best way to do homework assignments

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By submitting my email address. i certify that i am 13 years of age or older, agree to recieve marketing email messages from the princeton review, and agree to terms of use., 8 easy ways to finish your homework faster.

How many times have you found yourself still staring at your textbook around midnight (or later!) even when you started your homework hours earlier? Those lost hours could be explained by Parkinson’s Law, which states, “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” In other words, if you give yourself all night to memorize those geometry formulas for your quiz tomorrow, you’ll inevitably find that a 30 minute task has somehow filled your entire evening.

We know that you have more homework than ever. But even with lots and lots to do, a few tweaks to your study routine could help you spend less time getting more accomplished. Here are 8 steps to make Parkinson’s Law work to your advantage:

1. Make a list

This should be a list of everything that has to be done that evening. And we mean, everything—from re-reading notes from this morning’s history class to quizzing yourself on Spanish vocabulary.

2. Estimate the time needed for each item on your list

You can be a little ruthless here. However long you think a task will take, try shaving off 5 or 10 minutes. But, be realistic. You won’t magically become a speed reader.

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3. Gather all your gear

Collect EVERYTHING you will need for the homework you are working on (like your laptop for writing assignments and pencils for problem sets). Getting up for supplies takes you off course and makes it that much harder to get back to your homework.

The constant blings and beeps from your devices can make it impossible to focus on what you are working on. Switch off or silence your phones and tablets, or leave them in another room until it’s time to take a tech break.

5. Time yourself

Noting how much time something actually takes will help you estimate better and plan your next study session.

6. Stay on task

If you’re fact checking online, it can be so easy to surf on over to a completely unrelated site. A better strategy is to note what information you need to find online, and do it all at once at the end of the study session.

7. Take plenty of breaks

Most of us need a break between subjects or to break up long stretches of studying. Active breaks are a great way to keep your energy up. Tech breaks can be an awesome way to combat the fear of missing out that might strike while you are buried in your work, but they also tend to stretch much longer than originally intended. Stick to a break schedule of 10 minutes or so.

8. Reward yourself!

Finish early? If you had allocated 30 minutes for reading a biology chapter and it only took 20, you can apply those extra 10 minutes to a short break—or just move on to your next task. If you stay on track, you might breeze through your work quickly enough to catch up on some Netflix.

Our best piece of advice? Keep at it. The more you use this system, the easier it will become. You’ll be surprised by how much time you can shave off homework just by focusing and committing to a distraction-free study plan.

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Homework Hacks: 8 Tips to Get It Done Faster

Homework is no fun, especially if you’ve got a full schedule. You only have a little bit of time and a little bit of energy. And it takes so long to get through it.

Not anymore. We’ve got some helpful homework hacks for you that will make doing your homework faster and less painful.

1. Plan Your Homework and Make a List

When you start your homework, you’ll probably jump right into the first thing on your mind or the first thing you pull out of your backpack, then work your way through the rest of your assignments. There’s a better way.

Figure out how much time you have to do homework, then list out all the different tasks that you have to do. Estimate how long it will take to complete each assignment to see if you need to allow yourself more time. Be realistic. Once your list is complete you can work straight through instead of stopping frequently to figure out what to do next. It will also be extremely gratifying to cross things off after each assignment you finish!

2. Get Out All the Books and Supplies You Need

While you’re working, you discover you need a calculator, you need a certain book, you need a new pencil, you ran out of paper… the list can go on.

Since you’ve now identified all your assignments, figure out everything you need to get each item done and bring it to your workspace so it’s there when you need it.

3. Find a Quiet Place to Work Without Distractions

Speaking of workspace, you probably prefer doing your homework in front of the TV, but that can actually be the biggest distraction of all. Sitting in front of the TV is probably slowing you down, making homework time seem much longer that it actually is.

Find a place that’s quiet, with as few distractions and clutter possible. Remember, the faster you get it done, the faster you can get back to fully enjoying Netflix.

4. Turn Off Your Phone

We know this is probably the last thing you want to hear. How can you live without your phone? But for a couple hours, its totally worth it. Every time you get a notification and check your phone, it breaks your focus. It then takes more brain power to get back on track to what you were working on.

5. Listen to Classical Music While Working

We know what you’re thinking… Classical music? Seriously?

However, classical music is great for background audio. There aren’t any lyrics or beats to distract your focus. And research has shown that students who listen to classical music score higher on tests than students who listen to other genres of music. So find some good classical playlist on Spotify, then celebrate with Queen Bey when you’re done.

6. Eat Snacks and Drink Water

At the end of a long day, you may be mentally and physically tired. If you go straight into homework it may take you a long time to finish and it won’t be your best work.

Having some light healthy snacks and drinking plenty of water helps revitalize your brain and body. Avoid soda, energy drinks, or sugary snacks that will only make you crash before you’re done.

7. Take Short Breaks in Between Homework Tasks

If you have a lot to do, you may feel the pressure to just work straight through hours and hours of homework. But this will likely end up slowing you down, prolonging the entire session.

Do your work in short sprints. Go hard at a task, then take a quick break to stretch and walk around. It’ll re-energize your mind and body to keep going. For starters, try working for 25 minutes, then taking a 5-minute break.

8. Reward Yourself After You’re Finished

Homework isn’t always fun. But negativity can slow you down.

Our brains work off of reward systems. If you give yourself a reward when finishing your homework, it makes it a lot easier to start your homework the next time and you’ll get through it faster. Rewards could be being able to watch a show, eat ice cream, play a game, or going out and doing something fun.

Now that you’ve got all these tips, go get your homework done faster than ever before. It may be hard at first, but keep using these tips and it’ll get easier as you go.

Featured Image: Piotr Marcinski/Shutterstock

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Strategies to make homework go more smoothly.

Routines and incentive systems to help kids succeed

Writer: Peg Dawson, EdD, NCSP

Clinical Experts: Peg Dawson, EdD, NCSP , Karol Espejo, LCSW

Here is the best guide to helping kids do homework successfully that we’ve seen, published by the National Association of School Psychologists on their website, NASPonline.org . Our thanks to NASP for sharing it with us.

There are two key strategies parents can draw on to reduce homework hassles. The first is to establish clear routines around homework, including when and where homework gets done and setting up daily schedules for homework. The second is to build in rewards or incentives to use with children for whom “good grades” is not a sufficient reward for doing homework.

Homework Routines

Tasks are easiest to accomplish when tied to specific routines. By establishing daily routines for homework completion, you will not only make homework go more smoothly, but you will also be fostering a sense of order your child can apply to later life, including college and work.

Step 1. Find a location in the house where homework will be done. The right location will depend on your child and the culture of your family. Some children do best at a desk in their bedroom. It is a quiet location, away from the hubbub of family noise. Other children become too distracted by the things they keep in their bedroom and do better at a place removed from those distractions, like the dining room table. Some children need to work by themselves. Others need to have parents nearby to help keep them on task and to answer questions when problems arise. Ask your child where the best place is to work. Both you and your child need to discuss pros and cons of different settings to arrive at a mutually agreed upon location.

Step 2. Set up a homework center. Once you and your child have identified a location, fix it up as a home office/homework center. Make sure there is a clear workspace large enough to set out all the materials necessary for completing assignments. Outfit the homework center with the kinds of supplies your child is most likely to need, such as pencils, pens, colored markers, rulers, scissors, a dictionary and thesaurus, graph paper, construction paper, glue and cellophane tape, lined paper, a calculator, spell checker, and, depending on the age and needs of your child, a computer or laptop. If the homework center is a place that will be used for other things (such as the dining room table), then your child can keep the supplies in a portable crate or bin. If possible, the homework center should include a bulletin board that can hold a monthly calendar on which your child can keep track of longterm assignments. Allowing children some leeway in decorating the homework center can help them feel at home there, but you should be careful that it does not become too cluttered with distracting materials.

Step 3. Establish a homework time. Your child should get in the habit of doing homework at the same time every day. The time may vary depending on the individual child. Some children need a break right after school to get some exercise and have a snack. Others need to start homework while they are still in a school mode (i.e., right after school when there is still some momentum left from getting through the day). In general, it may be best to get homework done either before dinner or as early in the evening as the child can tolerate. The later it gets, the more tired the child becomes and the more slowly the homework gets done.

Step 4. Establish a daily homework schedule. In general, at least into middle school, the homework session should begin with your sitting down with your child and drawing up a homework schedule. You should review all the assignments and make sure your child understands them and has all the necessary materials. Ask your child to estimate how long it will take to complete each assignment. Then ask when each assignment will get started. If your child needs help with any assignment , then this should be determined at the beginning so that the start times can take into account parent availability. A Daily Homework Planner is included at the end of this handout and contains a place for identifying when breaks may be taken and what rewards may be earned.

