How to Get Your Homework Done Fast

Staying Focused

Work in a comfortable, well-lit environment. Try sitting at a desk in a padded, comfortable chair. Avoid doing homework on the floor or on your bed, because these areas are more likely to make you sleepy and distracted. Not only that, but doing homework in your bed can make it harder to sleep, and this sleeplessness can lead to lower productivity. Also make sure that you’re working in a well-lit area so you don’t have to strain your eyes to read.

Eliminate distractions by putting away your electronics and isolating yourself. Turn off your cell phone, log off of your computer (unless you will need it for your homework), turn off the television and close the door. Let your family and friends know that you do not want to be disturbed while working so they can respect your privacy. Download website-blocking apps such as Freedom or SelfControl to stay focused while using your computer for homework. Some, such as the Chrome extension Strict Workflow, even have the added bonus of preventing you from cancelling the timer once it has started.

Set a timer. At the start of each assignment or subject, start a timer with however many minutes you’re aiming to complete your work in. You can regularly glance at the timer to stay aware of how much time is going by and how much you have left. This will help you realize when you’re spending too much time on something, and will quickly snap you back into focus when you get distracted. If one subject or type of assignment is taking much more time than the others, you may want to ask for a little extra help in that area from your teacher or parent. If you get distracted or go off-task, don't make excuses for yourself. (e.g. "I won't be able to focus until I do this anyway." or "I'm sure it will only take a minute or two."

Getting Organized

Get your supplies in order. To avoid wasting time looking for things, have all your books, papers, writing utensils, and other materials readily available and easy to get to. Clean out your backpack and binder(s) weekly or monthly to stay organized. Consider consolidating your multiple different subject folders and notebooks into one big binder separated by tab dividers. This way, all of your schoolwork will be in one place.

Make a homework plan for the evening. Instead of just grabbing the first book in your backpack and starting the work, plan ahead. There are several ways that you can plan out how to do your homework for the evening, including: Decide how much time you want to spend on your homework collectively. Make a list of all the different tasks you need to finish. Estimate how much time you’ll be able to spend on each task to finish your homework when you want to. Work straight through your list and cross tasks off as you go.

Start your homework soon after you get home from school. Waiting too long in the evening to start may result in working late into the night, which isn’t good because it’s much harder to work quickly when you’re tired. Similarly, waiting until the next morning to do your homework will probably result in a rushed or incomplete end result.

Prioritize by due date and importance. As you write assignments down in your planner throughout the week, make sure to write an “A” next to high priority tasks, a “C” next to lower priority tasks, and a “B” next to tasks that fall somewhere in between. An assignment that has to be completed by the next day would probably take priority over one that’s due next Tuesday. Also prioritize bigger assignments over smaller ones. A ten page essay that’s due in a week that you haven’t started should be labeled an “A” or “B” while a short five question worksheet due in three days may be labeled a “C”. Make sure you don't wait until the last second to get assignments done.

Staying Motivated

Take breaks. Focusing for hours and hours without stopping will most likely just slow you down. Every 25 minutes or so, take about 5 minutes to stretch and walk around to give your brain and body a quick rest.

Eat snacks and drink water. Drink plenty of water and eat light, healthy, tasty snacks while you work to enjoy foods that you like, enhance your memory, and revitalize your brain and body. Stay away from soda, sugary junk food and energy drinks while you work to make sure that you won’t crash halfway through completing your homework. Try eating celery sticks and apple slices with peanut butter.

Reward yourself with a fun post-homework activity. Plan to go over to a friend’s house, play your favorite video game, shoot hoops in the driveway, or go out for a sweet treat with your sibling(s) once your homework is done. Remembering that this fun activity is coming up will help you stay motivated to focus and work efficiently.