I Don't Wanna Do My Homework

I’m sitting in front of my computer. I’m waiting. Nothing happens. I’m bored. This sucks. A little voice in my head says, “I wanna be doing [insert fun activity here] right now.”

I like to get things done. It’s a satisfying feeling to have all of my week’s assignments completed in a timely manner. Working on a project right up to the due date just isn’t my style. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have resistance toward getting things done. I have resistance. I don’t wanna do my homework. But I like having it done and I like the time period after its completion.

Some days are harder than others in terms of convincing myself to complete assignments. I’ll sit at my desk with my computer open and talk myself through what it’ll be like to have the assignment done. I sit and stare at my computer for about five minutes, incredulous, amazed by my lack of inspiration. Then, I decide that I’m thirsty, and need water. I get up from my desk, and I go fill my water bottle. I sit back down at my computer, and suddenly develop a craving for some sort of treat. I get the treat, and go back to my desk, and realize the inevitable has happened. I’ve run out of excuses to not do the project, and now I have to complete it. I go through all this in an effort to get myself to just get my project done.

What I mean by “get it done” though isn’t where I do a crappy job on the project and then send it with the requirements just barely fulfilled, it’s where I get the rough idea of the project out on a piece of paper, and then go back and perfect it. But it all starts with overcoming this first layer of resistance. Once I get past it, I feel a huge sense of relief, like de-cluttering a room and how good it feels when things are neat and tidy.

But overcoming the resistance is tough.

  

One thing that I do when I encounter resistance toward a project is to just start on the project, no matter what it is. For example, if I’m writing an essay, I just start writing about anything I know about my topic. Literally anything. I try to have a reasonable level of organization in my thoughts while writing the first draft, but I know that I’ll have to edit it anyways, so it doesn’t have to be perfect. As long as I consider the assignment requirements while writing, as soon as I’m done with that first draft, I’m technically done. I could turn in the paper if I had to, but I also could make it better. I like to think of this first draft of a paper as less of a draft than a reference tool. I can look up facts for my paper on the Internet, but where do I go to look up my own thoughts? I go to my first draft. All my thoughts are there, waiting to be used. It’s far simpler to overcome my resistance toward completing a project when I can work with my thoughts on a tangible sheet of paper rather than trying to work in the cluttered chaos of my mind.

I don’t like having resistance towards doing homework. It’s unpleasant, and though it seems easy to overcome, the resistance poses more complication than it seems to on the surface. I prefer to feel excited about doing my assignments, or just at peace with the fact that I have assignments to complete. Even if I don’t enjoy the subject material of a class, that doesn’t necessarily mean I have to dislike my assignments too (even though sometimes I do). I can choose to enjoy the simple fact that I have assignments to complete at all, and that I’m one of the lucky people in the world that has the opportunity to explore things that I might not have otherwise explored without the insistent prodding of an upcoming assignment. I don’t have to enjoy the assignment itself. I can and will complain about the homework if it really gets on my nerves, but deep down I’m just grateful to not be in public school.

I can appreciate the simple fact that when I do my homework I get to sit down in my comfy chair with my computer, a bottle of water, and a bowl of fruit. In a public school classroom, water and food aren’t allowed and comfortable chairs are non-existent. I can appreciate that when I’m in a college class I can go to the bathroom without having to ask, like I would have to in public schools. Even if I have resistance toward doing a particular assignment, or if I’m having a bad day and simply don’t want to do homework, I can be grateful for my freedom. I choose to be in college and I’ve chosen to take college classes because I want to, not because I have to.  Resistance isn’t fun, and it does get in the way of getting things done, but instead of always thinking of it as bothersome, I can instead choose to experience resistance as a reminder of the fact that I’m doing something, and that I’ve been given an opportunity to learn.

And wouldn’t that be a much healthier way to think of it?