How can I get out of this rut?

Question

About a year ago I started online homeschooling. I don't have to get up at a certain time, or have any particular assignments done each day, I just have to have EVERYTHING done by the end of the year. My mom trusts me, so doesn't wake me up at a certain time, or make sure I work on school each day (she's not my teacher, I have online teachers).

I have a bad habit of staying up REALLY late and watching tv/surfing the internet. Often I don't wake up until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I've been trying to start going to bed earlier, but it's hard to change my routine! I don't ever have to be anywhere any earlier than 4:30 in the afternoon, and that's only once a week. Usually I do stuff in the evenings (only about 4 times a week though). So oftentimes I'll wake up in the afternoon, take 2 hours to get ready, go do whatever I have to do that day, then come home and surf the net/watch TV. It's hard to get school done cuz it's hard for me to sit down and do it without getting distracted.

Answer 1

omg please tell me what program of online homeschooling you're using!

i beg of you!!!!!!

i hat e public schooling so much! your life seems like pure heaven~ please email me, please, i beg of you, you are the luckiest guy on earth, how lucky omg, dude!

please tell me what grade youre in and what online school you go to, i really wanna know how it all works, ive had it up to here with public schools, please~!

Answer 2

I have personally experienced the occasional bout of internet addiction and had to break the cycle with an internet disconnect or blocking the web for certain hours of the day via the Cybersitter that was loaded for the kids. That is pretty embarassing for an adult to say. LOL. However, it has worked for me when I had to resort to it. Once I did without for a bit, I would get back on track.

As far as the staying up late, my daughter actually adjusted her homeschooling hours for a few years to match her rythym. She was and still is a night owl by nature. That has always been when her mind is most alert and creative. She always used that time to work on writing and art assignments. With those two subjects out of the ay, she could sleep in guilt free for a few hours the next morning Perhaps that will help. She dosen't have internet or TV in her room, so they were not a temptation.

Even though your mom trusts you, you may want to let her know that you are struggling with the accountability side of things. Ask her to hold you accountable for specific assignments at set points during the week until you get in the swing of doing it on your own. If your mom cannot assist in that way, check to see if your teacher or a classmate in the course will partner with you for the accountability.

Answer 3

Make yourself a a schedule. Try getting up maybe an hour or two early each day.

Maybe having something to look forward to will make you do your work. ie If you do your work, treat yourself with something that you want. Make it worth doing. Encourage yourself.

Or maybe you can work something out with yourself..."If I do..one worksheet, I can surf the net for 20 minutes, and then do another work sheet." and go back and forth.

Answer 4

go back to public sounds like your sleeping your life away if you dont have self motivation then you shouldnt be homeschooling

Answer 5

Explain to your mom that you want to do better, but are having trouble, all on your own, sticking to what you know you should do.  Ask her to please hold you accountable for getting up by a reasonable time, and studying for a minimum amount of hours per day.  It is a sign of maturity to admit that you need help and accountability.  She should be willing to help.

Answer 6

OK......taking deep breath.....

       You are cyberschooling at home (public or private school on line, parent not teacher).  Parent not assuming any responsibility for the student's progress.  So this is NOT homeschooling.  As a homeschooling mother I must bristle at the suggestion that it is.  Sorry.....just my opinion.  

       You seem to value your mother's trust and respect.  And you know that at present you really don't deserve that trust because you are not fulfilling your responsibilities to her or to yourself.  You seem to have a  very good grasp of where you are going wrong and how that affects your work.  

l.  Sit down with your mother and tell her the truth.  Get the whole thing out into the open and ask her for her help.  She simply MUST get involved at this point.  If you are having this much difficulty pulling a schedule together she can help you.  It is her responsibility to do so (whether she is your teacher or not).   She knows the details of your life and can help you assess priorities.

2.  Write the schedule on paper.......BIG paper......... and  write the schedule in magic marker..............BRIGHT magic marker.   You write down every subject you need to cover that day and define hours for each one.  Assign yourself a lunch hour.  Assign yourself a consequence (this is where mama should kick in too) for not getting each day's work completed. I would highly suggest, no social activities during school nights until you get your act together.  And in my house, suggestions are cast in stone!

