by Julia Moss

For many students, doing homework and studying for hours on end often late into the night is the norm. It can be difficult or tedious to do such large amounts of schoolwork.

What keeps students going when their work becomes long and arduous?

Some have developed study habits such as listening to their favorite music or eating good food to add flavor to their work and help them to stay focused, while others have techniques such as making up songs or poems to remember information. Indeed, many students have interesting ways of studying.

Many students eat to keep themselves going while studying.

Junior Mackenzie Dreese said she chews a specific type of gum whenever she does her homework. “I have about a billion packs of the same type of gum, and whenever I study or do homework I chew that gum,” Dreese explained. “It’s to help me focus. It started with SAT preparation, and I just kind of continue it now whenever I study in general. I think it works decently well. It’s like this type of gum tells me to focus because I get distracted easily. It’s a good reminder.”

Sophomore Sonia Khurana either eats or chews on ice while she does homework. “I always want to eat while I’m doing my homework so that I’m not as bored. If I’m not hungry, I’ll chew on ice instead of eating. It definitely helps me concentrate.”

Junior Monica Kieff said, “I always eat while studying. For example, the other day I was doing my homework, and when I finished I realized that I had eaten an entire container of pasta.”

Sophomore Bill Shen also eats while doing his homework, specifically his history identifications, which involves reading the history textbook and taking notes on key terms. “I eat dinner while I do my ID’s almost every night,” he explained.

Eating and chewing are not the only interesting study habits that students have. Junior Sophie Sokolov said she uses slang in her history ID’s to make them more interesting. “It helps me to give nicknames to presidents and to explain history in modern terms,” she said.

Senior Nick Epstein said that listening to certain types of music helps him get his work done. “I listen to ambient music, like background music, while I do my homework,” he said.

Junior Irina Rojas tries to rid her room of distractions so that she can concentrate on studying. “I put my phone somewhere where I know it won’t distract me. For example, I’ll put it in the kitchen where I know my mom will probably move it,” she said.

Sitting in a certain place also helps some students concentrate. Sophomore Sophie Mobayed said, “When I study vocab, I spin around in my spinny chair to help me focus.”

Junior Emma Siegenberg said, “I have to sit on the floor of my room to do my work. It helps me to spread all of my work in front of me.”

In contrast, junior Jacob Shore has to move around while he does his homework. “I can’t sit down,” he said. “It helps me get my work down when I pace around and keep moving.”

From chewing special gum to spinning in chairs, students certainly have unique study habits that allow them to focus and be productive. So if you’re having trouble getting your work done, try something new. Turn on some music, move to a different area of the house or even motivate yourself with food. It is incredibly helpful to find fun study habits that work.