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"Let's Do Homework Together" contest

El pitazo and unicef venezuela invite venezuelan children and adolescents to participate in the second edition of the story and comic contest.

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The months of the pandemic have changed people's lives in many ways: work, movement, and relationship systems have been adjusted, but they have also left us learning new ways of bonding emotionally with those who are part of our daily lives.

In this context, El Pitazo and UNICEF Venezuela united, for the second year in a row, to invite Venezuelan children and adolescents to exercise their right to participate, this time with the Let's Do the Homework Together contest.

Doing homework together does not mean just fulfilling school responsibilities after school, but on this occasion, we want you to tell or draw your family experience during the pandemic: Did you support your siblings with schoolwork or homework? Did you participate in any work to support your community? Are you involved in a school project? How have you been feeling?

Let's Do Homework Together is a contest aimed at children and adolescents who want to tell their story of coexistence, of teamwork with family and society during the pandemic, or that of individual and collective challenges — experiences of frustration, disappointment, and difficulties —, surpassed by cooperation, respect, solidarity, tolerance, empathy, and generosity.

Upload your work HERE

The call to participate begins on November 1 and closes on December 15, and children and adolescents can send their works by entering this form.

Let's Do Homework Together

What do you need to participate in.

• Be between the ages 10 and 16 years old.
• Live in Venezuela.

In which category would you like to participate?

You can participate in one or both of the following categories:

Make your comic or narrative from the following ideas

Choose one of these three options according to your interest:

OPTION A During the pandemic, during the time you were at home with your whole family, How was the routine and family life like? Did you help prepare dinner? Did you support your siblings with their homework? Or did you create a game together? What emotions or feelings did you have? Tell your story in a written text or in a comic.

OPTION B During the pandemic, did you and your family participate in any work to support your community? Did you do any activities to support your neighbors? What did you feel doing it? Tell your story of coexistence in a written text or in a comic.

OPTION C Did you start classes? Tell us how your experience has been this return to the classroom: Do you have new friends? What is coexistence like? Are you already part of a sports team? Or do you participate in a group to improve your school? How was the reunion with your classmates and teachers? Tell your story in a written text or in a comic.

Your work must be original, only you must do it, without the help of someone else; and it must be unpublished, that you have not published it or sent it to another contest.

The work must meet the following requirements, depending on the category you choose:

• Narrates a story, through a COMIC, considering options A, B, or C of point three of these rules. Choose one according to what you have lived.
• For your COMIC you can use drawings and dialogs.
• Tell that story chronologically, that is, saying what happened first and what happened later.
• You can only tell one story and draw one COMIC.
• For your COMIC you can use a brush, pencil, acrylics, watercolors, crayons or any other material. Apply the artistic technique of your liking.
• You can also make your COMIC on your computer, digitizing your own drawings. Proposals made based on pre-established templates in design programs will not be accepted.
• The COMIC can be either black and white or in color.
• Your COMIC must have a maximum extension of 2 letter-size sheets (drawn on one side only).
• Save your work in digital format (PDF or JPG). If you draw it on paper or cardboard, try to scan it or take a good quality photo of it with very good lighting.
• Remember that for the jury to assess your work well, you must send it with good image quality. If you are the winner, you must deliver the original on the day of the award ceremony.
• Your work must not bear a personal name or signature. If you are the winner, you must deliver the original on the day of the award ceremony.
• Write your story considering options A, B, or C from point three of these rules. Choose one according to what you have lived.
• The text must have a minimum length of 1 page and a half, and a maximum of 3 pages.
• Title your story. It should not bear your name or a personal signature.
• If you are going to write by hand, you must take care that the writing can be easily read.
• Your writing must be original and unpublished, which means it has not been published elsewhere. Your writing cannot be taken from an electronic, printed, or audiovisual medium
• To compete you must send your narration in digital format (PDF, JPG, or WORD). If it's handwritten, scan your work or take a very sharp photo of it.
• Remember that for the jury to assess your work well, you must send it with good image quality.
• If you are the winner, you must deliver the original on the day of the award ceremony.

Get more information about the contest

El Pitazo and UNICEF invite you to the “Hagamos la Tarea Juntos” contest

This is how we celebrate the World Children’s Day in Venezue

On November 16, soccer fans raised their commitment to children's rights and on November 20, three emblematic sites in the country were lit up in blue.

#EnMiMente UNICEF 75 Virtual Race

On its 75th anniversary, UNICEF invites you to add kilometers to break the stigma around mental health

Meet, chat, and study with students from all over the world 🌍

Join the largest global student community online and say goodbye to lack of motivation., our student community is more than one million strong (and this is just the beginning), discover study together, find your community. set goals. achieve them. get rewarded..

Stronger together 💪

“just” a study room think again.

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Studying, reloaded 

Easy as abc, solo study 📚, group focus | 25 min ☕, nature sounds 🌱, study  | with camera 📖, don’t just take our word for it.

Awesome Community ‍ "As a chronic procrastinator, this community really helps me motivate myself to get my homework done. Has cool leaderboards, timers, and study tips. It’s a really large community so it’s pretty easy to meet people, too."

Productivity Booster "I have never been so focused and productive when studying by myself before. I can study with someone basically 24/7 if I really wanted too. It has been an amazing help! 💜 Thanks Study Together!"

