homework is due today

My assignment is due tomorrow and I haven't even started it yet!

English expert at Atomi

Well, if it really is due tomorrow, let’s do this and do it quick! You could have anything due tomorrow, so instead of a step-by-step guide let’s focus on some tips and tricks to pull off this craziness. Legions of students before you have done it and legions of students after you will do it so have faith—you can do it 💪.

1. Prioritise

This probably doesn’t need to be said but if it’s due tomorrow then clear your schedule tonight—this is absolutely your top priority right now! Normally we recommend getting plenty of sleep but if you have something due tomorrow, tonight's the night to push your bedtime back a little bit (still no all-nighters though!)

2. Get your head in the game

Okay, no matter how much of a mountain it seems, this has to be done tonight. Don’t let yourself even consider the option of handing it in late—just thinking that will make it even harder to finish in time.

It’s time to get your head in the game and focus on the task ahead. You want to grab some water and make sure you’ve eaten. Then, set yourself up in a clean, bright area, find a supportive chair and grab all of the resources you'll need to do your assignment.

You can check out our video on Study Spaces for everything you need to set up the perfect workspace.

3. Work out exactly what you need to do

To work as efficiently as possible you should first understand exactly what you need to do.

That means you need to think about exactly what ideas or topics you need to cover and what your approach should be. So, read the assignment and marking criteria carefully and identify any keywords. Also highlight any important details, like the word count or page limit, the submission format and any other info that will affect how you approach this task.

This will vary massively depending on the assignment. The point is basically just that you should make sure you know exactly what you need to do before you start. Trust me, it’ll make everything quicker if you do ⏰.

4. Do a brief plan

To make sure we can get this done properly in one night, the next step is to plan your answer. This will make it a lot easier to start writing and, if you have to do any research, you will know exactly what you’re looking for.

So, sketch out a brief plan onto a page. Work out what needs to go into your answer and how it’s going to be structured. It might feel difficult or pointless to plan at this point, but if you can get some of the hard work out of the way here it’ll become much easier to write!

5. Research efficiently

Now, this one is obviously only relevant if you need research for your answer. Gathering research for an essay or report can take time. By using the keywords from the syllabus and assessment notification, you’ll be able to focus on the resources that you actually need. As far as you can, drop your research straight into the plan and you’ll be moving much more efficiently.

Don’t forget to reference as you go! This will save you time and ensure you don’t make any mistakes 😅.

6. Quality over quantity

This is a seriously important tip. When you’re really under pressure, it can be tempting to just smash out as many words as possible so you can hit that word count—don’t do this! It’s just going to give you a whole lot of waffle and even worse marks.

Instead of waffling, stick to your answer plan, use your research and fall back on the ideas in our lessons . It will get you a much better result for not that much extra work ✅.

7. Do your final read over tomorrow morning

Once you’ve finally pulled off that answer, it’s time to go to bed. You’re probably going to be too tired, too stressed and too wrapped up in your answer to be able to give it a proper check and edit.

So, just get some sleep now, set the alarm 30mins earlier tomorrow and read over it again with fresh eyes and a clear mind. You should be able to pick up any little mistakes and make the whole thing read a lot better and generally end up with a stronger answer!

Even though this isn’t ideal, you can still pull it off! The secret is to be as efficient as possible. So, keep calm, find out exactly what you need to do, plan, research properly and don’t waffle.

Oh and next time, don’t leave your assignments to the last minute 😅. Instead, watch our lesson on Planning an Assignment and use the downloadable planner so you aren’t in this sticky situation again.

For more study tips, tricks and advice, keep reading the student blog or follow Atomi on Instagram . See you there 👋.

Published on

March 15, 2022

How to plan an assignment

Sitting trials or internal assessments at home read this.

5 Tips for tackling a take-home assessment

What's atomi.

Engaging, curriculum-specific videos and interactive lessons backed by research, so you can study smarter, not harder.

With tens of thousands of practice questions and revision sessions, you won’t just think you’re ready. You’ll know you are!

Study skills strategies and tips, AI-powered revision recommendations and progress insights help you stay on track.

Short, curriculum-specific videos and interactive content that’s easy to understand and backed by the latest research.

