Take Your Time

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Video

You're usually one of the last ones to finish a test or an in-class reading or writing assignment. You stress out when you hear other students say, "I'm done!" and you're not even close to being done. You wish you were smarter so you could get your work done faster, right?

Knock it off.

Here's a news flash from an actual teacher with years and years of experience: there is very little connection between how fast a student finishes an assignment and the quality of work they turn in.

Much of the time, the students who take the longest turn in the best work.

Excellence takes time

If you had to have an operation, would you demand that the doctor rush through it in half the time it normally takes? Let's say that the only thing you care about is how fast the doctor works, so the doctor agrees to work faster. Now your operation is over. Your nose is upside down, but you got out of the hospital faster. Great.

Everything's fine until it rains. Time to buy some umbrellas.

The point of this is that if you're focused on the time it takes you to finish a task, you're focusing on the wrong thing. Take as much time as you need to get the job done well. Don't worry about what the other students are thinking about you, because they probably couldn't care less about whether you're working or not.

Read the printable guide (below) for more information, and for a quick assessment.

Not an excuse for procrastination

To procrastinate is to put off doing something later that you could do now, for no good reason. Some people call it laziness.

Let's be completely clear: This whole topic is not saying it's OK to procrastinate and do it later (much later) when you could do it now, and justify everything by saying, "But I need more time to do it well!"

We're talking about sitting down and doing your best, and taking as much time as you need to get the job done well, without worrying about how fast other people are working.