Goals "I’ve been a part of it for probably a little over a month and I’ve noticed how it’s improved my ability to stay focused. Since everyone is also studying in the call and working hard, I feel obliged to stay on task as well."

Study Together is great „Study Together is perfect no flaws no nothing. It gives me a purpose and before this I did not study a lot now I do. Thanks Study Together.“

Thank you ‍ „Yesterday I completed my one year in this community. I feel so amazed that I have so many study hours without even noticing them, just cuz I was so focused with my study pals to achieve what I wanted to!!“

The level system is pog  „ The VC level system keeps me motivated — the more time spent studying, the more levels you gain and the fancier your role becomes. There’s even silent study calls with lofi music, silence, nature sounds and other types of ambience. 10/10 would recommend it to a friend.“

Awesome Community „As a chronic procrastinator, this community really helps me motivate myself to get my homework done. Has cool leaderboards, timers, and study tips. It’s a really large community so it’s pretty easy to meet people, too. “

Productivity Booster „I have never been so focused and productive when studying by myself before. I usually study with a group of friends to stay on track and motivate each other. Since I can’t do that right now, my friends and I joined this server BUT I have also made new friends online so that I can study with someone basically 24/7 if I really wanted too. It has been an amazing help! 💜 Thanks Study Together!“

Goals „I’ve been a part of it for probably a little over a month and I’ve noticed how it’s improved my ability to stay focused. Since everyone is also studying in the call and working hard, I feel obliged to stay on task as well.“

Thank you „Yesterday I completed my one year in this community. I feel so amazed that I have so many study hours without even noticing them, just cuz I was so focused with my study pals to achieve what I wanted to!!“

Meet fellow students from all over the world

Improve your studying constantly.

What are you waiting for? Join the study team!

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10 Best Online Study Room Websites & Apps (Study With Strangers & More)

Cramming for finals and doing homework solo can be lonely business. Craving some company for your study sesh? Try an online study room!

Study rooms can help you stay motivated, focused, and in the right headspace for deep work. Plus, it’s comforting knowing you’re all in the same boat when a deadline is fast approaching!

Ready to build your online study community? Scroll down for nine of the best online study websites and apps!

Looking for more study and focus tips? Subscribe to The Flow — our free quick, snappy, value-packed focus and recharge newsletter:

• First Name First

Flocus is a free browser-based dashboard for both focus and ambience. Featuring aesthetic themes, personal greeting Pomodoro timer, and lots more!

Open Flocus in Browser

StudyStream – Study with Strangers

StudyStream lets you build a global community of study buddies to boost focus and productivity. Start by creating an aesthetic personal workspace complete with high-def backgrounds and chill lofi study tunes .

Gamify your workload by earning perks and achievements. Link up with other students in the same field and share your experiences through DMs. Integrated Pomodoro timers and to-do lists let you complete tasks and deep work sessions directly through StudyStream.

Weekly events promoting productivity and wellness help keep StudyStream fresh and engaging. Follow your favorite students through your newsfeed, and use the FocusBuddies feature to find the perfect study partner!

Highlights and features

• Focus Rooms for virtual audio and video ground study sessions
• Attend community events for wellness and productivity
• Customize your home workspace, complete Pomodoros and check items off your do-to list
• Motivate yourself by earning community perks and achievements

Go to StudyStream

Get in the groove with thousands of fellow students with CSW Live. Create your ideal study atmosphere by adding YouTube playlists and K-pop and anime-inspired backgrounds to your homepage. Or, upload your own background for a truly bespoke experience.

Cramming for an exam? Join one of the study rooms for a distraction-free session. Taking a quick study break, or relaxing after school? Listen to music, watch videos, and more in custom rooms. It also acts as a personal workspace, complete with to-do lists and a word processor.

• Dozens of group rooms for study and relaxation
• Customize your dashboard with YouTube tunes and aesthetic backgrounds
• Manage your work with built-in to-do lists and notepad
• Add friends and DM with other students

Go to CSW Live

Study Together – Study & Focus Rooms

One of the most popular online study rooms, Study Together lets you chat with over a million students from around the world. Free tutors are on hand to help regardless of your major, from engineering to accountancy to health sciences.

Attend events for career advice, study tips, and mental support. Customize your personal study space during your downtime with dynamic backgrounds, timers, and more. Or, find your zen with mindfulness classes like meditation and guided breathing exercises . Track your study progress and rise up the rankings on Study Together’s leaderboards!

• Online study room app with 1 million members from 215+ countries
• Access group study rooms and tutoring for high school and college students
• Relax in your own customizable study space and partake in mindfulness exercises
• Gamify your study sessions and rise up the ranks in the Discord server

Go to Study Together

Gather is one of the best ways to gamify your workday! Create an adorable pixelated avatar and wander around a virtual space with offices, desks, tables, etc. Decorate your office, join private huddles, and celebrate your wins from your virtual desk.

Bump into your fellow students and chat without having to arrange meetings. When you’re not in focus mode, put your feet up in the Rec Room and play online games like Tetris and Codenames. Gather integrates with Slack, Outlook, and Google Calendar so you can view all your tasks and convos in one vibrant workspace!