Incentive Systems

Many children who are not motivated by the enjoyment of doing homework are motivated by the high grade they hope to earn as a result of doing a quality job. Thus, the grade is an incentive, motivating the child to do homework with care and in a timely manner. For children who are not motivated by grades, parents will need to look for other rewards to help them get through their nightly chores. Incentive systems fall into two categories: simple and elaborate.

Simple incentive systems. The simplest incentive system is reminding the child of a fun activity to do when homework is done. It may be a favorite television show, a chance to spend some time with a video or computer game, talking on the telephone or instant messaging, or playing a game with a parent. This system of withholding fun things until the drudgery is over is sometimes called Grandma’s Law because grandmothers often use it quite effectively (“First take out the trash, then you can have chocolate chip cookies.”). Having something to look forward to can be a powerful incentive to get the hard work done. When parents remind children of this as they sit down at their desks they may be able to spark the engine that drives the child to stick with the work until it is done.

Elaborate incentive systems. These involve more planning and more work on the part of parents but in some cases are necessary to address more significant homework problems. More complex incentives systems might include a structure for earning points that could be used to “purchase” privileges or rewards or a system that provides greater reward for accomplishing more difficult homework tasks. These systems work best when parents and children together develop them. Giving children input gives them a sense of control and ownership, making the system more likely to succeed. We have found that children are generally realistic in setting goals and deciding on rewards and penalties when they are involved in the decision-making process.

Building in breaks. These are good for the child who cannot quite make it to the end without a small reward en route. When creating the daily homework schedule, it may be useful with these children to identify when they will take their breaks. Some children prefer to take breaks at specific time intervals (every 15 minutes), while others do better when the breaks occur after they finish an activity. If you use this approach, you should discuss with your child how long the breaks will last and what will be done during the breaks (get a snack, call a friend, play one level on a video game). The Daily Homework Planner includes sections where breaks and end-of-homework rewards can be identified.

Building in choice. This can be an effective strategy for parents to use with children who resist homework. Choice can be incorporated into both the order in which the child agrees to complete assignments and the schedule they will follow to get the work done. Building in choice not only helps motivate children but can also reduce power struggles between parents and children.

Developing Incentive Systems

Step 1. Describe the problem behaviors. Parents and children decide which behaviors are causing problems at homework time. For some children putting homework off to the last minute is the problem; for others, it is forgetting materials or neglecting to write down assignments. Still others rush through their work and make careless mistakes, while others dawdle over assignments, taking hours to complete what should take only a few minutes. It is important to be as specific as possible when describing the problem behaviors. The problem behavior should be described as behaviors that can be seen or heard; for instance, complains about h omework or rushes through homework, making many mistakes are better descriptors than has a bad attitude or is lazy.

Step 2. Set a goal. Usually the goal relates directly to the problem behavior. For instance, if not writing down assignments is the problem, the goal might be: “Joe will write down his assignments in his assignment book for every class.”

Step 3. Decide on possible rewards and penalties. Homework incentive systems work best when children have a menu of rewards to choose from, since no single reward will be attractive for long. We recommend a point system in which points can be earned for the goal behaviors and traded in for the reward the child wants to earn. The bigger the reward, the more points the child will need to earn it. The menu should include both larger, more expensive rewards that may take a week or a month to earn and smaller, inexpensive rewards that can be earned daily. It may also be necessary to build penalties into the system. This is usually the loss of a privilege (such as the chance to watch a favorite TV show or the chance to talk on the telephone to a friend).

Once the system is up and running, and if you find your child is earning more penalties than rewards, then the program needs to be revised so that your child can be more successful. Usually when this kind of system fails, we think of it as a design failure rather than the failure of the child to respond to rewards. It may be a good idea if you are having difficulty designing a system that works to consult a specialist, such as a school psychologist or counselor, for assistance.

Step 4. Write a homework contract. The contract should say exactly what the child agrees to do and exactly what the parents’ roles and responsibilities will be. When the contract is in place, it should reduce some of the tension parents and kids often experience around homework. For instance, if part of the contract is that the child will earn a point for not complaining about homework, then if the child does complain, this should not be cause for a battle between parent and child: the child simply does not earn that point. Parents should also be sure to praise their children for following the contract. It will be important for parents to agree to a contract they can live with; that is, avoiding penalties they are either unable or unwilling to impose (e.g., if both parents work and are not at home, they cannot monitor whether a child is beginning homework right after school, so an alternative contract may need to be written).

We have found that it is a rare incentive system that works the first time. Parents should expect to try it out and redesign it to work the kinks out. Eventually, once the child is used to doing the behaviors specified in the contract, the contract can be rewritten to work on another problem behavior. Your child over time may be willing to drop the use of an incentive system altogether. This is often a long-term goal, however, and you should be ready to write a new contract if your child slips back to bad habits once a system is dropped.

Click here to download the homework planner and incentive sheet .

Frequently Asked Questions

To help homework go more smoothly, e stablish a routine that includes a time and place where it will be done, a planner that lists each assignment, scheduled breaks when some of the work is done, and a reward system for kids who are not motivated by good grades alone.

Set a good homework routine following these steps: Find a location in the house where homework will be done. Set up a homework center stocked with needed materials . Establish a homework time. Use a daily homework planner so that your child has everything in writing.

One tool that can make homework go more smoothly i s a Daily Homework Planner , which lists each assignment, how long it should take to complete, and what rewards may be earned for completing each assignment.

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Published on September 15, 2022
September 15, 2022

How to Focus on Homework and Actually Get Things Done: 12 Hacks for Busy Students

A teen using his laptop and learning how to focus on homework

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Chances are, you’ve had some days when you felt overwhelmed after a long day at school. You couldn’t imagine doing anything other than plopping down in front of the television, let alone finding out how to focus on your homework.

How can you overcome the resistance and get it done? How do you get your mind to include this task in your day as well?

With just a few adjustments, you will be able to expand your capacity to concentrate.

Why Can’t I Focus on My Homework?

Countless factors constantly fight for your attention : social media, people, overthinking, and anxiety. All of this can make you feel as though you have little control over your mind.

If you want to start to focus better on your homework, you’ll need to set your mind up for success. Remove all distractions .

Here are two key principles that can help you be more successful in your studies:

1. Identify the distractions in your surroundings

What are the things in your daily life that take your mind away from your studies? Clearly identifying these distractions can help you understand both the problem and what causes it.

Among our environmental distractions, digital distractions are one of the worst kinds, and according to a number of studies , their effect is on the rise in the classroom.

If you’re looking to gain more concentration and, thus, form better study habits, question your online behavior first and foremost.

2. Limit the use of technology to find focus

What’s the role of social media in your daily life? Have you ever sat down to calculate how social media distracts you from doing the things you should be doing?

When you are wondering how to focus on homework long after you’ve put your phone away, you’re still thinking about the last posts you saw on Instagram. The sound of new notifications can be enough to reroute our attention from the task at hand.

And then comes the information overload, the fear of missing out, and the all-too-common signs of addictive behavior. Technology is affecting your mind more than ever, and it’s taking your focus away.

A teenager learning how to focus on homework

How to Focus on Homework: 12 Things You Can Do to Be More Indistractible

Here are 12 tips on how to stay focused while completing your homework, taught by superbrain coach Jim Kwik and habit transformation expert Nir Eyal .

Make a routine
Set up a study-friendly environment
Avoid heavy meals
Organize your study notes
Tell others to stay away
Listen to study music
Set deadlines
Take brain breaks
Use discomfort as motivation for productivity
Use time blocking
Let go of thoughts that distract you
Reimagine your task

Let’s look at each study hack in more detail.

1. Make a routine

Routines help you be productive without exerting as much effort. When you have homework to do, a study routine can be the reason you actually sit down, set enough time aside, concentrate, and stay focused until you complete the project.

This process doesn’t need to be complicated: just tell yourself that you will sit at your desk at home once you’re back from school. Put your phone on silent, make an outline of the work that needs to get done, and simply begin with what’s most important.

2. Set up a study-friendly environment

A place for everything and everything in its place. That applies to studying, too.

Lying in bed with your notebook is considered a distraction, as is being in the living room with your laptop while others are doing their activities.

You need an isolated place when you decide to focus on your homework. Make it feel comfortable, keep it organized, keep it clean, and consider putting up some motivational posters or positive affirmations .

3. Avoid heavy meals

It’s not advisable to have a big meal beforehand. Big meals can ruin your focus and make you feel sluggish and lazy because it takes a big amount of time and energy for your body to digest. A snack is okay.

There are also some foods , though, that are just plain bad for your productivity. For example, soda, candy, and fried foods are all full of sugar and have no nutritional value. They make your insulin spike up, but then it crashes very fast, which makes you feel depleted of energy.

4. Organize your study notes

Prioritize your work. Keep lists and place the most important items on top. Then work on the items that you should get done first.

It helps to outline what you need to do, breaking it down into smaller, more manageable steps. Use colors to highlight the essentials .

This makes it all look much simpler and you’re more likely to actually get started. The brain loves organization and it won’t be so likely to procrastinate when it knows you have a structure set in place.

