Let's be real for a moment.

It's time to do your homework, but you're thinking about everything BUT your homework right now.

You need to get focused, but you just don't know how.

Well I've got some tips and strategies that can help you break the cycle of procrastination and get your homework done FAST!

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If you prefer to read, here is what you need to know about PROCRASTINATION:

Most of us do not love the fact that we procrastinate. It doesn't make you feel good and yet you keep doing it. You can't quite figure out how to break that cycle. You keep procrastinating because it is working. Yeah, to some degree it does work.

When you procrastinate, you create such a high level of stress and anxiety that there is this urgency that you have to just laser focus and get this homework assignment done.

When you're able to hustle and get that homework done in a very short amount of time, and you do okay at it, you experience a huge sense of relief, and that feels pretty good. In fact, it's a little addicting…

So while procrastination can get us feeling focused and motivated enough to get that done, it has some risks. After that high intense burst of energy and focus and motivation, that's gotta go somewhere. After you're frenetically super go, go, go, go, go, suddenly you are burnt out and exhausted.

I call it burning bright, but then you burn out.

When you're feeling that tired and fatigued, it makes it harder to stay focused and motivated to keep up on your upcoming work and assignments, and then cycle just creates itself.

Plus, did you know that prolonged periods of stress and anxiety can actually cause physical health and emotional health problems? It's true. And don't even get me on the feelings of guilt and shame, oh my goodness, it just really makes us feel horrible as a human being. Especially when you continue to try to set these new habits and then you don't stick with it. That's not good for anyone's self-esteem.

Given that difficulty concentrating and focusing tends to be a common thread among a lot of different mental health conditions affecting teens, I know a lot of great strategies for helping you break the cycle of procrastination and getting that homework done FAST!! 

1. SET THE MOOD

Get your music situated, clear your space that you'll be working at, and make sure if there are any scents that you enjoy, that you have those going, too. You wanna create an environment where you can feel relaxed, but not sleepy, and focused. 

2. GATHER YOUR MATERIALS

Next after you've got your environment feeling nice and cozy, you wanna make sure that you have everything that you need. So any books, papers, writing utensils, any supplies that you might need, go ahead and get those set up where you'll be working. If you're using any sort of electronic devices, make sure that they're connected to the wifi, or plugged into a power source. That's the worst thing when you're working on something and then the computer just goes dead.

3. CREATE A MASTER LIST OF ASSIGNMENTS

You can do this electronically, like on Google Docs, or you can put it in a calendar or a planner, or you can just use a piece of paper. Whatever works for you. Now, this master list is going to include all the assignments and their due dates. Don't worry about organizing the master list. Though if you want to go ahead and organize the master list in some system that works for you, go for it, but you don't have to do that because this next step will help you with that. 

4. WRITE YOUR 3 MOST IMPORTANT ASSIGNMENTS (MIAs)

Take a small piece of paper- I don't want you to use a digital device, I want you to use an actual piece of paper and pen/pencil- and I want you to write down the three most important assignments. This could be the paper that is due tomorrow, it could be reading two chapters of a book, it could be even just getting clear on what assignments are due when. But limit it to three, even if you have more than three assignments to do, stick with three for now.

I'm a Post-it notes gal, so I always write my three most important assignments on a Post-it note and then I put that somewhere where I'm going to see it, and that master list, I put it away for now.

The thing with the master list is it will continue to grow and evolve. And if your teachers are anything like my teachers were, you know that as soon as you knock out one assignment, they've got three more comin' up. So always stopping and referencing the master list isn't really helpful 'cause you always feel like you're having to catch up.

Now that you have your three most important assignments, this is what you're gonna focus on. By focusing only on three at a time, it helps build some motivation and keep you clear and focused on what is the priority right now.

As you complete those tasks, you can go ahead and cross those off. After you've completed all three, go back to your master list, you can either remove them or move them on to a DONE list which feels really great too, and restart that process with three more most important assignments. You'll see, once you get going, it's really easy to keep that focus and motivation up. 

Here are some strategies on how to complete these homework assignments:

 1. POMODOROS

I'm a big fan of working with this time management productivity strategy. Pomodoros are when you set a timer for 25 minutes and you focus on one task or one assignment for that 25 minutes. Once that 25 minutes is up, you take a five minute break. I recommend making this break a bio break, and by that I mean make sure that you use the bathroom, get a drink of water, have a snack or a meal if it's meal time, and then come back and you'll be ready to focus again.

You'll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in that short amount of time. 

2. DISTRACTION JOURNAL

If you're still having trouble with this, and you just can't seem to get into the flow or motivated, I really highly recommend trying to use a distraction journal. So what this is, is you take a piece of paper, and again, not digital 'cause it's really easy to go down the YouTube rabbit hole or check your messages to see who texted you. Then every time you find yourself being distracted, write down what the impulse or urge was to cause you to be distracted. Whether you were being distracted by your thoughts, or the urge to pick up your phone, or you needed to use the bathroom- whatever the distraction was. Maybe it's something outside like your dog was barking. After you have that first list, every time you experience that distraction again, you're going to just tick a mark off.

At the end, you'll be able to see which are your most highly distracting habits, and from there, once you're aware of what is distracting you, you can then plan and prepare ahead.

3. SELF-COMPASSION

One of the most important things is to know that you're not gonna get this done perfectly well 100% of the time. You are a human being, and you’re not supposed to be perfect or do everything correctly. Please be kind to yourself and remind yourself that you are a human being. You're allowed to make mistakes and to learn from them, and there's always an opportunity for growth and improvement.

As you're going through this, make sure that you periodically check in and assess and reassess if this is working or not for you. You may have to change it up based on your energy level or what tasks you have to complete, and that's okay. Being flexible with yourself is okay.

If you found this information helpful and useful, let me know in the comments over on my YouTube channel- you can click here to go to this video.

And please be sure to share this video because you never know who you could be helping in the process.

Are you looking for more strategies on how to deal with perfectionism, go ahead and click here to watch another video on this topic.

Want even more positive influences in your teen's life? Teen Girls Therapy Group is a weekly space where your teen girl can connect with others dealing with anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem. By talking and learning together, they learn to feel better about the relationships they have with themselves and others.

If you want to secure your teen's spot- complete your complimentary 15-min parent phone screening at 203-228-8971 or completing the contact form here.

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