• Gamified workspace with personalized avatars
• Customize your workspace with different decorations and designs
• Join focus rooms and group huddles with or without your camera
• Integrate Google Docs, Outlook, Slack, and more

Go to Gather

Flocus — Aesthetic Focus & Study Dashboard

For a cozy solo study session, Flocus brings a refreshing take on virtual productivity. Set the perfect vibe with a customizable Pomodoro timer, beautiful ambient backgrounds, and layerable soundscapes that range from cozy coffee shop vibes to concentration noises.

With personalized greetings, motivational quotes, a priority-driven to-do list, and focus stats to track your progress, Flocus is your perfect space for focused, solo study sessions — all in your browser!

• Customizable Pomodoro timer
• Aesthetic background worlds
• Priority-focused to-do list
• Focus stats
• Layerable ambient soundscapes
• Personalized greetings and motivational quotes

Go to Flocus

Cofocus takes a unique approach to online productivity by connecting you with a focus buddy for 50 minute, 1-on-1 virtual coworking sessions! Get accountable, stay on task, and reach your goals with a partner by your side with this minimalist tool.

Go to Cofocus

Fiveable provides invaluable resources to help you ace your AP, SAT, and ACT exams. You’ll find guides for all 38 AP exam subjects, with over 2,000 study guides and 7,000 practice questions available. You can also attend group study rooms for individual AP subjects, self-care, and Pomodoro sessions.

Is your next big exam creeping up on you? Activate “Cram Mode” for live reviews hosted by teachers, cooperative work sessions, practice question breakdowns, and much more. Achieve the best grade possible with support from students and teachers through Fiveable!

• Group study rooms and resources for AP, SAT, and ACT exams
• Covers all 38 AP exam subjects with 7,000+ practice questions
• Activate Cram Mode for live subject reviews, unlimited practice questions, and topic breakdowns

Go to Fiveable

LifeAt Communities

Feeling lonely in your LifeAt virtual space? LifeAt Communities lets you join forces with other students and grind through tough tasks together. Find your perfect room, set session goals, and start your Pomodoro timer to engage in deep work.

Work with or without your camera on — whatever makes you most comfortable! Schedule co-working sessions on the “Events” page to ensure you stay committed to completing your current coursework.

• Add group study rooms to your LifeAt spaces
• Find and create tailored workspaces with aesthetic backgrounds
• Work with or without your camera on
• Check out the “Events” page to create a co-working session

Go to LifeAt

Group Study Discord Servers

Discord offers some of the best free places to study with strangers online. With a quick search, you’ll find a seemingly endless number of Discord study servers with their own unique aesthetics and features.

Join audio and video study rooms, discuss your goals, share study tips, and run aesthetic study timers . During your downtime, play games, chat with others, and practice mindfulness with your new friends and study buddies!

For more server options, check out our full round-up of the best study Discord servers !

Discord Servers:

• Flocus by Gridfiti
• Study Together
• Study Beasts

Live YouTube Stream

Find the right vibe for your study session with a live YouTube stream. Bop along 24/7 to lofi and chillhop radio stations, whether you’re working, studying, or unwinding. These live YouTube streams have a built-in chat feature to keep you company while you work to achieve your academic dreams!

YouTube Channels:

• Chillhop Music

Did we miss your favorite online study room website or app? Let us know in the comments below!

Gridfiti is supported by its audience – when you buy something using the retail links in our posts, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read more about our affiliate disclaimer.

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Focused. Productive. Together.

Virtual coworking for getting anything done.

No credit card required.

COMMUNITY-POWERED

Meet the most supportive community on earth.

Students, engineers, homemakers (and more) join from 150+ countries and support each other to get stuff done. Enjoy focusing with a partner (or want to cowork with a friend)? Favorite them and book easily!

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Get stuff done, seamlessly

Book sessions, sync with your calendar, and join video calls directly from your browser, on desktop or mobile. No additional downloads required.

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How it works

1. Book a session

We’ll match you with a member of our wonderful community whenever you want to focus.

2. Join video call

Greet your partner, share your session goals and get to work!

3. Celebrate your progress

At the end of the session, check in with your partner and celebrate your progress!

Frequently Asked Questions

Focusmate is for anyone who wants to get things done.

As long as you stay on camera, you can use Focusmate for most kinds of work: desk work, cleaning, cooking, art, music, writing, reading, even at-home exercise! The main thing is to set up your camera so that your partner can see you while you focus on your task(s).

Body doubling is working on any task with another person present, without them participating in your task. The presence (in real life or virtual) of another person who is also trying to focus on their own task helps you stay on track and get things done. Additionally, it boosts your motivation, making the task at hand more enjoyable and achievable.

Focusmate will pair you with a member of our community — someone else somewhere in the world that’s also trying to get something done. If you enjoyed working with someone, you can Favorite them by tapping the star next to their name.  Learn more about Favorite Partners

You don’t need to download another app. You book and join sessions on Focusmate. We’ll also send you calendar invites so your Focusmate sessions appear on your calendar.

Yes! Focusmate is completely free for up to three sessions per week. You do not need a credit card or other payment information to start using Focusmate. If you need more sessions, you can upgrade to Focusmate Plus anytime for unlimited sessions. It’s just $6.99 a month (billed yearly) or $9.99 a month (billed monthly).

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Focusmate is one of the best productivity tools I’ve found. It is built around pre-commitment pacts — a psychological device that helps you get started and follow through on just about any task. Focusmate is an effective and accessible tool anyone can use — so much so that I mention it in my book  Indistractable .

