How to Stay Ahead in Middle School
Tips for Planning, Estimating and Priortizing Assignments
Too much homework and too little time leaves tweens and teens stressed and sleep deprived. Here are three tips to ensuring stress-free homework for students.
Stressed from the rigor of school work and a busy after school schedule? Here are some tips for getting ahead and staying ahead for the rest of the school year.
Every middle school teacher has a different set of expectations especially when it comes to homework. Some teachers prefer to assign homework at the end of class every day, while others pass out the weekly agenda of assignments and tests at the start of each week. In either case you can expect to have anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours of homework a night in each class. With such a large span of time needed to complete assignments you run the risk of having a lot of late nights. Planning to work ahead and stay ahead will help you complete assignments on time and study for tests with the added benefit of a good night’s rest and a less stressful year. Here are a few strategies to help move your forward.
Teachers who provide a weekly agenda or post assignments online have given you a roadmap for the week that indicates days of potentially heavy traffic and road blocks to achieving a full night’s rest. You may also have teachers who assign homework at the end of every day. Listen carefully during the first weeks of school and you will figure out who these teachers are and how much homework they tend to assign on a daily basis.
Speed Planning: Estimated time: 5 minutes
- Ideally on Sunday and no later than Monday, record all of your assignments, tests and project due dates on your weekly planner (a.k.a. agenda or calendar) for the coming week.
- Estimate the amount of time you will need for classes where the teacher assigns homework on a daily basis. Now you have an idea of the heavy homework days.
- Add your after school activities to the planner. Include appointments, sports practices, games, volunteer commitments, etc.
- Finally, ask your parents if there is anything you may have forgotten to add. Parents are famous for scheduling appointments and then forgetting to share this date with you until the day of the appointment.
- With all of your commitments recorded you should have a better idea of what your week looks like. You are ready to take action.
Prioritize: Estimated time: less than 5 minutes
- On a separate piece of paper, list the tests, projects and assignments you need to complete or study for in order to be ready for the coming day.
- Estimate how long you will need to complete these each item on your list. Record your estimates next to each item on your list. Now you have a rough idea how much time you need to be ready for tomorrow.
Next question: How long are you willing to dedicate to schoolwork? Shoot for a specific time in the evening when you will stop your schoolwork, rather than opting to “work until everything is done”. Based on the estimates you made earlier, do you have time to complete any additional assignments beyond what is due for tomorrow? Would this be a good time to start studying for a test later in the week? Can you begin gathering materials for a long-term project? Most people do what’s necessary for tomorrow, but not you. You work ahead.
When you work ahead two things happen.
- The first and perhaps greatest benefit to working ahead is the relaxed and stress-free feeling you get from knowing you have completed your work. In short, you are prepared.
- The additional benefit comes when something unexpected (a surprise quiz your teacher scheduled for tomorrow, an unplanned practice your coach scheduled, an appointment your mom forgot to tell you about, etc.) pops up on your schedule.
When you work ahead you leave room for the unexpected. Imagine the stress you would feel if an unexpected event consumed your afternoon study time and you had waited until the last minute to study for two tests, complete a long-term project and do the regular homework. Planning and working ahead takes time and effort, but feeling relaxed is an incredible reward that you will continue to appreciate.
Read more about making a successful transition to middle school here.
What’s next?
Practice planning, estimating and prioritizing. New habits take 30 days to cement into place. The great news is you can form new habits at any point in the year. Commit yourself to a new habit for the next 30 days. If you decide, after an honest effort, that planning to get ahead doesn’t work for you then return to your old habits. The challenge and choice is yours to make. One quote to leave you with:
Yesterday is HISTORY
Tomorrow is a MYSTERY
Today is a GIFT
That's why it's called the 'PRESENT'
~Anonymous
