College marks the beginning of a very exciting phase in every student’s life. Teenagers blossom into adults and finally find themselves with more freedom than they have ever had before. It is a short honeymoon period before they are plagued with the pressures of a job and responsibilities of running and contributing to a family. One of the hardest things in college is homework assignments and their dreaded deadlines especially because it is so hard to find the motivation to do homework in college. In this blog post I have combined some tips and guidelines in an endeavour to make this tedious process a little less daunting for my fellow students.
“College years are some of the best; make them count.â€
Why is it so difficult for students to find the motivation to do homework in college?
If you were to ask any average student what kept them from submitting their homework assignments on time you will likely get an elaborately concocted excuse. Rarely, if ever, will they tell say that they found the homework assigned too difficult to understand, but if you look into it you will find a large percentage of students submitting shoddy work completed last minute due to a time crunch or not at all because of missed deadlines. Further this will not be because of an excess workload or a particularly difficult assignment but simply because of a total lack of motivation to do homework in college.
College going students tend to get easily carried away by their new found freedom and rarely feel interested or motivated enough to put in an effort and present decent homework assignments on time. Instead they tend to wait until the last minute and hurriedly somehow submit sub-standard work when they are capable of a lot more.
Ways to combat this lack of motivation
- Understand your topic
The first step to making it easy to do your homework is a basic understanding of the topic assigned. It is very daunting to have to start an assignment about a completely unfamiliar topic which is why it is always in your best interest to have done some research beforehand and followed what was taught in the class lectures.The minute you know what you are writing about, the topic becomes that much more interesting to delve deeper into and complete.
Often students go completely off topic, lose interest and give up half way through their assignments simply because they have been unable to understand the parameters of the topic assigned to them. It is wise to study the syllabus, sample essays and other such material in order to understand what the assignment is asking for. Once you understand the question being asked of you, you will feel more motivation to do homework in college and begin to come up with good answers.
- Time management
Procrastination is your worst enemy. Whenever possible start working on your homework assignment as soon as they are set. Begin early so that you can give yourself enough time to do your work systematically and in a relaxed matter. Delaying and leaving things for later will only multiply stress in the long run. Even the simplest topics feel like rocket science if you decide to begin the night before your deadline. Once the deadline is that close you will feel no motivation to do homework in college because you are setting yourself up for failure.
“Handling things with efficiency will take you far.â€
- Study Smart
Often colleges assign deadlines for multiple assignments towards the end of the semester regardless of when the topic in question is being taught in class. However it is advisable to complete the assignments one after the other in the order in which they are allotted because the homework tends to get progressively more difficult as the semester or academic year comes to a close.
So each assignment that you complete will make the next one that much easier. Also don’t forget to save your work and your research. Save even what you didn’t use in your homework assignment. You may find it handy the next time you are assigned a topic on a similar subject and with half the ground work done, it will be easier to find the motivation to do homework in college.
- Do not be afraid to experiment a little bit
One of the easiest ways to find motivation to do homework in college is to make studies interesting. Get creative with your assignments. This is not to say that you go off topic, but sometimes it helps to get a little innovative. Adopt dynamic sources instead of relying solely on dry academic journals for research. No matter how dry your topic is, there are always ways to work out of the box. Finding help and ideas is easy. You can even look through: No motivation to do homework? Here are some tips and tricks.
You may include relevant anecdotes to liven up your homework assignment. Adding contemporary or historical references often helps add depth to an otherwise ordinary topic. It may also be a good idea to include interdisciplinary comparisons to add dimension to your assignment and set it apart from those of your peers.For example there is no reason why an assignment on modern poetry in the 21st century cannot include a comment on the lyrics of a contemporary musical artist!
“Every experiment results in a little bit of fun, which is a definite.â€
- Empower yourself
Understand and appreciate your abilities. While college is a time to experience all that life has to offer, it is also serious business. Access to a college education is a privilege that students should make the most of and while it is difficult to find the motivation to do homework in college, it is not impossible. College is a stepping stone to building a career and it helps to hit the ground running right from freshman year rather than scramble to earn adequate credits to graduate in the final year.
Always remember that your college years will be some of the most memorable. You do not want to ruin that with bad grades or spend all that money for a future that isn’t promising. Always pull yourself out of a lull, and find a way that helps boost your energy and need to do homework.