High school students, imagine this scenario:
You just got word that you have two hours to complete a five-page paper in which you describe your high school experience and dispense advice for incoming high school freshmen. If you finish it within the allotted time, your essay will be evaluated by a reader. And if it's good enough, you'll win $50,000.
Obviously, you'd take the challenge. But given the stakes, what additional steps would you take to make sure you got it done on time and that the paper was as good as you could make it?
- Would you tell your family you need to be undisturbed for the next two hours?
- Would you turn off your phone?
- Would you close out your email and your IM and your Facebook page?
- Would you find a different place to go where you were absolutely sure you could work in peace, like the library?
- Would you concentrate intensely for the entire two hours and set aside everything else until the paper is done?
I bet you would.
So, why not do those things when you study or do your homework?