Homework is a necessary evil. Think of it as the performance evaluation you receive to let teachers know you’re giving it your all.
As an adult, you’ll regularly be evaluated both formally and informally. Get a strategy going that helps you handle a lot of homework without having to pull all-nighters.
Here are 9 tips to help you stop being overwhelmed by homework and breath easy.
- Speak Up
One reason you might be struggling with your homework load is that teachers don’t realize students are struggling. This doesn’t mean you should go complain about how unfair your homework load is.
Instead, try asking for support letting your teachers know you’re having trouble managing. When you come to a professor looking for a resolution, you appear to be helping yourself and not whining.
Consider your professor is juggling more than one role in some capacity. They’ll appreciate it if you approach the situation from a place of acceptance rather than a complaint.
- Talk in Class
It’s much easier for professors to offer extra help or opportunities for you to raise your grade when you’re engaged in class. Talk in class more to make sure you’re visibly interested.
You might hate the class, but at some point or another, the conversations should resonate with you. Even if you’re speaking up to disagree, an engaged class makes the professor’s job much easier.
Dialogue is a stroke to their ego letting them know they have a captive audience. This gives you far greater leeway when asking for extensions on assignments when you fall behind.
- Personalities Matter
Let’s face it. There’s no such thing as a perfect student.
You’ll fall behind a deadline or need assignment help now and then. But is perfection really what your professor is looking for?
Probably not. Your course is being taught by a human being with their own passions and interests. Chances are, they’re teaching this class for reasons personal to them.
You have to learn to communicate with teachers in their own language in order to get through to them. It improves the quality of your essays and helps you appear engaged throughout the semester.
- Respect Percentages
No student craves the chance to read a syllabus. Of all the documents you receive, it’s actually one of the most boring.
But it’s also your lifeline. A course syllabus tells you where to focus your time.
If tests are 80 percent of your grade, then you should stop spending hours every night getting help on essays that only count for 3 percent.
Focus your attention on the areas that matter and work backward from there.
- A Little Bit Goes Far
One problem with having a lot of homework is thinking you need to defeat the battle all at once. You can’t always expect to handle it in one night.
Tackling a little bit each night goes a long way when you have extended deadlines. Once you’ve built a good rapport with the teacher, you’ll have a much easier time asking for extensions.
- Make Requests in Private
If you need a professor to make a special exception for you to turn in an assignment beyond the deadline or with different parameters, ask in private.
The last thing you want is to create a movement. If everyone chimes in, you’re creating a disturbance at the expense of your teacher.
Don’t expect mercy. This is the easiest way to get a rejection.
- Monitor Outbursts
Another way to destroy your relationship with professors is to have too many outbursts. If you’re in class trying to engage, that’s amazing.
But if your idea of engagement is to groan and moan when you hear your homework load, you’re setting yourself up for failure. There are many times when the homework situation just is what it is.
A groan simply excites everyone else in the room to also project their negative feelings. If you’re regularly the source of mob reactions to homework, expect to be graded much more harshly than your peers.
- Downgrade Your Extracurriculars
You might feel overwhelmed by homework because you’re involved in too many extracurricular activities. In high school, these activities are a plus because they show you’re a well-rounded student.
But you have to be careful not to let these activities become a time suck. The same can be said for socializing or having a job.
There are few situations where students actually need to socialize in order to do better at school Unless you’re in a rare scenario involving mental health, you need to cut back on parties and hangouts to make more time for your homework.
If you need to work for financial reasons, try to limit the days per week you go in. The days you have off should be strictly devoted to the homework you have.
- Take Breaks
There a saying that you work hard, play hard. But when it’s not possible to go off and have fun on your breaks between assignments, you should consider small breaks instead.
It’s estimated that young adults need a 20-minute break every hour you study. This break helps keep you energized when it’s time to get focused.
If you’re experiencing mental fatigue, the primary reason for this is that you’re not taking the breaks you need after you finish a homework item. Don’t rush.
You’ll sleep better at the end of the night if you get your best work during your homework time.
Managing a Lot of Homework
A lot of homework is a pain. There’s no getting around the inconvenience of trying to race to keep up with teacher expectations while managing your own life.
But with a good relationship with your teacher, you’ll find the loopholes you need to make your assignments more manageable. For more information and tips, visit our blog for updates.