5. Tell others to stay away

Don’t be afraid to let others know that you’re studying and require some time and space to get your work done. Decide on fixed hours for studying and tell your friends and family members that you won’t be available during that time of the day.

If others respect your study time, you’ll be more inclined to respect it as well.

6. Listen to study music

There are many tracks out there designed to help your mind focus. Whether you use binaural beats or just instrumental music, the right sounds can really help to tune your brain into a productive frequency.

This meditation is also great to listen to; it puts your mind in a clear, concise, and ready-to-take-on-the-world mode:

7. Set deadlines

Even if your teacher has already given you deadlines for each assignment, set new ones yourself at earlier dates.

This helps you build discipline, learn how to focus on studying, and prioritize every day.

8. Take brain breaks

Frequent breaks actually increase your productivity and focus. You’ll see that after each study session, the brain needs to be engaged with something different — you need to activate other parts of your brain before going back to your studies so that you can reach top performance.

You can also use the Superbrain Yoga Technique. In the Superbrain Quest, Jim talks about implementing it during your breaks. It goes as follows:

Massage the left lobe of your ear with your right hand, and the right one with your left hand
Inhale and squat down
Exhale and come back up while continuing massaging your opposite ear with the opposite hand
Keep going for a few minutes

As your body moves, your brain grooves. — Jim Kwik, trainer of Mindvalley’s Superbrain Quest

9. Use discomfort as motivation for productivity

The brain is wired to protect us from danger, and our ancestors needed this function of the psyche to survive. Discomfort is associated with danger, and whenever they felt it, they knew it was time to run away or protect themselves in one way or another.

In today’s world, danger isn’t so imminent. However, discomfort is, and the brain still works to protect us in the same way.

So why not use it to your advantage?

Once you have this mindset shift, you can see the discomfort that comes with doing your homework as fuel for moving forward, from pain to pleasure. So instead of procrastinating and avoiding the discomfort, just use it as motivation to get things done.

And maybe you can even save yourself a fun activity to do later in the day, so you have something to look forward to.

10. Use time blocking

You can use time blocking and set a specific amount of time for parts of your homework that needs to be done. For example, you block 30 minutes of reading, then another 30 minutes of writing down highlights from the text.

This method will give you more structure and support you when you need to focus on school work, as you will have a dedicated structured time to do so.

11. Let go of thoughts that distract you

When you need more concentration, but your thoughts keep getting in the way, here’s a fun visualization exercise you can use:

Before you start working on your homework, close down your eyes and imagine a flowing river in front of you.
Now, place every thought on a leaf and let it run down the river while watching it move away from you.

Do this repeatedly for 5-10 minutes and see how your mind becomes clearer, more productive, and more inspired.

12. Reimagine your task

How can you make the process of doing your homework more fun? Is there any way you can think of to make it more exciting and engaging?

As you introduce play and fun into any task, your capacity to stay focused will increase. So just try out different methods to engage more in your homework.

For example, what if you made a trivia quest about your history lesson homework? Or what about riddles to make you remember all the characters from the novel you have to read?

Once you play around with these kinds of games, you might find that focusing on your homework isn’t as boring as you thought it would be.

Unleash the Power of Your Focus

Discovering how to focus on your homework can go beyond schoolwork and actually support you in many other activities you want to do. Concentration is one of the best skills to nurture for your growth.

If you need a little guidance at the beginning of your focusing journey, Mindvalley has it in store for you.

By unlocking your FREE Mindvalley access , you can check out sample classes from quests that help you develop better focus and study habits, such as Becoming Focused and Indistractable by Nir Eyal and Superbrain by Jim Kwik. You can also immerse yourself in beautiful sounds and guided meditations designed to improve concentration and help you enter the flow state.

The earlier you start, the greater your journey of self-discovery will be. Welcome in.

— Images generated on Midjourney.

Take the next step: enroll for free

Discover Powerful Hacks to Unlock Your Superbrain to Learn Faster, Comprehend More and Forget Less

Join the foremost expert in memory improvement and brain performance, Jim Kwik, in a free masterclass that will dive into the one skill you will ever need — learning how to learn Enroll for free

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Jim Kwik is a brain coach and a world expert in speed reading, memory improvement, and optimal brain performance.

Known as the “boy with the broken brain” due to a childhood injury, Jim discovered strategies to dramatically enhance his mental performance.

He is now committed, through programs like Mindvalley’s Superbrain and Speed Reading Quest , to helping people improve their memory, learn to speed-read, increase their decision-making skills, and turn on their superbrain.

He has also shared his techniques with Hollywood actors, Fortune 500 companies, and trailblazing entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Richard Branson to reach their highest level of mental performance. He is also one of the most sought-after trainers for top organizations like Harvard University, Nike, Virgin, and GE.

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10 Tips to Get Your Homework Done Fast

Introduction

It's a tale as old as time: the clock ticking away ominously as you sit there, a heap of untouched homework glaring at you. The common hurdle many face is not the complexity of homework but the time management and discipline it requires. As the night descends, the looming deadline causes stress levels to skyrocket. However, fret not! Through this article, we unfold ten practical homework tips and hacks aimed at transforming this daunting task into a manageable one. Let's break it down together and achieve ultimate motivation.

Make a To-Do List

The first step towards conquering your homework begins on a note of organization. Drafting a to-do list is a classic yet effective homework tip. This list will serve as your roadmap, outlining the tasks at hand. It not only organizes your thoughts but also provides a clear picture of the workload, helping to prioritize tasks accordingly.

Gather Your Resources

Before diving into the homework ocean, ensure you have all the necessary gear. Books, notes, stationery, and any other materials should be at arm's length. This prep step is a significant time-saver. It's also a moment to seek homework help if you realize you're missing crucial information. Having everything ready will smoothen the journey, ensuring you don't have to scurry around searching for a pen or a textbook amidst a study session.

Seek Help When Needed

There's no glory in struggling alone. When a concept seems confusing, seeking homework help from teachers, peers or online platforms can provide clarity. Platforms like Tutorpeers come in handy, offering assistance in over 50 subjects with affordable tutors available 24/7. The best part? All studying happens on the platform, eliminating the need for extra apps. This smart strategy not only saves time but also builds a better understanding, making your homework journey a lot smoother.

Create a Timetable

A timetable is your game plan. Allocate time slots to each task based on its complexity and urgency. This structure provides a clear vision, helps in tracking your progress, and ensures that you are on schedule. It's a step closer to mastering the art of time management, a core element in achieving homework success.

Stay tuned as we delve deeper into more insightful homework hacks in the following sections aimed to ease your homework routine, offering a lifeline when you're in dire need of homework help.

Designate a Distraction-free Zone

Crafting the right environment is crucial for homework success. Dedicate a spot that's not only free from distractions like noise or visual clutter, but also inviting and comfortable. Ensure you have a comfy chair, a table at the right height, and enough room to spread your resources. Personalize your space with elements that make it enjoyable to be at—be it a plant, some soft music, or pictures that inspire you. This homework hack goes beyond just limiting distractions—it's about creating a space where your mind can focus and flourish.

Limit Technology Usage

It's easy to lose track of time browsing social media or responding to messages. Create a tech-free bubble during your homework time. Keep your phone, tablet, or other distractions in another room. If you need a device for your work, consider using apps that block distractions.

Team Up With a Study Buddy

Companionship can make the daunting homework journey enjoyable. A study buddy brings a different perspective, and together you can divide tasks, discuss concepts, and keep each other on track. It's a blend of social interaction and productivity. Platforms like Tutorpeers offer a fantastic avenue to connect with peers for one-on-one tutoring sessions. Whether it's homework assignments or exam prep, having a study buddy from Tutorpeers can significantly enrich your learning experience. Ready to elevate your homework game? Sign up as a learner on Tutorpeers and discover a community ready to support your academic journey!

Take Scheduled Breaks

Continuous study sessions can lead to burnout, hampering productivity. Techniques like the Pomodoro Technique, working for 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break, can be effective. However, everyone's rhythm is different. Some might find longer work intervals of 2 hours with a 15 to 20-minute break more suitable. The key is to find a rhythm that keeps you refreshed and focused. Tailoring your break schedule to what suits you best can significantly enhance your concentration and efficiency, making the homework routine more sustainable and less stressful.

Reward Your Progress

Positive reinforcement is a powerful motivator. Set up a reward system to celebrate small and big wins alike. Finished a challenging assignment? Treat yourself to a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. Maintained a consistent homework routine for a month? Maybe it's time to discuss that iPhone 15 reward with your parents. By associating rewards with accomplishments, you create a motivating cycle that makes tackling homework a more enticing endeavor. This cycle of work and reward fosters a positive attitude towards homework, steering you towards a path of homework success.

Prioritize and Chunk Your Tasks

Start by listing all your assignments and categorize them based on their due dates and importance. Tackle the most urgent and challenging tasks first. This approach not only helps you meet deadlines but also allows you to focus on complex tasks while your energy levels are high.