Author  Indistractable  &  Hooked

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I have now logged more than 6,500 sessions on Focusmate. It has absolutely helped my business grow and enabled me to work with more joyful productivity.

Business Coach for Soulpreneurs

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All my life, all I needed was Focusmate. Thank you for this amazing community. I feel powerful with my coworking mates.

UX Researcher, Psychologist

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High Impact Tutoring Built By Math Experts

Personalized standards-aligned one-on-one math tutoring for schools and districts

Free ready-to-use math resources

Hundreds of free math resources created by experienced math teachers to save time, build engagement and accelerate growth

13 Fun Homework Ideas: The Best Ways To Make Homework Fun For Kids Quickly & Easily

Sophie Bartlett

Figuring out how to make homework fun can be a tricky task for parents.

Does it feel like you’re constantly nagging your kids to do their homework? If your answer is yes, know that we’ve all been there! It’s natural for parents to want their children to progress and do well in school, but after an entire day of paper, pencils, and books many youngsters will resist getting on with their homework – and that’s putting it mildly!

Fun Math Games and Activities Packs for Kindergarten to 5th Grade

Individual packs for Kindergarten to Grade 5 containing fun math games and activities.

Top Tips To Make Homework Fun:

1. work together, 2. use rewards and incentives, 3. make them a snack, 4. make it visual, 5. try different learning apps, 6. set up a homework play date, 7. go outside, 8. turn it into a game, 9. let them play teacher, 10. use a timer, 11. create a special homework space, 12. remember to be positive, 13. get help if you need it.

Thankfully, there are ways of making homework less boring and that are a little bit more fun for your child. Whether they need to practice spelling, learn their times tables or revise for an important exam, our top fun homework ideas will help you magically take the ‘work’ out of homework.

Adults often work best in the company of others, and the same can be said of kids, so why not sit with your child while they’re studying and get on with some of your own work or life admin?

Whether you’re returning emails or doing your online banking, creating a shared workspace and modeling focused work is a great way to spend quality time together while they complete their homework. Win-win!

Quick win : While your child is tackling their fractions homework, you could sit down with them and take a look through your finances.

Rewards and incentives are great when it comes to getting your children to follow your household rules and routines, and homework is no different. Things like stickers or the promise of time on their iPad or games console for slightly older children can all work wonders in getting them to do their homework without a battle.

Quick win: For every few questions they answer they could get a minute of screen time!

Let’s face it: A hungry child is an unfocused, unmotivated and unhappy child.

Most children come out of school ravenous, so let them nibble on a nutritious after-school snack while they get on with homework; things like popcorn, apple slices, grapes, or crackers and cheese are all great snack options.

If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, Active for Life has a list of healthy after-school snack ideas and recipes to try.

Quick win: One of the best brain foods for kids is a nice and crispy apple! So when your child is craving something sweet just cut up an apple and let them munch away.

Help to eliminate the late night ‘Oh, I forgot to do that’, and create a weekly homework chart so your child can see what they have to do each day and check off each ‘to do’ task as it’s been completed.

Again, Pinterest has some great free printables to help keep kids organized. Get them involved by letting them color it, or decorate it with their favorite stickers, and pin it up somewhere at their height, where they will see it easily every day as a reminder. Some exciting new stationery and colorful pens might help too.

Quick win: An easy way to make homework fun is to grab a piece of paper and get your child to draw out and decorate a ‘homework chart’ consisting of 5 days. Stick it on the fridge and add a sticker to each day after they’ve done their homework, when they’ve collected 5 stickers they get a treat!

If your child prefers to be online, there are some great online apps around that children will have fun using, yet encourage learning too. Here are our favorite free math websites for example. Speak to your child’s teacher too and see which apps the children use in school so you can support what they’re doing at home.

Quick win: One of our favorite websites that makes homework fun is Tang Math !

Holding a homework playdate where your child can invite one of their best school buddies over to do homework together can be a great way for them to learn and make sure the work gets done, especially older children in elementary school.

Plus, it’s likely that their parents will be delighted!

Younger children may need a bit more support and guidance but can still gain a lot from the experience of learning together with a friend – think of this as a mini-educational play date for them.

Quick win: Let your child and their friend play for a while, and then get them to work through their homework with the incentive of a yummy ‘ice cream party’ when they’ve completed all of their homework.

If the weather allows, create a comfortable outside study space and allow your child to do their homework outdoors.

The fresh air can help kids with their concentration if they’ve been stuck in a classroom all day, and studies also show that being outside, closer to nature, can increase productivity. The reward of a quick game of Frisbee or a kick-around of a soccer ball between tasks will help them stay motivated too.

Who said home learning had to be boring? If children enjoy what they’re learning, they’re more likely to remember what they’re being taught, so turn their learning into a fun game. Using sweets like Smarties to help with math and number work can turn the experience from a chore into a treat. If they get the right answer, they get to eat some!

Another trick that you can use when your child is learning spellings is to write them in shaving cream or in magnetic letters. It sounds simple but we can guarantee that it will make homework a lot more fun for your child.

These math games for kids and times tables games are a great place to start.

Quick win: If you’re looking for some fun homework ideas then check out this simple multiplication activity you can do at home, it’ll even get in one of your child’s five a day!

Make another fun homework game by creating your own mini-classroom and letting your child step into the role of teacher.

