School is tiring.

At the end of the day, you want to go home, curl up in your bed, and escape reality by watching “The Bachelorette”. But what you forget are the ten assignments in Google Classroom and that five-page essay that’s due tomorrow. Everyone does this knowing that tomorrow’s work will add to the pile of homework.

So, based on personal experience and often doing assignments the morning of, I have collected a few tips to help make sure that you finish your homework to have enough time to play Fortnite or watch funny cat videos.

1. SILENCE! . . .YOUR PHONE 

Let’s face it. You use your phone 24/7 to do various things (e.g. social media, looking up celebrity gossip, watching funny compilations, etc). But these things distract us from getting our work done. So silence your notifications and just use them for simple things. Like finding the Distributive Property.

2. SWEATS ARE AMAZING

We all want to be comfortable, I get it. So you bust out the PJ’s and sit at your desk (or wherever you do your homework) to be content with yourself. But from my experience, PJ’s only make things even more tiring than you were before, which is the exact opposite of what you want. Instead, put on that comfortable sweatshirt you got three years ago and sweatpants that you recently bought as the better option. This way you can feel cozy while still getting work done.

3. MUSIC SPEAKS TO THE SOUL – AND KEEPS US AWAKE

We all have that one favorite band or genre of music that makes us dance in our room when we’re alone or that little finger dance that we do in class to keep it incognito. I love songs with lyrics because (in my totally biased opinion) I feel that more work gets done. But, if you’re looking for something more mellow, then classical music is for you. And don’t try the whole sad orchestral tone or that one instrumental song that makes you wanna curl up in your bed, try more upbeat instrumental music, which is basically your favorite songs without the lyrics. 

4. ISOLATION IS KEY

The best thing to do when you’re having trouble concentrating is to just be alone. I find it easier to be in a room alone with just my computer and my notebooks, and occasionally my dog who likes to randomly sleep on my lap when I’m working. And just think, if you get things done early, you’ll be able to spend more time on the things that are personally important to you, like listening to that one podcast you got into over the summer. 

5. AND FINALLY. . . STAY CLEAR OF THE BED

I find it difficult to get things done when I’m sitting on my bed doing homework. It only makes me sleepy and I find myself dozing off and that’s when you start typing random gibberish on your assignment. If you have a desk, use it! And if you don’t have a desk, sit on the floor of your bedroom and put your back against the wall (for back support) or maybe go outside to the backyard and do your homework. Either way, you’re away from the bed and you’re getting things done.

Now all these tips won’t work for everyone, because we’re all different. But I hope it at least helps when you’re frustrated trying to cram in those two assignments that you forgot about and trying to do them all before school starts.

I encourage you to take one tip in mind and try it when you get home. Besides, it’s not like you have anything to lose! Maybe your patience, which leads to frustration, which leads to you leaving the room and forgetting to do the homework. . .again.