Once you've prioritized your assignments, break them down into smaller, more manageable pieces. For example, if you have a 10-page essay to write, aim to complete two pages a day instead of cramming it all into one night. This method makes the work less daunting and gives you a sense of accomplishment as you tick off each mini-goal.

By combining prioritization with task chunking, you'll find that your homework becomes much more manageable. You'll reduce stress, improve your focus, and, most importantly, you'll get your homework done more efficiently.

Conclusion:

The voyage through piles of homework need not be solitary or dreary. Armed with these 10 insightful tips, navigating through the homework landscape can be a more organized, less stressful endeavor. Implementing these strategies can usher in a transformative approach towards homework, morphing it from a dreaded task to a manageable, even enjoyable endeavor. Embrace these hacks, seek homework help when needed, and stride confidently on the path of academic success. Your journey towards achieving homework success just got a lot smoother!

Q: How can I enjoy doing homework?

A: To enjoy doing homework, try to make it more engaging. Use colorful notes, listen to calming music, or turn it into a game. The key is to find what makes the task enjoyable for you.

Q: What's the best time of day to do homework for maximum efficiency?

A: The best time to do homework varies from person to person. Some people are more productive in the morning, while others find their focus in the evening. Experiment to find your peak productivity hours.

Q: How long does it take to receive scores?

A: The time it takes to receive scores can vary depending on the type of assignment and the grading process. For most regular homework assignments, you can expect feedback within a week.

Q: Is multitasking an effective way to get homework done faster?

A: Multitasking might seem like a good idea, but it often leads to decreased focus and quality. It's generally more effective to concentrate on one task at a time.

Q: How can I minimize distractions while doing homework?

A: To minimize distractions, create a dedicated, clutter-free workspace. Use apps or techniques like the Pomodoro Technique to manage your time and take short, scheduled breaks to recharge.

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Three ways to make homework more effective.

EducationWorld is pleased to present this article by Jamar Ramos. A writer of poetry and fiction, Ramos also produced blog posts for CBSSports.com and has contributed to a number of Web sites, including TeacherPortal.com .

Students run around the playground at recess, laughing, playing games and having fun with each other. But in the back of their minds is a haunting menace that can put a damper on even the most definitive kickball victory. What is this looming cloud?

Accordingly, Mind/Shift blogger Annie Murphy Paul points out that while the amount of homework assigned to students has grown over the last 30 years, our academic rankings compared to other countries are middling at best.

So how can we make homework more effective? The strategies recommended by experts may surprise you. Give repeated assignments on a topic, even after you’ve finished teaching the relevant unit of study? Make homework more like taking a traditional test, or even listening to an in-class lecture? According to research findings, the answer is "yes."

Try these three unusual-sounding but effective strategies:

Spaced repetition

Typically a teacher presents an entire lesson, students take notes and complete class work, and then they do homework to reinforce learning. Once the lesson is over, the student may not need the information again until an exam.

With spaced repetition , educators present shorter segments on multiple topics, and these topics are then repeated over time. For example, a teacher speaking about the Industrial Revolution would not move on from it permanently.

A few weeks later, she might assign homework that asks kids what they remember about the Revolution and how they can apply that knowledge to better understand trends in contemporary manufacturing. Later in the school year, the teacher might give another assignment that requires students to complete a Venn diagram comparing the Industrial Revolution to a revolution from a different period of history.

Retrieval practice

With retrieval practice , students do not study notes or “cram” in preparation for a single high-stakes test. Instead, they do frequent self-assessment to give themselves multiple opportunities to retrieve the information from memory. Every time kids pull up a memory, that memory actually gets stronger.

Try designing homework assignments that focus less on information input and more on getting students to pull that information out of their brains. For example, ask kids to complete an online quiz, identify areas in which they scored lowest, and create a plan to give themselves more practice in those areas. Or have students write quiz questions, post them on a class social media platform, and answer them as a group.

Flipping the classroom

The flipped classroom redefines the very concept of homework—instead of traditional paper-and-pencil tasks, assignments involve video lectures that students view at home as many times as they choose. This can help them digest difficult concepts, since they won’t need to rely simply on lecture notes hastily taken in class.

With class time freed up, students have greater opportunity to ask the teacher questions and participate in hands-on and collaborative work that reinforces learning. Kids who are behind in a class or who need differentiated activities also will have a better chance of getting the help they need.

While it’s too soon to tell whether flipping results in measurable gains in student achievement, early anecdotal evidence is promising .

Checklist for good homework assignments

In addition to the above strategies, researchers have identified additional general best practices when it comes to making homework count.

Good assignments:

Are given not simply as a matter of routine, but only when there is a clear purpose for enhancing student learning.
Are engaging and not simply “busywork.”
Give students the opportunity to make choices and use creativity (for example: figure out the best ways for you to learn the multiplication tables and come back and share with the class).
Offer adequate feedback on what students have mastered, and what they still need to practice. Web-based platforms offer an easy way for kids to get instant feedback. For traditional assignments, set aside class time for students to correct, discuss and reflect upon their homework answers.
Are differentiated to meet individual students’ learning needs (for example, not every student needs to do the same number or type of math problems).
(With the exception of flipped-classroom videos) clearly relate to material already taught in class.
Are explained thoroughly (in terms of directions and expectations) before students leave class.

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Top 7 Homework Planner Apps for Students

Whether you are attending classes, completing your assignments, studying for a quiz, project work, extra-curricular activities, or squeezing some time for friends and family. You’d agree that organizing and planning goes a long way. That’s why a homework organizer or a homework planner app can be a lifesaver to keep track of all your assignments, tests, submission deadlines, and exams. I did the research and shortlisted the perfect homework planner apps for Android and iOS. Let’s check those out.

Read: Best Notes App for Windows to Increase Productivity

Homework Planner Apps for Students

1. student planner- homework agenda & notes.

The first app on the list is a simple homework and notes management app. It keeps track of homework, assignments, projects, and to-do lists. The layout is minimal, all the tasks are neatly organized with a colored bookmark for easy identification. You can mark a task complete and remove it from the pending list.

Courses can be added easily and color-coded as well. The calendar shows any upcoming deadlines so you can prioritize accordingly. The tasks have a progress bar that you can adjust as you make progress which enables you to get a quick summary without actually opening every task.

You can also break your assignments in small chunks as subtasks that would make finishing a task much easier and the progress bar will fill automatically. It also allows you to attach media files to your assignments or projects for easy access to the important information in one place.

Progress bar
Deadline Reminders
Calendar View
No option to sync data to the cloud

Student Planner is a great app for all the students, it has all the necessary features like Deadline reminders, subtasks, progress bar, color-coded tasks, and courses. It can significantly increase your productivity when used regularly. You can get this app for free in the Play Store.

Install Student Planner- Homework Agenda ( Android )

2. Student Planner

Student Planner is another fast and simple homework management app which is wrapped by a beautiful and intuitive material designed UI. What Student Planner adds to the table is the inclusion of a schedule or time table which you can use to either store your class schedule or it might even be a study schedule for your exams.

You first start by adding your subject and the schedule then you can add an assignment or set a reminder. The due assignments are arranged as separate cards and can be swiped away once done with.

homework planner apps- Student Planner Android

Simple and easy to get started with
Fast and small in size
Beautiful Minimal UI
Option for Schedule
No sync/backup
Timetable implementation not perfect

I would recommend this app to anyone who is looking for a simple homework management app with timetable support and a minimal UI.

Install Student Planner ( Android )

Egenda is simple. Open the app, add all the classes or subjects to the app, and once that is set up, you have the option of adding a new Homework, Quiz, Project, or Test and choose the respective subject deadlines. The app also arranges the due work in cards that can be swiped away when done. But what I love the most about this app is that the fact it allows you to go subject-wise and view all your upcoming tests, projects, or pending assignments which is a huge convenience for planning your schedule ahead of time instead of the previous day.

Unfortunately, the app doesn’t have a timetable option, but in its latest update, it added a Calendar View where you can see your whole month at a glance with your assignments, tests, and projects.

Subject-wise sorting
Calendar View
No timetable support

Egenda provides some great tools for Homework and Test planning and I am sure anyone would find them extremely convenient and useful. But keeping its single con in mind, go for this app if you are not too keen on having a schedule or timetable.

Install Egenda ( Android | iOS )

4. ChalkBoard

The next app on our list is ChalkBoard, which I found out to be a pretty smart homework planner app. Chalkboard strikes a perfect balance between simplicity and features.

Although the setup process is a little longer than the previous three apps, as you have to feed meticulous details about the classes, teacher, and schedule. It is worth the effort.