Have your child explain a concept to you as a teacher, as you, or their sibling, play the role of the student. This game works particularly well with subjects that require theory, like Science for example, as it will improve their understanding of the concept and build logic and reasoning skills.

Quick win: Make homework fun by getting your child to choose their favorite teddies and toys and setting them up in their own mini- classroom. Start off with registration, ‘mom’ ‘present’, ‘mr teddy’ ‘here’ etc. You’ll soon notice that your child is growing in confidence regardless of the topic as children love playing teacher!

Some children may have difficulty working for prolonged periods of time without a break, so using a timer can be great for getting them to complete homework without whining. For example, if your child is given 20 math problems for homework, you can say “Complete the first 10 questions, then we’ll take a 5-minute break, then complete the next 10 questions”.

Many children will need a mental break and will work more effectively when given the opportunity to take one. At the end of the task, they get to pick an activity of their choice. If your child gets easily distracted, a timer game can work well to keep them focused on the task in hand.

Quick win: Put the timer on your phone so that your child can see the countdown while they’re working.

A special study space can make homework more fun and help motivate your child to get it done! Choose a space in your house that’s least likely to distract your child, and create simple, organized, and kid-friendly homework.

You could hang up some of their artwork above the desk, and have all their school essentials nearby so everything is close to hand.

Quick win: Make sure that they aren’t surrounded by things that will distract them. Televisions and iPads are a no go at homework time!

Remember to always be upbeat and positive about school and the importance of their homework. Give your child lots of praise and encouragement about how well they’re doing to help them stay motivated and on track.

Quick win: After every homework session, spend five minutes talking through what your child has accomplished. If you’re running out of activities to do, have a look at our list of home learning packs – all free to download.

Homework can be frustrating if your child doesn’t understand the material or gets bored easily. If your child is struggling, get them some expert help!

Quick win: Third Space Learning has plenty of advice on learning math for kids and parents but if you need more support, our primary school math tutors are easy to organize and very affordable.

Do you have students who need extra support in math? Give your students more opportunities to consolidate learning and practice skills through personalized math tutoring with their own dedicated online math tutor. Each student receives differentiated instruction designed to close their individual learning gaps, and scaffolded learning ensures every student learns at the right pace. Lessons are aligned with your state’s standards and assessments, plus you’ll receive regular reports every step of the way. Personalized one-on-one math tutoring programs are available for: – 2nd grade tutoring – 3rd grade tutoring – 4th grade tutoring – 5th grade tutoring – 6th grade tutoring – 7th grade tutoring – 8th grade tutoring Why not learn more about how it works ?

The content in this article was originally written by primary school teacher Sophie Bartlett and has since been revised and adapted for US schools by elementary math teacher Christi Kulesza.

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Screen Time For Kids: Making It Positive

Math Homework Guide For Helping Kids With Math At Home

PEMDAS Math Poster (Spanish Version) [FREE]

Trying to help remember what the mnemonic PEMDAS stands for? Display this poster to engage young learners with answering questions on the order of operations.

Check out more English and Spanish posters available in our US resource library!

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6 Successful students get it together

It begins with simple things like making sure you have all your books and materials with you when you get to class and leads to more complex things like creating a study schedule. It is about getting a handle on what you need to do as a student and what demands will be on your time in terms of preparing for classes, reading, studying and working on homework and assignments. Planning ahead, and then following your plan, is the essence of time management. Thinking about what needs to be done and having a plan for doing the work can really help you reduce your stress. Learning strategies to stay on track, avoiding distractions of people and technology, and to preventing procrastination will pay off not only in college but also in your career thereafter. Plan your use of time based on your “time personality” after assessing how you typically use your free time. Then use an academic weekly and daily planner to schedule blocks of time most efficiently. Start well ahead of deadlines to prevent last-minute stresses and problems completing your work.

Going to college will be challenging and to do well in your studies will take more time then you might first think. You will probably spend about fifteen hours a week in classes and you can expect to spend two hours of prepping, reading, studying and homework for each hour in classes. This means you are looking at forty-five hours of your week devoted to your studies. This is about the number of hours you might expect to spend at a full time job. It is important that you are willing to put in the time but it can be difficult to manage the competing demands of different courses, outside work and personal/social needs. That is why it is vital to get it together now by organizing you space and your time.

Organizing Your Space

It’s time to get organized. You need to organize both your space and your time.

Space is important for many reasons—some obvious, some less so. People’s moods, attitudes, and levels of work productivity change in different spaces. Learning to use space to your own advantage helps get you off to a good start in your studies. Here are a few of the ways space matter:

• Everyone needs their own space. This may seem simple, but everyone needs some physical area, regardless of size, that is really their own—even if it’s only a small part of a shared space. Within your own space, you generally feel more secure and in control.
• Physical space reinforces habits. For example, using your bed primarily for sleeping makes it easier to fall asleep there than elsewhere and also makes it not a good place to try to stay awake and alert for studying.
• Different places create different moods. While this may seem obvious, students don’t always use places to their best advantage. One place may be bright and full of energy, with happy students passing through and enjoying themselves—a place that puts you in a good mood. But that may actually make it more difficult to concentrate on your studying. Yet the opposite—a totally quiet, austere place devoid of color, sound,  and pleasant decorations—can be just as unproductive if it makes you associate studying with something unpleasant. Everyone needs to discover what space works best for them—and then let that space reinforce good study habits.

