HOMEWORK TIME – HOW TO INCREASE YOUR TEEN’S CONCENTRATION AND PRODUCTIVITY?
Homework time can be a stressful time. Especially as students move up in grades, the amount of effort and time required to complete homework both increase. It can be difficult for students to use their time effectively, prioritize tasks and stay focused. With easy internet access and cell-phone screens so close-by, there is an added level of distraction present for today’s youth.
Of course, everyone has their own learning style. There are though, some popular and proven effective methods to help get work done and stay focused. One of the most famous of these methods is The Pomodoro® Technique, created by Francesco Cirillo. It involves splitting up study time or work time into timed focus sessions and breaks. For example, a student could break-down homework time as follows:
- Focus sessions – 45 minutes
- Breaks – 15 minutes
Based on what they must do, they could plan that the first focus session will be for math homework, and the second focus session will be for French homework. After each focus session, students get the reward of a break. Students can decide how many focus sessions they might need to address today’s homework, and off they go!
The space we are in while doing work or studying is also important. There has been a ton of research done supporting the effectiveness of co-working spaces. What’s a coworking space? In simplest terms, a coworking space is a space where people who don’t know each other and are working on completely different things share a workspace. Some easy examples: a local library or coffee shop. Why do these spaces increase productivity? It would seem it’s because when everyone around is focused at the same time, it encourages students to stay focused themselves. Although everyone is working on different things, there is a motivating factor implicit in the fact that everyone is working on something.
These are just a couple of ways that students can increase focus and productivity during homework time. Parents – consider introducing either or both of these homework time options to your teens. You (and they) might be pleasantly surprised by the results.
References: Student Coworking Space: Why Join? | Signature Workspace
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GUESS WHAT?!
We loved the idea of structured focus/break times and coworking spaces so much that we’ve decided to blend them together for our new service called STUDY ZONE!
If you think that structured focus time and a coworking space during afterschool hours is what your teen needs, click here to find out more. We hope to see your child there!