On the home screen, you are shown upcoming classes, events tab, and upcoming tests. ChalkBoard fetches the dates for every subject from the Timetable for your future classes. Little features like these make the app stand out from the rest and give an overall great experience. You can also view classes and assignments subject wise.

homework planner apps- ChalkBoard Android

Proper Timetable
Ability to add teachers for subjects
View tomorrow’s classes as well as assignments/tests/quizzes
Smart features
Little longer to set up
No calendar view

If you are looking for a homework planner as well as a school planner, Chalkboard is the app as it strikes a great ground with almost all the features one might need while not being too bulky.

Install ChalkBoard ( Android )

5. School Planner

School Planner is a full-fledged planning application designed for students to manage their career as a student. Along with your homework and timetables, School Planner offers you to keep track of your grades and attendance, add contacts for teachers, add recorded lectures, and even multiple planners.

The app supports backing up of all your data via Google Drive, Calendar View along with a weekly report, attaching snapshots to your assignment reminders, student accounts from ClassViva, and a lot more. In spite of so many features, the app doesn’t feel slow at all and delivers a powerful performance with its beautiful design.

homework planner apps- School Planner Android

Full-fledged student companion
Feature-packed and free
Supports sync and backup
Widget Support
Tedious setup procedure
Big in size
Complex, not so smooth learning curve

While it is not for someone who is looking for a fast and easy way into homework management, School Planner is a great student companion app and serious students will surely get the most out of hit.

Install School Planner ( Android )

6. My Study Life

My Study Life comes with its own web app and syncs with the Android app, essentially making your data accessible from any device as long as it has a browser.

It implements a goal-centric circular tracker that shows your progress. The Calendar view combines your timetable, deadlines, and shows all your classes and assignments, projects in a single place.

homework planner apps- My Study Life Android

Refreshingly new UI
Access from anywhere through its web app
Sync and Backup
Lengthy setup process

If you study from your computer or laptop, My Study Life makes it easy to access your homework planner on your phone from your computer, while not compromising on features and being completely free. What more can you ask for?

Install My Study Life ( Android | iOS )

7. iStudiez Pro

Like School Planner, iStudiez Pro includes grading and subject wise organization of tasks. iStudiez Pro takes it further with the integration of Google Calendar that allows you to directly get all your holidays, exam schedule, routine from Google Calendar itself.

It also offers separate apps on all platforms including iOS, Mac, and Windows. All the apps sync seamlessly between themselves, so studying on your computer consulting your planner won’t be an issue.

homework planner apps- iStudiez Pro Android

Google Calendar Integration
Cross-Platform
Cumulative Price

If Google Calendar integration and cross-platform support is a must for you, iStudiez Pro is definitely the app you want.

Install iStudiez Pro ( Android | iOS )

So this was our roundup of the best homework planner apps for Android. We genuinely think that there is an app for every need and we hope that you found a Homework Planner that suits your need whether you are a high school student or a college senior. So which one was your favorite or did we forget to add yours? Let us know in the comments below.

Also Read: Take a Picture of Handwriting And Convert to Text – Android Apps

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I left my homework at home! How many times have you said this? It’s a terrible feeling to know you’re going to get a failing grade on homework after you actually did the work. It seems so unfair!

There are ways to prevent this dilemma and others, but you must be willing to prepare ahead of time to save yourself from future headaches. The most important thing you can do to avoid a dilemma like this is to establish a strong routine.

Once you form a strong, consistent homework pattern , you will avoid many of the big problems, like leaving a perfectly good assignment at home.

Establish a Homework Base

Does your homework have a home? Is there a special place where you always put your paperwork each night? To avoid forgetting your homework, you must establish a strong homework routine with a special homework station where you work each night.

Then you must get in the habit of putting your homework where it belongs right after you finish it, whether this is in a special folder on your desk or in your backpack.

One idea is to put the completed assignment in your backpack and leave the backpack right beside the door.

Buy a Homework Bell

This is one of those ideas that sounds silly, but it really works!

Go to a business supply store and find a counter bell, like those you see on store counters. Place this bell in the homework station and work it into your homework routine. Each night once all the homework is completed and in its proper place (like your backpack), give the bell a ring.

The ringing of the bell will let everyone know that you (and your siblings) are ready for the next school day. The bell will become a familiar sound and one that your family will recognize as an official end to homework time.

Use Your Email

Email is a great invention for writers. Each and every time you write an essay or other assignments on the computer , you should get in the habit of sending yourself a copy via email. This can be a real lifesaver!

Simply open your email as soon as you finish your document, then send yourself a copy by attachment. You’ll be able to access this assignment from anywhere. If you forget it, no problem. Just go to the library, open, and print.

Home Fax Machine

The fax machine can be another lifesaver. These contraptions have become very affordable lately, and they can come in quite handy for parents as well as students in a time of crisis. If ever you forget an assignment, you might be able to call home and have a parent or sibling fax your assignment to the school office.

It may be a good time to talk with your parents about investing in a home fax machine if you don’t have one already. It’s worth a try!

Put a Checklist by the Door

Try putting a checklist somewhere conspicuous where you and/or your parents will see it each morning. Include homework, lunch money, personal items, anything you need each day. Remember, it’s the routine that makes this work.

Be creative! You can put a checklist by the front door, or perhaps you prefer someplace more interesting. Why not place a sticky note on the back of your cereal box each time you open a new one?

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The 5 Best Homework Help Websites (Free and Paid!)

Other High School , General Education

Listen: we know homework isn’t fun, but it is a good way to reinforce the ideas and concepts you’ve learned in class. But what if you’re really struggling with your homework assignments?

If you’ve looked online for a little extra help with your take-home assignments, you’ve probably stumbled across websites claiming to provide the homework help and answers students need to succeed . But can homework help sites really make a difference? And if so, which are the best homework help websites you can use?

Below, we answer these questions and more about homework help websites–free and paid. We’ll go over:

The basics of homework help websites
The cost of homework help websites
The five best homework websites out there
The pros and cons of using these websites for homework help
The line between “learning” and “cheating” when using online homework help
Tips for getting the most out of a homework help website

So let’s get started!

The Basics About Homework Help Websites–Free and Paid

Homework help websites are designed to help you complete your homework assignments, plain and simple.

What Makes a Homework Help Site Worth Using

Most of the best sites allow users to ask questions and then provide an answer (or multiple possible answers) and explanation in seconds. In some instances, you can even send a photo of a particular assignment or problem instead of typing the whole thing out!

Homework help sites also offer more than just help answering homework questions. Common services provided are Q&A with experts, educational videos, lectures, practice tests and quizzes, learning modules, math solving tools, and proofreading help. Homework help sites can also provide textbook solutions (i.e. answers to problems in tons of different textbooks your school might be using), one-on-one tutoring, and peer-to-peer platforms that allow you to discuss subjects you’re learning about with your fellow students.

And best of all, nearly all of them offer their services 24/7, including tutoring!

What You Should Should Look Out For

When it comes to homework help, there are lots–and we mean lots –of scam sites out there willing to prey on desperate students. Before you sign up for any service, make sure you read reviews to ensure you’re working with a legitimate company.

A word to the wise: the more a company advertises help that veers into the territory of cheating, the more likely it is to be a scam. The best homework help websites are going to help you learn the concepts you’ll need to successfully complete your homework on your own. (We’ll go over the difference between “homework help” and “cheating” a little later!)

You don't need a golden piggy bank to use homework help websites. Some provide low or no cost help for students like you!

How Expensive Are the Best Homework Help Websites?

First of all, just because a homework help site costs money doesn’t mean it’s a good service. Likewise, just because a homework help website is free doesn’t mean the help isn’t high quality. To find the best websites, you have to take a close look at the quality and types of information they provide!

When it comes to paid homework help services, the prices vary pretty widely depending on the amount of services you want to subscribe to. Subscriptions can cost anywhere from $2 to $150 dollars per month, with the most expensive services offering several hours of one-on-one tutoring with a subject expert per month.

The 5 Best Homework Help Websites

So, what is the best homework help website you can use? The answer is that it depends on what you need help with.

The best homework help websites are the ones that are reliable and help you learn the material. They don’t just provide answers to homework questions–they actually help you learn the material.

That’s why we’ve broken down our favorite websites into categories based on who they’re best for . For instance, the best website for people struggling with math might not work for someone who needs a little extra help with science, and vice versa.

Keep reading to find the best homework help website for you!

Best Free Homework Help Site: Khan Academy

Price: Free!
Best for: Practicing tough material

Not only is Khan Academy free, but it’s full of information and can be personalized to suit your needs. When you set up your account , you choose which courses you need to study, and Khan Academy sets up a personal dashboard of instructional videos, practice exercises, and quizzes –with both correct and incorrect answer explanations–so you can learn at your own pace.

As an added bonus, it covers more course topics than many other homework help sites, including several AP classes.

Runner Up: Brainly.com offers a free service that allows you to type in questions and get answers and explanations from experts. The downside is that you’re limited to two answers per question and have to watch ads.