Use Space to Your Advantage and to Avoid Distractions

Begin by analyzing your needs, preferences, and past problems with places for studying. Where do you usually study? What are the best things about that place for studying? What distractions are most likely to occur there?

The goal is to find, or create, the best place for studying, and then to use it regularly so that studying there becomes a good habit.

• Choose a place you can associate with studying. Make sure it’s not a place already associated with other activities (eating, watching television, sleeping, etc.). Over time, the more often you study in this space, the stronger will be its association with studying, so that eventually you’ll be completely focused as soon as you reach that place and begin.
• Your study area should be available whenever you need it. If you want to use your home, apartment, or dorm room but you never know if another person may be there and possibly distract you, then it’s probably better to look for another place, such as a study lounge or an area in the library. Look for locations open at the hours when you may be studying. You may also need two study spaces—one in or near where you live, another on campus. Maybe you study best at home but have an hour free between two classes, and the library is too far away to use for only an hour? Look for a convenient empty classroom.
• Your study space should meet your study needs. An open desk or table surface usually works best for writing, and you’ll tire quickly if you try to write notes sitting in an easy chair (which might also make you sleepy). You need good light for reading, to avoid tiring from eyestrain. If you use a laptop for writing notes or reading and researching, you need a power outlet so you don’t have to stop when your battery runs out.
• Your study space should meet your psychological needs. Some students may need total silence with absolutely no visual distractions; they may find a perfect study carrel hidden away in the library. Other students may be unable to concentrate for long without looking up from reading and momentarily letting their eyes move over a pleasant scene. Some students may find it easier to stay motivated when surrounded by other students also studying; they may find an open space in the library or a study lounge with many tables spread out over an area. Experiment to find the setting that works best for you—and remember that the more often you use this same space, the more comfortable and effective your studying will become.
• You may need the support of others to maintain your study space. Students living at home, whether with a spouse and children or with their parents, often need the support of family members to maintain an effective study space. The kitchen table probably isn’t best if others pass by frequently. Be creative, if necessary, and set up a card table in a quiet corner of your bedroom or elsewhere to avoid interruptions. Put a “do not disturb” sign on your door.
• Keep your space organized and free of distractions. You want to prevent sudden impulses to neaten up the area (when you should be studying), do laundry, wash dishes, and so on. Unplug a nearby telephone, turn off your cell phone, and use your computer only as needed for studying. If your e-mail or message program pops up a notice every time an e-mail or message arrives, turn off your Wi-Fi or detach the network cable to prevent those intrusions.
• Plan for breaks. Everyone needs to take a break occasionally when studying. Think about the space you’re in and how to use it when you need a break. If in your home, stop and do a few exercises to get your blood flowing. If in the library, take a walk up a couple flights of stairs and around the stacks before returning to your study area.
• Prepare for human interruptions. Even if you hide in the library to study, there’s a chance a friend may happen by. At home with family members or in a dorm room or common space, the odds increase greatly. Have a plan ready in case someone pops in and asks you to join them in some fun activity. Know when you plan to finish your studying so that you can make a plan for later—or for tomorrow at a set time.

Studying While Living with Others

Sometimes going to the library or elsewhere is not practical for studying, and you have to find a way to cope in a shared space. Part of the solution is time management. Agree with others on certain times that will be reserved for studying; agree to keep the place quiet, not to have guests visiting, and to prevent other distractions. These arrangements can be made with a roommate, spouse, and older children.

If there are younger children in your household and you have child-care responsibility, it’s usually more complicated. You may have to schedule your studying during their nap time or find quiet activities for them to enjoy while you study. Try to spend some time with your kids before you study, so they don’t feel like you’re ignoring them. The key is to plan ahead. You don’t want to find yourself, the night before an exam, in a place that offers no space for studying.

Finally, accept that sometimes you’ll just have to say no. If your roommate or a friend often tries to engage you in conversation or suggests doing something else when you need to study, just say no. Learn to be firm but polite as you explain that you just really have to get your work done first. Students who live at home may also have to learn how to say no to parents or family members—just be sure to explain the importance of the studying you need to do! Remember, you can’t be everything to everyone all the time.

Time Management

Time management for successful college studying involves these factors:

• Determining how much time you need to spend studying
• Knowing how much time you actually have for studying and increasing that time if needed
• Being aware of the times of day you are at your best and most focused
• Using effective long- and short-term study strategies
• Scheduling study activities in realistic segments
• Using a system to plan ahead and set priorities
• Staying motivated to follow your plan and avoid procrastination

For every hour in the classroom, college students should spend, on average, about two hours on that class, counting reading, studying, writing papers, and so on. If you’re a full-time student with fifteen hours a week in class, then you need another thirty hours for the rest of your academic work. That forty-five hours is about the same as a typical full-time job. If you work part time, time management skills are even more essential. These skills are still more important for part-time college students who work full time and commute or have a family. To succeed in college, virtually everyone has to develop effective strategies for dealing with time.

Do you have two hours of study time for every hour in class? Many students begin college not knowing this much time is needed, so don’t be surprised if you underestimated this number of hours. Remember this is just an average amount of study time — you may need more or less for your own courses. To be safe, and to help ensure your success, add another five to ten hours a week for studying. To reserve this study time, you may need to adjust how much time you spend in other activities.

Where Should Your Time Go?

