So, you want to know how to make homework fun.
I hate to break it to you; but, the education system has fooled you.
*cue dramatic music*
Make no mistake:
This is going to be the ONLY advice you need on how to make homework fun.
It’s just… the solution is not what you might expect.
So, if you find that any of the following relate to you…
- Unable to take action.
- Capable of doing fun things, but not boring things.
- Smart, but not able to meet your potential.
- Struggling with self-discipline.
- Doing homework at the very, very last minute.
- Easily distracted.
- Grades are dropping.
- Feeling your attention span drifting while reading this article.
…then read on.
First, a bit about me:
My name is Jason. I’m the founder of PenningPapers.com, the college admissions consulting/advising service. I also provide educational/academic coaching.
Long story short, I helped students increase their GPAs… a lot.
2.5 –> 3.4
3.2 –> 3.8
2.8 –> 4.0
I’ve been in the education game for a while now. It’s been my job for 11 years. So, I’ve seen pretty much everything.
Can’t write a few sentences analyzing Romeo and Juliet? Check.
Can’t sit still in class? Check.
Undiagnosed ADHD?
Check. Check. Check.
Now, in all my years of helping students learn how to finish their homework on time, I’ve learned one very important rule. It’s a difficult pill to swallow.
Ready?
“Fun” Does NOT Work.
Yup.
School lied to us. They lied to me. Lied to you. Lied to your parents. Your dog.
Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration.
In fact, you can make homework fun and it can “technically” work. We have evidence that supports this. So, hurray science!
“Based on the data gathered from experimental and control groups (N = 84) via learning analytics, survey, and interview, the results show a high level of satisfaction according to students’ feedback. The most noticeable finding to extract from the analysis is that students can take on a persona, earn points, and experience a deeper sense of achievement through doing the gamified homework.”
Does Gamifying Homework Influence Performance and
Perceived Gameful Experience? By: Ahmed Hosny Saleh Metwally, Maiga Chang, Yining Wang, Ahmed Mohamed Fahmy Yousef
Now, this brings up a question.
Can’t we just make homework fun then?
Clearly, making homework fun or gamifying it will make it easier to finish work.
We can finish our assignments faster. We can even apply this principle to studying or personal pet projects. We’re invincible! Right?
Well… no.
Here’s why.
One of the interesting things about making homework fun is that it only works in the short term but fails in the long run.
Here’s an example.
When I worked as a teacher doing research for the high school I interned for, I was responsible for overseeing the Devil program. The Devil program was a class where low-performing students replaced their lunch period with a silent reading and homework completion period.
My job: train students to be better by teaching them how to spend more time doing homework at home.
So, I taught them how to make homework fun. I helped them treat it like a video game. It included a scoreboard, prizes, and other incentives.
Initially, homework become more enjoyable and students admitted to doing more homework at home.
Sounds great!
But, after week 1, something interesting happened.
Over time, making homework fun did NOT make students more conscientious.
This pattern repeated itself across disciplines, districts near me, and with other teachers.
Although they were able to clock in more hours of work in the first week, students admitted to me that after a week their motivation to do their homework decreased.
Making homework fun only worked for a short while; then, students lost motivation.
The boredom ALWAYS crept back in.
No matter how fun homework could be, there were always other things that were MORE fun.
Video games, hanging out with friends, reading comics and manwha online, etc.
In other words: trying to make homework more fun than other things is a losing game.
So…
If boredom is NOT the problem…
…then, what is it?!
Boredom is the SOLUTION
*Cue even more dramatic music*
That’s right!
If boredom is not the problem, it’s actually the solution.
Why is that? Well, it has to do with instant gratification. Instant gratification has become a bit of a buzzword now, but for good reason.
“Instant (or immediate) gratification is a term that refers to the temptation, and resulting tendency, to forego a future benefit in order to obtain a less rewarding but more immediate benefit. When you have a desire for something pleasurable—be it food, entertainment, or sex—you rarely think thoughts like, “My stomach is rumbling and I would love to have that delicious dish, but I’d rather wait another hour.”
Positivepsychology.com –Definition of Instant Gratification
And boy, do we love our instant gratification!
The reason we can’t do our homework is not that homework is not fun; rather, we can’t tolerate boredom!
In other words, our brains are spoiled babies!
When your brain is acting like a spoiled baby, it will refuse and rebel against your wishes to do homework. That’s why trying to make homework fun doesn’t fix anything. It’s like trying to feed vegetables to a child. Cut it into cute shapes? Nope. That child will still prefer Oreos.
So, what do you do?
Expose yourself to more boredom! Face it! Don’t avoid it!
By consistently exposing ourselves to boredom, we become accustomed to it; then, we gradually conquer it.
Making homework fun helps us temporarily TOLERATE homework.
Exposing yourself to boredom makes you COMFORTABLE with boredom.
That way, you’ll solve the root pathology.
Once you’ve trained your mind to overcome boredom and reject instant gratification, you’ll be capable of doing much more than you think.
- You’ll finish your homework.
- You’ll study more.
- You’ll keep up with tasks.
- You’ll impress your peers, teachers, and future recommenders.
- You’ll increase your GPA and SAT/ACT scores just like how my clients did.
Now… godspeed my fellow student.
Tackle that dreadful stack of assignments you’ve been putting off until now.
Go, my child!
…
But, let’s say you don’t feel quite ready yet.
What if I told you there’s something more you could do?
What if I said there’s an easier way?
What if you don’t have to face it alone?
*Cue the most dramatic of music*
The Secret Sauce
Look, I know I probably could have thought of a more creative name.
But, it’s not about how cool or smart a method sounds.
It’s about how effective it is!
And, based on what I’ve seen from countless students and clients I’ve worked with in the past, this method is THE BEST that I’ve got.
So, what on Earth even is The Secret Sauce?
It’s actually a private course I run consisting of a 5 pillar method complete with a mental rewiring process that takes approximately 2-6 months.
It takes that long for most of my students to develop the proper conditioning they need to overcome boredom, increase efficiency, complete their homework, study for tests, and increase their GPA —painlessly!
Well, not completely.
They still find it annoying to analyze Shakespearean plays.
But, it’s a long shot compared to crippling procrastination!
And, there’s one crucial thing that makes The Secret Sauce special from all the other coaching programs or erm, sauces.
I analyze you.
So, that means no one Secret Sauce is made for everyone. It’s catered to each individual based on their unique needs and desires. So, if you’re someone struggling with test anxiety, I’ll cater it to help with that. Video game addiction? Fair game.
Also: you get a guaranteed free trial.
Before I deposit a single cent from you, I need to make sure that you actually enjoy the coaching program.
Seriously! It means a lot to me that you actually like it first!
Then, and ONLY then will I give you the full coaching program!
Okay, I promise that’s the end of this article. That’s it for my advice on how to make homework fun. In summary.
- Fun doesn’t work.
- Boredom is the solution.
- Conquer your boredom, and you’ll conquer the world.
- If you need it, you don’t have to go at it alone.
If you found this article helpful, I’m glad! I’ve used this philosophy to help countless other students overcome their procrastination and increase their academic performance significantly. So, if you want to be one of those students to truly reach your potential, feel free to contact me for a free consultation and sign up for my private customized course –The Secret Sauce!