Best Paid Homework Help Site: Chegg

Price: $14.95 to $19.95 per month
Best for: 24/7 homework assistance

This service has three main parts . The first is Chegg Study, which includes textbook solutions, Q&A with subject experts, flashcards, video explanations, a math solver, and writing help. The resources are thorough, and reviewers state that Chegg answers homework questions quickly and accurately no matter when you submit them.

Chegg also offers textbook rentals for students who need access to textbooks outside of their classroom. Finally, Chegg offers Internship and Career Advice for students who are preparing to graduate and may need a little extra help with the transition out of high school.

Another great feature Chegg provides is a selection of free articles geared towards helping with general life skills, like coping with stress and saving money. Chegg’s learning modules are comprehensive, and they feature solutions to the problems in tons of different textbooks in a wide variety of subjects.

Runner Up: Bartleby offers basically the same services as Chegg for $14.99 per month. The reason it didn’t rank as the best is based on customer reviews that say user questions aren’t answered quite as quickly on this site as on Chegg. Otherwise, this is also a solid choice!

Best Site for Math Homework Help: Photomath

Price: Free (or $59.99 per year for premium services)
Best for: Explaining solutions to math problems

This site allows you to t ake a picture of a math problem, and instantly pulls up a step-by-step solution, as well as a detailed explanation of the concept. Photomath also includes animated videos that break down mathematical concepts to help you better understand and remember them.

The basic service is free, but for an additional fee you can get extra study tools and learn additional strategies for solving common math problems.

Runner Up: KhanAcademy offers in-depth tutorials that cover complex math topics for free, but you won’t get the same tailored help (and answers!) that Photomath offers.

Best Site for English Homework Help: Princeton Review Academic Tutoring

Price: $40 to $153 per month, depending on how many hours of tutoring you want
Best for: Comprehensive and personalized reading and writing help

While sites like Grammarly and Sparknotes help you by either proofreading what you write via an algorithm or providing book summaries, Princeton Review’s tutors provide in-depth help with vocabulary, literature, essay writing and development, proofreading, and reading comprehension. And unlike other services, you’ll have the chance to work with a real person to get help.

The best part is that you can get on-demand English (and ESL) tutoring from experts 24/7. That means you can get help whenever you need it, even if you’re pulling an all-nighter!

This is by far the most expensive homework site on this list, so you’ll need to really think about what you need out of a homework help website before you commit. One added benefit is that the subscription covers over 80 other subjects, including AP classes, which can make it a good value if you need lots of help!

Best Site for STEM Homework Help: Studypool

Best for: Science homework help
Price: Varies; you’ll pay for each question you submit

When it comes to science homework help, there aren’t a ton of great resources out there. The best of the bunch is Studypool, and while it has great reviews, there are some downsides as well.

Let’s start with the good stuff. Studypool offers an interesting twist on the homework help formula. After you create a free account, you can submit your homework help questions, and tutors will submit bids to answer your questions. You’ll be able to select the tutor–and price point–that works for you, then you’ll pay to have your homework question answered. You can also pay a small fee to access notes, lectures, and other documents that top tutors have uploaded.

The downside to Studypool is that the pricing is not transparent . There’s no way to plan for how much your homework help will cost, especially if you have lots of questions! Additionally, it’s not clear how tutors are selected, so you’ll need to be cautious when you choose who you’d like to answer your homework questions.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Homework Help Sites?

Homework help websites can be a great resource if you’re struggling in a subject, or even if you just want to make sure that you’re really learning and understanding topics and ideas that you’re interested in. But, there are some possible drawbacks if you don’t use these sites responsibly.

We’ll go over the good–and the not-so-good–aspects of getting online homework help below.

3 Pros of Using Homework Help Websites

First, let’s take a look at the benefits.

#1: Better Grades Beyond Homework

This is a big one! Getting outside help with your studies can improve your understanding of concepts that you’re learning, which translates into better grades when you take tests or write essays.

Remember: homework is designed to help reinforce the concepts you learned in class. If you just get easy answers without learning the material behind the problems, you may not have the tools you need to be successful on your class exams…or even standardized tests you’ll need to take for college.

#2: Convenience

One of the main reasons that online homework help is appealing is because it’s flexible and convenient. You don’t have to go to a specific tutoring center while they’re open or stay after school to speak with your teacher. Instead, you can access helpful resources wherever you can access the internet, whenever you need them.

This is especially true if you tend to study at off hours because of your extracurriculars, work schedule, or family obligations. Sites that offer 24/7 tutoring can give you the extra help you need if you can’t access the free resources that are available at your school.

#3: Variety

Not everyone learns the same way. Maybe you’re more of a visual learner, but your teacher mostly does lectures. Or maybe you learn best by listening and taking notes, but you’re expected to learn something just from reading the textbook .

One of the best things about online homework help is that it comes in a variety of forms. The best homework help sites offer resources for all types of learners, including videos, practice activities, and even one-on-one discussions with real-life experts.

This variety can also be a good thing if you just don’t really resonate with the way a concept is being explained (looking at you, math textbooks!).

Not so fast. There are cons to homework help websites, too. Get to know them below!

3 Cons of Using Homework Help Websites

Now, let’s take a look at the drawbacks of online homework help.

#1: Unreliable Info

This can be a real problem. In addition to all the really good homework help sites, there are a whole lot of disreputable or unreliable sites out there. The fact of the matter is that some homework help sites don’t necessarily hire people who are experts in the subjects they’re talking about. In those cases, you may not be getting the accurate, up-to-date, and thorough information you need.

Additionally, even the great sites may not be able to answer all of your homework questions. This is especially true if the site uses an algorithm or chatbot to help students…or if you’re enrolled in an advanced or college-level course. In these cases, working with your teacher or school-provided tutors are probably your best option.

#2: No Clarification

This depends on the service you use, of course. But the majority of them provide free or low-cost help through pre-recorded videos. Watching videos or reading info online can definitely help you with your homework… but you can’t ask questions or get immediate feedback if you need it .

#3: Potential For Scamming

Like we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of homework help websites out there, and lots of them are scams. The review comments we read covered everything from outdated or wrong information, to misleading claims about the help provided, to not allowing people to cancel their service after signing up.

No matter which site you choose to use, make sure you research and read reviews before you sign up–especially if it’s a paid service!

When Does “Help” Become “Cheating”?

Admittedly, whether using homework help websites constitutes cheating is a bit of a grey area. For instance, is it “help” when a friend reads your essay for history class and corrects your grammar, or is it “cheating”? The truth is, not everyone agrees on when “help” crosses the line into “cheating .” When in doubt, it can be a good idea to check with your teacher to see what they think about a particular type of help you want to get.

That said, a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is to make sure that the assignment you turn in for credit is authentically yours . It needs to demonstrate your own thoughts and your own current abilities. Remember: the point of every homework assignment is to 1) help you learn something, and 2) show what you’ve learned.

So if a service answers questions or writes essays for you, there’s a good chance using it constitutes cheating.

Here’s an example that might help clarify the difference for you. Brainstorming essay ideas with others or looking online for inspiration is “help” as long as you write the essay yourself. Having someone read it and give you feedback about what you need to change is also help, provided you’re the one that makes the changes later.

But copying all or part of an essay you find online or having someone write (or rewrite) the whole thing for you would be “cheating.” The same is true for other subjects. Ultimately, if you’re not generating your own work or your own answers, it’s probably cheating.

5 Tips for Finding the Best Homework Help Websites for You

Now that you know some of our favorite homework help websites, free and paid, you can start doing some additional research on your own to decide which services might work best for you! Here are some top tips for choosing a homework help website.

Tip 1: Decide How You Learn Best

Before you decide which site or sites you’re going to use for homework help, y ou should figure out what kind of learning style works for you the most. Are you a visual learner? Then choose a site that uses lots of videos to help explain concepts. If you know you learn best by actually doing tasks, choose a site that provides lots of practice exercises.

Tip 2: Determine Which Subjects You Need Help With

Just because a homework help site is good overall doesn’t mean that it’s equally good for every subject. If you only need help in math, choose a site that specializes in that area. But if history is where you’re struggling, a site that specializes in math won’t be much help. So make sure to choose a site that you know provides high-quality help in the areas you need it most.

Tip 3: Decide How Much One-On-One Help You Need

This is really about cost-effectiveness. If you learn well on your own by reading and watching videos, a free site like Khan Academy is a good choice. But if you need actual tutoring, or to be able to ask questions and get personalized answers from experts, a paid site that provides that kind of service may be a better option.

Tip 4: Set a Budget

If you decide you want to go with a paid homework help website, set a budget first . The prices for sites vary wildly, and the cost to use them can add up quick.

Tip 5: Read the Reviews

Finally, it’s always a good idea to read actual reviews written by the people using these homework sites. You’ll learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of what the users’ experiences have been. This is especially true if you intend to subscribe to a paid service. You’ll want to make sure that users think it’s worth the price overall!

What’s Next?

If you want to get good grades on your homework, it’s a good idea to learn how to tackle it strategically. Our expert tips will help you get the most out of each assignment…and boost your grades in the process.