Plan for the ideal use of a week’s worth of time. Fill in your hours in this order:

• Hours attending class
• Study hours (2 times the number of class hours plus 5 or more hours extra)
• Work, internships, and fixed volunteer time
• Fixed life activities (sleeping, eating, hygiene, chores, transportation, etc.)
• Discretionary activities

Now subtotal your hours so far and subtract that number from 168. How many hours are left?

This will help you find the remaining hours for “discretionary activities” (things you don’t have to do for school, work, or a healthy life).

This activity shows most college students that they do actually have plenty of time for their studies without losing sleep or giving up their social life. But you may have less time for discretionary activities than in the past. Something, somewhere has to give. That’s part of time management — and why it’s important to keep your goals and priorities in mind. The other part is to learn how to use the hours you do have as effectively as possible, especially the study hours. For example, if you’re a typical college student who plans to study for three hours in an evening but then procrastinates, gets caught up in a conversation, loses time to checking e-mail and text messages, and listens to loud music while reading a textbook, then maybe you actually spent four hours “studying” but got only two hours of actual work done. So you end up behind and feeling like you’re still studying way too much. The goal of time management is to actually get three hours of studying done in three hours and have time for your life as well.

Where Does Your Time Go?

See if you can account for a week’s worth of time. Try this Time Activity. For each of the activity categories listed, make your best estimate of how many hours you spend in a week. (For categories that are about the same every day, just estimate for one day and multiply by seven for that line.)

• Eating (including preparing food)
• Personal hygiene (i.e., bathing, etc.)
• Working (employment)
• Volunteer service or internship
• Chores, cleaning, errands, shopping, etc.
• Attending class
• Studying, reading, and researching (outside of class)
• Transportation to work or school
• Getting to classes (walking, biking, etc.)
• Organized group activities (clubs, church services, etc.)
• Time with friends (include television, video games, etc.)
• Attending events (movies, parties, etc.)
• Time alone (include television, video games, surfing the Web, etc.)
• Exercise or sports activities
• Reading for fun or other interests done alone
• Talking on phone, e-mail, Facebook, etc.
• Other—specify: ________________________

Now use your calculator to total your estimated hours. Is your number larger or smaller than 168, the total number of hours in a week? If your estimate is higher, go back through your list and adjust numbers to be more realistic. But if your estimated hours total fewer than 168, don’t just go back and add more time in certain categories. Instead, ponder this question:  Where does the time go?  We’ll come back to this question.

Think about your time analysis in Time Activity. People who estimate too high often feel they don’t have enough time. They may have time anxiety and often feel frustrated. People at the other extreme, who often can’t account for how they use all their time, may have a more relaxed attitude. They may not actually have any more free time, but they may be wasting more time than they want to admit with less important things. Yet they still may complain about how much time they spend studying, as if there’s a shortage of time.

People also differ in how they respond to schedule changes. Some go with the flow and accept changes easily, while others function well only when following a planned schedule and may become upset if that schedule changes. If you do not react well to an unexpected disruption in your schedule, plan extra time for catching up if something throws you off. This is all part of understanding your time personality.

Another aspect of your time personality involves time of day. If you need to concentrate, such as when writing a class paper, are you more alert and focused in the morning, afternoon, or evening? Do you concentrate best when you look forward to a relaxing activity later on, or do you study better when you’ve finished all other activities? Do you function well if you get up early—or stay up late—to accomplish a task? How does that affect the rest of your day or the next day? Understanding this will help you better plan your study periods.

While you may not be able to change your “time personality,” you can learn to manage your time more successfully. The key is to be realistic. How accurate is the number of hours you wrote down in Time Activity? The best way to know how you spend your time is to record what you do all day in a time log, every day for a week, and then add that up. Make simple chart of the hours in a day and carry it with you. Every so often, fill in what you have been doing. Do this for a week before adding up the times; then enter the total hours in the categories in Time Activity. You might be surprised that you spend a lot more time than you thought just hanging out with friends—or surfing the Web or playing around with Facebook or any of the many other things people do. You might find that you study well early in the morning even though you thought you are a night person, or vice versa. You might learn how long you can continue at a specific task before needing a break.

Time Management Strategies

Following are some strategies you can begin using immediately to make the most of your time:

