Hello fellow pirate,

Catching up on late work can be extremely overwhelming. For most students, once they get behind on one assignment, they keep  piling up. Most of the time, once a student has a lot of late assignments that need to be finished, it becomes time consuming and students decide that it is not worth completing the assignments. Here are some tips that are used by the Portside staff to help complete late assignments. 

Setting aside a specific time to work on assignments – late or current, is especially important. As a student, homework is one of the most important aspects of their school career. While every student has their own schedule outside of school, their main priority usually is to graduate high school. Making sure there is enough time to complete assignments is extremely important. Using a paper planner can be extremely helpful in this area for scheduling different activities, and events going on while penciling in when there is time to complete homework. If there is limited time to complete assignments, making sure that there are no distractions while working is also crucial. It can be extremely difficult to put down the phone sometimes, however, when working on assignments that are late, getting these assignments done are more vital than some Tik Toks. 

Finding a location that is motivating enough to get school work done is also important. A lot of students lose all motivation to do assignments at home. Going to Starbucks or the library can make for an extremely productive environment. Going to locations like this can also help people Body Double with the people around them. At places like this there are most likely going to be other people working on their work. Body Doubling is when there are two or more people working on something at the same time. They can be working on anything. The two participants will observe the other working and begin to do the same thing, causing both people to become productive. Going to a library or Starbucks with a friend or peer can replicate the exact same thing. 

Once a location has been decided, make a list. Creating a checklist (possibly in a paper planner) is an excellent way to keep track of all assignments that need to be completed. Physically writing down current and late assignments gives a good perspective of everything that needs to be accomplished. Doing this will also help with setting aside time for specific assignments.  For example, some math homework should not take more than 20 minutes and a social studies essay will take an hour, or maybe two. Writing down these tasks on a list will help figure out where the assignments are going to fit into your daily schedule. Being able to cross a task off the list is extremely rewarding for many, so being able to cross off a late assignment once it is finished will help and feel rewarding. 

Make a specific music playlist for doing homework. Personally, my Spotify is filled with different studying and homework playlists. Creating a playlist that has specific songs that are only listened to when assignments are being finished, and productivity is flowing will link the feeling of productivity to certain songs on the playlist. Some people enjoy listening to Lo-Fi beats while some enjoy having lyrics in the background. Everyone has a specific preference for their music even if they are not doing homework. 

Working on current work is just as important as catching up on late work. Making sure that the current homework is getting done as well as the late work that has not been completed is vital for staying on track. If the current work that is being thrown at students is not getting done, this turns into even more late assignments. Causing the amount of late assignments to continue to pile up. This will become even more overwhelming than it initially was. A way to help with this can be working on current assignments during the school week and working on late assignments on the weekend. Splitting up the late homework assignments into small chunks throughout the weekend can help stay organized for maximum productivity. 

Working a small portion of the assignments can be convenient as well. Allowing the late assignment to take a couple days to complete can be easier than trying to finish everything in one sitting. If the assignment is already late, why not wait and take time to thoroughly complete the assignment until it is satisfactory work? Giving yourself time to complete the assignment, rather than rushing it and putting in low effort, will affect the grade even more than it already is by finishing it late. 

Lastly, enjoy a reward when completing an assignment. This can include a lot of different reward methods. Personally, being able to cross  the task off of the paper planner is extremely beneficial, and it helps to give a sense of accomplishment. Taking a quick phone break from the mundane task can help give the brain some relief from all of the work.. Perhaps eating a piece of candy after finishing a task can help the brain want to do more work in order to get more candy.

Homework is extremely stressful for students. Once homework turns into late work, another kind of stress is created, because the late work will begin to pile up. Using some, or all of these tips could help someone to catch up on late work. 

Peace Out! 

Katie