Doing well on homework assignments is just one part of getting good grades. We’ll teach you everything you need to know about getting great grades in high school in this article.

Of course, test grades can make or break your GPA, too. Here are 17 expert tips that’ll help you get the most out of your study prep before you take an exam.

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How to keep track of homework assignments

Katie Azevedo December 29, 2016 good habits , homework , productivity , study skills , time management

The first step to getting a good grade on an assignment is to … wait for it … do the assignment!

Simple, right?

Maybe, but only if you remember to do the assignment. For some students, knowing how to keep track of assignments and their due dates is a huge challenge. Here, I’m going to explain how to keep track of assignments and projects, and give you some tips for staying organized. A cool angle to this is that what I’m going to be talking about is completely applicable outside of school. So if you’re not a student, but you still have due dates and project deadlines – pretty much like any human – then this system is for you, too.

1. Find a planner system and use it multiple times every day.

The KEY step for keeping track of homework, which I’ll get to next , is to write everything down. But before that happens, you need a place to write it all. You have three options here. 1) paper 2) digital 3) a combination of both. Personally, I use a combination of both. While I am a pen and paper person at heart, I do use Google calendar in addition to my paper calendar. I have a family and a business to run, so I need the digital aspect to be able to share calendars with other people. For my paper calendar I use the Staples Arc system . It’s cheap, simple, and super customizable.

I advise you to pick a system based on what’s convenient and easy, and not on what is cool. There are a gazillion list apps out there with fancy features — some of you may have heard of Evernote , the king of task management apps — but the goal is to keep it simple and use a system that you don’t have to stress about. If it’s too complicated, you won’t want to be bothered to even take it out when you need it. Whatever you pick, be sure it includes a monthly calendar and a daily calendar/agenda. Here’s why:

A monthly calendar allows you to see, at a glance, what assignments and appointments are coming up over the next few days or weeks or months. It’s key for long-term planning.

A daily calendar/agenda allows you to see and plan for what’s coming up tomorrow and in the very near future.

Whether you go for a dated calendar or an undated one (one you have to date yourself) is up to you. What size is up to you. (I use a half-sized one and a full-sized one!) Here’s a picture:

The cover and paper inside your planner is up to you. Whether you color-code your entries is up to you. (I do!) Make it something you’re excited to use, while keeping it simple.

It’s important to use your system multiple times a day because the more you use it, the more you trust it. And the more you trust it, the more it will work.

I’ve heard so many students say “I’ve tried using an assignment notebook and calendar, but it doesn’t work.” But when I ask them if they write everything down, they say no. And that’s why. So you’ve got to commit to your system. Use it multiple times every day. Get in the habit of checking it every morning or every night before bed so you know what’s on your agenda.

2. Write everything down. And the operative word here is EVERYTHING.

I have a theory that I’ve lived by for the longest time: Our brains weren’t made for storing information, but are instead made for creating and processing information. (Lol … it turns out that I’m not a genius and that I didn’t invent this theory.) Several scientific studies actually support the idea that to a degree we have a maximum brain capacity. And if we use up all that capacity for storing information and trying to remember everything … then there will be no brain energy left to create, think and process. So by writing things down, we get them out of our heads, which frees up space for us to be smarter and more creative.

Plus, there is just no way on earth that we can remember every little detail of what’s due when, as well as the time and date of your next doctor’s appointment. If something comes up and you’re not sure whether to write it down, write it down!

Here’s what you should be keeping track of:

Daily homework assignments (short-term)
Project due dates (long-term)
Upcoming tests/quizzes
Books that have to be read by a certain point
Appointments (doctor, dentist, guidance counselor, coach, etc.)
Things you’re supposed to remember to do (ie: talk to math teacher)
After-school activities, sports (even if you have practice every day from 2:30-5, block out that time on your calendar)
Weekend activities

Here’s another important tip: write assignments down the moment their assigned, and write appointments down the moment their scheduled. Do NOT tell yourself that you’ll remember to write it down later. Doesn’t work! Plus – that defeats the purpose: you don’t want to use your brain to remember . If you don’t have your paper agenda with you when something comes up, then set a reminder in your phone to write it down later, or write the assignment down on a sticky note and put it somewhere you won’t forget. Then, transfer the information into your planner the moment you get home.

3. Set up reminders.

Let’s say you have a project due in one week, so you write down “biology project due” on your calendar on the date it’s due. Sound good? No! No, because you don’t want to end up checking your calendar on the project’s due date and realizing “Oh crap! It’s due today!” So the hack for remembering to do the assignments you write down is this: remind yourself along the way.

You can do this several ways, depending on your system. If you’re using digital, like a phone, use the default reminder app to remind yourself of the project at least a few days before it’s due. You can even set up several reminders throughout the week. If you’re using a good old paper calendar, then in addition to writing down “project due” on the actual due date, write in several reminders to work on the project on the days leading up to the due date.

A reminder system also helps you manage your time for long-term assignments because it encourages you to work a little bit each day towards the larger goal.

4. Keep your planner/calendar accurate and up-to-date.

Your homework management system is only going to work if it’s accurate. So you’ve got to be sure that you update your calendar and your agenda as things change. So if your teacher gives an extension or changes the due date of a project, or if your band concert or meeting is rescheduled, make those edits in your calendar. (Try to keep it neat if you’re using a paper system, so that might mean using whiteout. Messy on paper equals messy in the head.) And remember the rule: make these changes immediately if possible.

If you end up using a combination of a digital system and a paper system, make sure you sync the two systems daily. I have run into the problem where I’ve added an appointment in my phone, but then forgot to add it to my paper calendar, and then I totally forgot about it. Oops! So I make it a habit to review both calendars/agendas every night to make sure they both contain the same information.

How to keep track of homework assignments: Extra tip

There are going to be times when you fall off the bandwagon and let your system slip. You might go a few days or even a week without writing things down – either because you forget or you keep telling yourself that you’ll do it later. But don’t give up on your system. Just pick up where you left off and get back to writing down every little detail. Whenever you wander away from your system, bring yourself back to it, and don’t judge yourself.

Also, these moments can be learning opportunities! Whenever you stop using your agenda or calendar, ask yourself why? Why did you stop? What part of the system wasn’t working? If the system was easy enough to use, you wouldn’t have stopped. Is your notebook so big that it’s annoying to bring with you? Then get a smaller one. Are you not writing assignments down because you don’t have enough space in the “Daily Agenda” part of your notebook? Then get a notebook that gives you more room to write down your daily tasks. Did you think you were a techie, but find the app stuff too complicated? Or vice versa? Then switch systems. Modify as you go. You won’t come up with the perfect system right away, but you will instead figure out what works for you as you go. Be open to change.

So those are my 4 strategies for how to keep track of homework assignments. If you have some strategies of your own, then please share them in the comments below!

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5 Keys to Successful Homework Assignments During Remote Learning

While students and their families are coping with so much, teachers should be mindful to assign only homework that’s truly meaningful.

Middle school girl at home works on homework.

How can homework be reimagined during remote or hybrid learning? Are students already spending too much time on their screen—why assign more screen time? What is the purpose of the assignment?

As a middle school instructional coach, I often work with teachers who are unsure of how much to give and what to give. They’re also inevitably worried about finding the time to grade it. As a parent, I know how stressful it can be to balance your own work while also helping your own children with homework.

Since remote learning began in March, some schools have banned homework or modified homework policies, but if you’re a teacher who’s allowed to assign homework or an administrator who sets homework policy, the following suggestions may help.

5 Keys to Making Homework More Meaningful

1. Off-screen reading: Books, books, books. Whether your students are reading books they chose or assigned novels, quiet reading time (or time listening to audiobooks) is a welcome assignment in most homes—I say this as a mom myself. Students can be held accountable for their reading through Harkness discussions in class or on Zoom, journal entries (written or in Flipgrid-style video), or old-fashioned sticky-note annotations in the book itself.

2. Less is more: Unfortunately, math teachers have the reputation of assigning something like “problems 1 through 45” (OK, maybe I’m exaggerating). Do students need to repeat the same skill over and over? Consider how much time you have in class the next day to actually review several problems. Instead, can you choose four or five rich multistep problems that provide practice and application of the skills? Or, alternatively, offer student choice: “Choose five out of these 10 problems.”

In a humanities or science class, can students answer one extended compare-and-contrast question rather than the chapter review in the textbook?

3. Personalized homework: Many students (and adults alike) love to talk about themselves. If students can make the assignment personal to them, they might feel more motivated to complete it. An example might be to compare the protagonist of the assigned reading with themselves in a Venn diagram. In a language class, they can describe a fictitious superhero using descriptive vocabulary in the language they’re studying. Or assign students to make a Flipgrid-style dance or song describing the scientific method (this example was inspired by TikTok).