• Use a calendar planner, weekly schedule and daily to-do list . At the beginning of each semester, log important due dates for assignments and tests on a four month calendar. This will give you an overview of the semester and identify particularly busy weeks. Next prepare your ideal weekly schedule with class times and study periods for each day and on the weekends. Add work and other fixed activities after classes and study periods. Consult your calendar and weekly schedule to help determine the tasks you need to complete each day to create a to-do list and consider what study periods you have available that day.  For each study period, plan out your activities based on due dates for assignments, preparation needed for next classes and general study to prepare for tests and exams.
• Prepare to be successful. When planning ahead for studying, think yourself into the right mood. Focus on the positive. “When I get these chapters read tonight, I’ll be ahead in studying for the next test, and I’ll also have plenty of time tomorrow to do X.” Visualize yourself studying well!
• Use your best—and most appropriate—time of day. Different tasks require different mental skills. Some kinds of studying you may be able to start first thing in the morning as you wake, while others need your most alert moments at another time.
• Break up large projects into small pieces. Whether it’s writing a paper for class, studying for a final exam, or reading a long assignment or full book, students often feel daunted at the beginning of a large project. It’s easier to get going if you break it up into stages that you schedule at separate times—and then begin with the first section that requires only an hour or two.
• Do the most important studying first. When two or more things require your attention, do the more crucial one first. If something happens and you can’t complete everything, you’ll suffer less if the most crucial work is done.
• If you have trouble getting started, do an easier task first. Like large tasks, complex or difficult ones can be daunting. If you can’t get going, switch to an easier task you can accomplish quickly. That will give you momentum, and often you feel more confident tackling the difficult task after being successful in the first one.
• If you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed because you have too much to do, revisit your time planner. Sometimes it’s hard to get started if you keep thinking about other things you need to get done.
• Review your schedule for the next few days and make sure everything important is scheduled, then relax and concentrate on the task at hand.
• If you’re really floundering, talk to someone. Maybe you just don’t understand what you should be doing. Talk with your professor or another student in the class to get back on track.
• Take a break. We all need breaks to help us concentrate without becoming fatigued and burned out. As a general rule, a short break every hour or so is effective in helping recharge your study energy. Get up and move around to get your blood flowing, clear your thoughts, and work off stress.
• Use unscheduled times to work ahead. You’ve scheduled that hundred pages of reading for later today, but you have the textbook with you as you’re waiting for the bus. Start reading now, or flip through the chapter to get a sense of what you’ll be reading later. Either way, you’ll save time later. You may be amazed how much studying you can get done during down times throughout the day. Keep your momentum. Prevent distractions, such as multitasking, that will only slow you down. Check for messages, for example, only at scheduled break times.
• Reward yourself. It’s not easy to sit still for hours of studying. When you successfully complete the task, you should feel good and deserve a small reward. A healthy snack, a quick video game session, or social activity can help you feel even better about your successful use of time.
• Just say no. Always tell others nearby when you’re studying, to reduce the chances of being interrupted. Still, interruptions happen, and if you are in a situation where you are frequently interrupted by a family member, spouse, roommate, or friend, it helps to have your “no” prepared in advance: “No, I really have to be ready for this test” or “That’s a great idea, but let’s do it tomorrow—I just can’t today.” You shouldn’t feel bad about saying no—especially if you told that person in advance that you needed to study.
• Have a life. Never schedule your day or week so full of work and study that you have no time at all for yourself, your family and friends, and your larger life.

The Distractions of Technology

Multitasking is the term commonly used for being engaged in two or more different activities at the same time, usually referring to activities using devices such as cell phones, smartphones, computers, and so on. Many people claim to be able to do as many as four or five things simultaneously, such as writing an e-mail while responding to an instant message (IM) and reading a tweet, all while watching a video on their computer monitor or talking on the phone. Many people who have grown up with computers consider this kind of multitasking a normal way to get things done, including studying. In reality, the mind can focus only on one thing at any given moment.

Even things that don’t require much thinking are severely impacted by multitasking, such as driving while talking on a cell phone or texting. An astonishing number of people end up in the emergency room from just trying to walk down the sidewalk while texting, so common is it now to walk into a pole or parked car while multitasking!

The other problem with multitasking is the effect it can have on the attention span—and even on how the brain works. Scientists have shown that in people who constantly shift their attention from one thing to another in short bursts, the brain forms patterns that make it more difficult to keep sustained attention on any one thing. So when you really do need to concentrate for a while on one thing, such as when studying for a big test, it becomes more difficult to do even if you’re not multitasking at that time.

Here are some suggestions if distractions are an issue:

• Stay away from multitasking whenever you have something important to do, like studying.
• If it’s already a habit for you, don’t let it become worse.
• Manipulate your study space to prevent the temptations altogether. Turn your computer off or shut down e-mail and messaging programs if you need the computer for studying.
• Turn your cell phone off.  If you just tell yourself not to answer it but still glance at it each time to see who sent or left a message, you’re still losing your studying momentum and have to start over again.

For those who are really addicted to technology (you know who you are!), go to the library and don’t take your laptop or cell phone. Elsewhere in this chapter on scheduling your study periods, we recommend scheduling breaks as well, usually for a few minutes every hour. If you’re really hooked on checking for messages, plan to do that at scheduled times.

What about listening to music while studying? Some don’t consider that multitasking, and many students say they can listen to music without it affecting their studying. Studies are inconclusive about the positive or negative effects of music on people’s ability to concentrate, probably because so many different factors are involved. Some people can study better with low-volume instrumental music that relaxes them and does not intrude on their thinking, while others can concentrate only in silence. The key thing is to be honest with yourself: if you’re actively listening to music while you’re studying, then you’re likely not studying as well as you could be. It will take you longer and lead to less successful results.

Key Takeaways

• Getting it together includes organizing your space and your time, creating and following a study schedule, and planning for interruptions and distractions.
• Select one or more spaces that you will use for regular study; consider location, availability, furniture, lighting, atmosphere and possible distractions.
• Time management takes planning; create a semester schedule of your important due dates, create a weekly schedule that identifies your class times and study periods as priorities, and finally, use a to-do list to plan out what you will do in each study period.
• When you study in a shared space, you may need to make arrangements with roommates or family to ensure your study time is distraction free.
• Multitasking, particularly with technology, can reduce the effectiveness of your study efforts.

A Guide for Successful Students Copyright © 2019 by St. Clair College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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