Whether you call it a student agenda, a day planner, or a homework diary, it’s the most important tool of a successful student.
You need a homework diary to stay organized, and you need a homework diary for successful goal-setting. I have yet to find a disorganized student who uses his or her diary regularly. I have yet to find a failed attempt at goal-setting in which a daily record was kept in a homework diary.
So why do so many students ignore this vital tool? Because teachers rarely require the use of a homework diary. They may encourage it, they may nag or remind, but few require it, and even when they do, most of their colleagues don’t. So, at best, students will be required to use their diaries in one or two of their five or six classes each day. As readers of this book should know, habits are created by repetition, and under such circumstances the repeated behaviour is to ignore the homework diary—exactly the habit that most students cultivate.
If you want to do something to improve education in your school, lend this book to your principal or head of school, and convince him or her to require the use of homework diaries by every teacher in every class (even gym teachers sometimes assign homework or give out information that needs to be diaried).
As with so many other good habits, using a homework diary becomes more important every year. You may be able to do fine without one in the younger grades, but don’t let this fool you into developing bad habits that will hurt you later on. Don’t wait until you’re overwhelmed with a busy schedule and heavy workload. Cultivate the habit when you’re younger and life is simpler.
If you’re on your own, enlist the help of your parents and make daily use of your homework diary your first goal. Use a wall calendar at home to record the number of classes each day in which you use your diary. A simple “5/7” (5 out of 7) or “4/5” will do. Ask your parents to remind you to take your diary to school each day, and take it to every class. When you arrive in class, take out your diary and put it on your desktop, first thing. If you do this in every class, it will become a powerful habit. And if the diary is on your desktop, of course, it’s quite easy to remember to open it up and record the homework assignment.
A final tip: If the teacher assigns no homework, don’t just leave your diary blank. A blank entry could mean no homework, or it could mean you forgot to write the assignment in your diary. Instead, write something like “Science: No HW”. That way, there’s no confusion.
Using a homework diary in every class is the key to staying organized, and the key to successful goal-setting. Start today!