4. Family involvement: Use this option carefully, especially now when many parents and guardians are stretched thin. Before making family assignments, be sure to get a feel for your students’ family situations to avoid putting anyone at a disadvantage. Give families a heads-up and plenty of time for such assignments.

If you feel it’s appropriate to proceed, ask students to take a video of themselves teaching a new concept to a family member. To practice operations with fractions, students can bring in a favorite family recipe with the measurements adjusted for fewer servings or multiple servings. Assign a riddle or math puzzle for students to discuss with the family, and ask them to write down the various answers they hear.

Whatever you assign, keep it light, low-stakes, and infrequent.

5. Flipped homework: In my experience, students get tired of watching instructional videos, but a few short, well-planned videos can be useful to assign the night before to spark discussion the next day in class. Follow the video with a short Google Form to ask the student to reflect and/or ask initial questions about what they watched. Use flipped learning sparingly to keep it novel and unique.

What about the grading? With shared docs, older students can easily share their work with their peers for review. Take some time to educate students on how to constructively comment on each other’s work. If a student’s assignment is missing, their partner will let them know, which takes some of the burden off of the teacher. This method should not be used for graded summative assessments and should be monitored by the teacher. Peer review can also serve as a differentiation strategy by grouping students by readiness and ability when applicable.

If your school’s homework policies allow, be creative with your assignments. As you create your assignments, consider the following:

What will a student learn or gain from this work?
Is it worth their time?
Is it creating more home stress?

If we reimagine homework, students might actually cheer instead of groan when it’s assigned. OK, that’s wishful thinking, but they should definitely get more out of their assignments.

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HOMEWORK HELP: Teaching students, parents the skills to succeed

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — With a new school year underway, chances are your student is already coming home with homework.

How can parents help their children ace those assignments?

Read on to learn tips from April Ruiz, a longtime educator and founder of Mosaic Masterminds, a West Michigan-based tutoring organization.

Why is homework important?

Ruiz told FOX 17 students must practice what they are learning outside the classroom.

"There are several benefits to doing homework... for one, it allows our scholars to be able to extend their learning from the school day by applying what they've learned. It also gives them an opportunity to cement the lessons that the teachers have facilitated," Ruiz explained. "I'd say homework is exceedingly important for overall success and for confidence building, which, in our experience as teachers, is half the battle."

How can parents set their student(s) up for success?

Ruiz has several tips for parents to consider as students bring home assignments.

*Be proactive in your child's learning

Ruiz said, "It is exceedingly important to know ahead of time what's coming down the pike, so we're not caught off guard."

That leads to her next tip...

*Stay engaged

Ruiz advises staying in contact with your student's teachers.

"If our parents are clued into what's going on in the classroom, that makes such a tighter partnership in the learning process for the scholar, so, therefore, the teachers know what the students know what the parents know," she explained.

*Don't be afraid to check your student's backpack

Ruiz said this is important, no matter the age.

"Our tweens and teens are going through a lot of physiological changes as well. Their brains are a little scattered sometimes, and it's not always high priority for them to keep at the forefront of their mind an assignment or permission slip for a field trip, for example."

*Develop a routine

Ruiz said that may mean scheduling homework time

"I think it's really important to have a routine established, whether it's chores, homework, family, bonding, time, whatever the case may be, we need to schedule homework just like we schedule our extracurricular activities or other fun things we do outside of school," she explained. "They really appreciate structure. They respond well to it in most cases, and also just having that accountability."

*Take advantage of online resources

Ruiz said there's a wealth of information and learning tools online if your student needs some extra help.

"You could literally Google free math resources or free math literacy resources, free science quizzes online. And there's just a world of things out there that our parents and scholars can take advantage of for added practice. There's flash cards, there's physical flashcards, there's digital flashcards, there's games that are out there that can be played," she said.

*Know when to reach out for extra support

Groups like Mosaic Masterminds are available to help with challenges along the way.

Alicia Czarnik-Hagan has enlisted Mosaic Masterminds to help both of her students.

This summer, her 11-year-old son Harrison worked with a "Mastermind" tutor to prepare for the transition from elementary to middle school.

"My biggest thing right now is just helping to keep them organized and on track," Czarnik-Hagan. "I want [homework] to be done. Like, my expectation is that...I feel like it's important to teach kids about responsibility, organizing, planning, prioritizing, and that's really those skills that you get from homework."

Czarnik-Hagan said her biggest test is navigating the parent-child relationship while helping with assignments.

"It is the most challenging when I'm trying to teach something or explain something to my child, because I wasn't in that classroom that day, and so there's a different relationship," she explained. "Just balancing that relationship after school, of still being a parent, but not pushing too hard and like, breaking that the parent relationship and child relationship."

If there's one more tip to pass along, Ruiz said it's to "do something."

"If you don't have a school that is assigning homework regularly, be that gap filler where you can find opportunities for your scholar to extend his or her learning. Make sure that you are on guard and on duty, checking the parent view app, talking with the teacher, email, pop in and find out what's going on... just make sure that you're doing something. Something is better than nothing, and we want our scholars to win."

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Managing Time During School Years

How to Plan a Homework Schedule

Last Updated: June 28, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Ronitte Libedinsky, MS . Ronitte Libedinsky is an Academic Tutor and the Founder of Brighter Minds SF, a San Francisco, California based company that provides one-on-one and small group tutoring. Specializing in tutoring mathematics (pre-algebra, algebra I/II, geometry, pre-calculus, calculus) and science (chemistry, biology), Ronitte has over 12 years of experience tutoring to middle school, high school, and college students. She also tutors in SSAT, Terra Nova, HSPT, SAT, and ACT test prep. Ronitte holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MS in Chemistry from Tel Aviv University. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 91% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 480,451 times.

It feels like homework never stops getting piled on, and keeping track of it all can feel a little chaotic. That’s where a homework schedule comes in. With a good schedule, you won’t have to worry about missing homework assignments or not having enough time to finish them, and it’s surprisingly easy to put one together. Not sure where to start? Don’t worry—we’ll walk you through what to do step-by-step below!

Setting Up a Homework Schedule

Step 1 Set a time frame for doing homework.

Creating a Homework Space

Step 1 Select your environment carefully.

Understanding What Needs To Get Done

Step 1 List all of the homework and activities that you have for that day or week.

The subject or course in which the work is assigned (for example, Spanish , algebra , French or English )
Know what you're expected to hand in or do and ask if you do not understand (for example, turn in an essay , develop a PowerPoint presentation, or take a test.)
The details of your assignments (for example, double-spaced or single-spaced, blue ink or black).
Page numbers (which pages you need to read, study, or refer to complete your assignment.)
Due date of the assignment.

Getting All of Your Homework Done

Step 1 Estimate how much time will be needed to complete each assignment.

To solve this problem, if you cannot meet all the deadlines, use a static priority rate-monotonic policy. Find the course that releases new homework the most frequently, and list it the highest (do the work first), and so forth. This is mathematically optimal among all static-priority scheduling policies. In other words, if ANY static priority scheme can meet all the deadlines, the rate-monotonic static priority scheme will meet all the deadlines, too. When the static priority scheme misses deadlines, it is deterministic - the lowest priority class assignments will be skipped, so it behaves predictably when you are overloaded. If certain assignments have the same due date, then start with the one(s) that are hardest or will take the longest.

If you have a five-page English paper due on Friday, evenly spread the total amount of hours you believe it is going to take to complete the paper between each day.
If you have multiple assignments to complete in one night, it may be helpful to start with the most challenging on and leave the easier ones for later.
Reader Poll: We asked 329 wikiHow readers about how they organize their schoolwork, and 49% of them said that they tackle the most difficult topics first, while they have the most energy . [Take Poll]

Homework Planner Template

Expert Q&A

Reader videos.

Avoid distractions such as TV, video games, phone conversation, or surfing the internet. You must fully devote your schedule to doing this. That means turning off all electronics except your lamp , clock , and room light, and, if needed, your computer. You may even want to turn off your phone. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

Try writing reminders on sticky-notes about your assignment due dates or important information you really need to remember. Put these sticky notes in a place you regularly go to in your house (such as your homework area, bedroom, or closet), so that you'll see them and be reminded.
If you're having a really hard time concentrating, take a short break (even if it isn't your schedule break time). Even taking a walk outside for ten minutes or grabbing a quick snack from the kitchen can help you reset.
If music with lyrics distracts you, don't try to listen to it while you do homework. Consider playing white noise or instrumental music instead to help you focus.

↑ https://www.wssd.k12.pa.us/SettingUpaHomeworkSchedule.aspx
↑ https://childmind.org/article/strategies-to-make-homework-go-more-smoothly/
↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/homework.html
↑ Ronitte Libedinsky, MS. Academic Tutor. Expert Interview. 26 May 2020.
↑ https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/learning-at-home/homework-study-skills/homework-strategies
↑ https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/6-proven-ways-to-make-new-habits-stick.html
↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happiness-in-world/201203/how-prevent-procrastination

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