3.  Then you get the loudest most obnoxious alarm clock....NO.....get two of them.  Get up at an assigned time.  Go to bed at a reasonable hour.  If you can't sleep, read your literature assignment.  Better yet, your physics text (that would work for me)

4.  Have your mother call home during the day if she isn't there and assure that you are on task.  At night show her proof that you have accomplished the day's assignments.  This is called accountability.  

5.  If you cannot get it together.....you need to sit down with her and find a school that will tighten up control on your activity.  One that tracks computer activity, etc.   Or even consider hiring a professional teacher once a week to come over and review your work for sufficient progress.  You MUST be held accountable.  

This is not easy but aren't you worth more than what you are putting into your own education?

Answer 7

so you're a correspondent not a homeschooler?

get offline!

i never did my correspondence online. we did it the old fashioned way through snail mail.

for grades 1 - 7 i was homeschooled (this means your parents buy the books & teach you themselves. you have abolutly NO connection with a public school...well unless you personally go join a sport or something) for 8 - 12 i did correspondence with a real school. mom said it mightbe good to have it online cuz its faster but i knew i'd just get distracted by games & stuff.

so stop going online. ask to switch to regular mail. teachers are just a phone call away (or email them) if you need anything. & since you seem to be a night person, record your tv shows, do your work & then watch you recordings. also set aside an evening for yourself. like on weekends watch your stuff. the rest of the time do your work. also take a break. like do half your work break for about an hour to grab something to eat. you can surf the net while you do this but use an alarm clock. when it goes, turn the computer off & get back to work.

if worst comes to worse...have your mom boss you around again until you get it all done or get into a new routine.

Answer 8

Go back to public school. Or have your mom start to wake you up. Get an alarm clock.

Answer 9

If you are like me, if no one holds you accountable you won't do anything.... I just try to remember how much it SUCKS cramming... you get no sleep your irritable, tired.... I try to make myself do my stuff early... Does your mom work during the day?  If the schedule making doesn't help, this is extreme, but have her parental control the web browsers on your computer so you can't get into websites that waste your time.  Only ones you need for studying and class  Otherwise, make it so you have to go to a certain room or table to do your work where there is no tv and it is not like on a bed or chair or something... keep the tv unplugged and like put the remote in the garage while you are working.... Its extreme but maybe some of it will jump start you and you wont have to be so ridiculous about it later

Answer 10

1) Why not ask your mom to help you out for a bit, to get you going?

2) Use alarms. Have a watch with an alarm on it that is your signal to stop surfing or watching TV. It might be your bed time or might be your time to just have a good bedtime routine, complete with pj's, brushing teeth and reading. Have an alarm clock force you to get up each day.

3) Set yourself some rules. People who are motivated and stay on track have rules (and goals!) for themselves, even if they haven't verbalized them or written them out. Write yours out--or write out what you would like your rules to be, the rules that would help you be on track. Write them out many times, if need be. Post them in various places, especially on the TV and the computer. :) Sample rules: TV after all the work for the day is done. 15 minutes of web surfing after a subject's work for the day is done. No TV or web time after 8pm. Etc.

And you're right: it is hard. Being fully responsible for your time is one of the hardest things for people, particularly those whose time was previously spent being structured by others. It's easier to stay on track when you have some outside force ready with a negative, immediate consequence for you. You've just got to develop your own rules, your own consequences, plus learn to value the school work that you are doing. That doesn't mean to be happy about it, excited about it or anything like that. It means to value it in the sense that it's helping you be a better educated person, someone with a better mind and understanding of the world, even if you find the actual content dull. You aren't bettering yourself when you surf and watch tv, but you are bettering yourself every time you sit and do your work. Value yourself enough to value the work and then find a way to make yourself get it done.

Do know that NOT following a schedule like everybody else isn't necessarily a bad thing. It'd be better to get up at least a bit earlier during the day and spend less time online (actually, almost no time after supper would be ideal as tv and surfing can actually keep your adrenaline going and you won't recognize when your body is tired), but teens do change their sleep cycles and often aren't ready to be up until 8 or 9am. It's okay to have something different--if it works for you.

Answer 11

Make small daily goals. achieve them -REWARD yourself. Try each day to get up 15 mins.earlier then the previous day.

good luck.

it can be done