According to one Pace University professor, “even if you miss one class or just one assignment chances are you will have to work harder to catch up with the rest of your classmates. In order to stay ahead of the college workload, students should set time aside every day to complete a part of the course requirements.” While great advice, certain days it is nearly impossible to fit in time for homework. In college, students are expected to spend more time learning individually than in the classroom. We are also obligated to a whole host of other commitments. When I asked one professor what he thought was the “optimum” amount of homework to assign, he responded, “as much as necessary.” This wasn’t really the answer I hoped to receive.
So, we come to Sunday morning – our day of rest. For many, though, Sunday starts with greasy breakfast sandwiches and attempted recollection of the prior night’s events. Then it’s down to business. Like most students, I save a great deal of homework for Sunday afternoons, which often gets relegated to Sunday evenings and lasts until the wee morning hours of Monday.
Sunday is actually pretty daunting. While most of the world enjoys leisurely lunches and afternoon bike rides, you slave away at your desk reading, computing, and analyzing. Day of rest? I think not. Football season is a particularly difficult time for students. If I can squeeze even a few minutes of reading on the day of a tailgate, I consider it a great success. Come one o’clock Sunday afternoon, there are a whole new host of games to watch. Forget Monday night.
But really, how much work is too much work? How much fun is too much fun? Good questions to ponder as we enter the dark ages of the fall semester. Club commitments and exam schedules are breathing down our necks. It’s much more difficult to pull the “it’s the beginning of the semester” card once October rolls around. By this point, lagging behind coursework carries severe consequences.
Aside from checklists, planners, study groups, and good organizational skills, motivation and commitment to long-term goals are the only true solutions to completing homework. If you are truly dedicating to finding even 30-minute intervals throughout the day for reading and review, you will have great payoffs. First and foremost, you must actually attend class. Save the one or two times you may miss for legitimate reasons, like illness, religious observation, or travel. When you go to class, you’re halfway to completing your study goal. Also, spend one weekday calculating the amount of time you waste throughout the day. Now, replace some of those lost hours with solid studying. Not only will this reflect positively in your grades and stress levels, but your parents will probably thank you, too. I’ll see you next Sunday.