempting to look at it. That is a huge distraction when doing your work. 

You should also only try to think about the topics you are learning about. If you thinking about too many things at once, that can create stress and be a distraction as well. Lastly, if it’s hard to continue to think, begin working on another assignment because you shouldn’t spend too much time on an assignment. If you are stuck, you can either get help from your parents, friends, or look it up online. 

How to get work done when you come back late from a sport:

Getting work done when you come back from a sport, can be a challenge. When you get back from your sport, see if you are able to eat dinner as soon as you get home because if you eat in the middle of doing your homework, that is a big distraction which can cause you to go to sleep late or forget about your homework and not do it at all. If you are taking too long on one question, do other questions, then come back to that question. You don’t want to waste time on trying to think about a question when you could be getting some of your other work done.

If you have a lot of homework, always try to do as much as you can without going to bed so late. If you go to bed late, you will be very tired in the morning. If possible, do your work in a quiet place because you won’t have any distractions around you, and it will be easier to finish your homework. Lastly, if you have a class the next morning in which you can complete your work, use that time to do the rest of your work instead of procrastinating by going on your phone.

How to get multiple assignments completed at one time:

When you have more than one assignment that is due soon, you may become very stressed in trying to get all of them done. When you begin your work, always do your homework first, then do the assignments that will take a longer amount of time. You should also distribute the time in which you work on an assignment so you are not doing the whole assignment in one day.

Lastly, try not to get distracted while working because it will then take a longer time for you to actually complete your assignment

Study Strategies include:

• Flashcards- They are probably the most popular study strategy, but they work great. I only use them when I need to memorize vocab words.
• Rewriting answers to short answer/essay questions from tests, quizzes, homework, etc- This will help you understand the study material better. It will be good to have different responses to questions. Try to make your response different from your original one written on the paper. Use a whiteboard if you have one, or a new piece of blank paper to do this.
• Take snack breaks- This will keep you energized and motivated to keep studying. The snacks I like to have while studying, or even just in general, are crackers, cookies, vegetables, and/or fruits.
• Take notes- Notes will help you memorize the material. They help a lot, and if you use a good format, they work even better.

  

• Bring all study materials home- Without everything you need to study from, you may be missing some important information. Even if you are missing one part of your study materials, it could be bad. That one piece of information, just might be a huge part of the test or quiz.
• Go over all study materials- It’s important to review all the study materials you have, just  incase. You never know what can be on that test or quiz you are preparing for.
• “Wake yourself up” before the quiz or test- It won’t be good if you are really tired when you’re taking the test/quiz. Before you take it, get a drink or water, stretch, and make sure to eat breakfast so you have energy.

Senior, Andrew Tessman’s interview:

Morgan Senior Andrew Tessman shared study tips in an interview.

1. What three study strategies do you use?

¨The  three study strategies I use are flashcards. Flashcards are really important to me, memorization, and creating acronyms.¨

2. How long before the test or quiz do you begin to study?

¨Usually two days before the test or quiz. I usually do a light, light study the first night, and then get into a heavy preparation the next night.”

3. What’s your favorite study strategy and why?

“My favorite study strategy is probably creating acronyms. This is because I have a spontaneous brain, and my brain wanders a lot.”

4. Is there any advice you have for freshmen studying for midterms?

“Yes, don’t throw anything away until after the midterms. They are nothing like the eighth grade ones. Bring everything out early for studying.”

5.      What’s the difference between middle school exams and highschool exams?

“Well, highschool exams are real. You definitely have to study for them. They’re really important. Eighth grade exams are an introduction to studying and exams.”

6. Where do you usually study?

“At a desk, in my room, with a lamp and textbooks”

7.      Would you rather study in a group, with one other person, or alone, and why?”

“For me, it usually depends on the subject. In algebra, if friends were working in a group, that’d work for me, but I’m pretty solitary in most of the other subjects.”

8.      When do you usually study; right after school, after dinner, or in the evening/night?

“Sometimes right after school I’ll start to study if I’m still in the school state of mind but I mostly study at night to keep the material in my head for the next day.”