Active recall quizzes, topic-based tests and exam practice enable students to build their skills and get immediate feedback.

Our AI understands each student's progress and makes intelligent recommendations based on their strengths and weaknesses.

About Katie
Application Essays
The Journal

How to keep track of homework assignments

Katie Azevedo December 29, 2016 good habits , homework , productivity , study skills , time management

The first step to getting a good grade on an assignment is to … wait for it … do the assignment!

Simple, right?

Maybe, but only if you remember to do the assignment. For some students, knowing how to keep track of assignments and their due dates is a huge challenge. Here, I’m going to explain how to keep track of assignments and projects, and give you some tips for staying organized. A cool angle to this is that what I’m going to be talking about is completely applicable outside of school. So if you’re not a student, but you still have due dates and project deadlines – pretty much like any human – then this system is for you, too.

1. Find a planner system and use it multiple times every day.

The KEY step for keeping track of homework, which I’ll get to next , is to write everything down. But before that happens, you need a place to write it all. You have three options here. 1) paper 2) digital 3) a combination of both. Personally, I use a combination of both. While I am a pen and paper person at heart, I do use Google calendar in addition to my paper calendar. I have a family and a business to run, so I need the digital aspect to be able to share calendars with other people. For my paper calendar I use the Staples Arc system . It’s cheap, simple, and super customizable.

I advise you to pick a system based on what’s convenient and easy, and not on what is cool. There are a gazillion list apps out there with fancy features — some of you may have heard of Evernote , the king of task management apps — but the goal is to keep it simple and use a system that you don’t have to stress about. If it’s too complicated, you won’t want to be bothered to even take it out when you need it. Whatever you pick, be sure it includes a monthly calendar and a daily calendar/agenda. Here’s why:

A monthly calendar allows you to see, at a glance, what assignments and appointments are coming up over the next few days or weeks or months. It’s key for long-term planning.

A daily calendar/agenda allows you to see and plan for what’s coming up tomorrow and in the very near future.

Whether you go for a dated calendar or an undated one (one you have to date yourself) is up to you. What size is up to you. (I use a half-sized one and a full-sized one!) Here’s a picture:

The cover and paper inside your planner is up to you. Whether you color-code your entries is up to you. (I do!) Make it something you’re excited to use, while keeping it simple.

It’s important to use your system multiple times a day because the more you use it, the more you trust it. And the more you trust it, the more it will work.

I’ve heard so many students say “I’ve tried using an assignment notebook and calendar, but it doesn’t work.” But when I ask them if they write everything down, they say no. And that’s why. So you’ve got to commit to your system. Use it multiple times every day. Get in the habit of checking it every morning or every night before bed so you know what’s on your agenda.

2. Write everything down. And the operative word here is EVERYTHING.

I have a theory that I’ve lived by for the longest time: Our brains weren’t made for storing information, but are instead made for creating and processing information. (Lol … it turns out that I’m not a genius and that I didn’t invent this theory.) Several scientific studies actually support the idea that to a degree we have a maximum brain capacity. And if we use up all that capacity for storing information and trying to remember everything … then there will be no brain energy left to create, think and process. So by writing things down, we get them out of our heads, which frees up space for us to be smarter and more creative.

Plus, there is just no way on earth that we can remember every little detail of what’s due when, as well as the time and date of your next doctor’s appointment. If something comes up and you’re not sure whether to write it down, write it down!

Here’s what you should be keeping track of:

Daily homework assignments (short-term)
Project due dates (long-term)
Upcoming tests/quizzes
Books that have to be read by a certain point
Appointments (doctor, dentist, guidance counselor, coach, etc.)
Things you’re supposed to remember to do (ie: talk to math teacher)
After-school activities, sports (even if you have practice every day from 2:30-5, block out that time on your calendar)
Weekend activities

Here’s another important tip: write assignments down the moment their assigned, and write appointments down the moment their scheduled. Do NOT tell yourself that you’ll remember to write it down later. Doesn’t work! Plus – that defeats the purpose: you don’t want to use your brain to remember . If you don’t have your paper agenda with you when something comes up, then set a reminder in your phone to write it down later, or write the assignment down on a sticky note and put it somewhere you won’t forget. Then, transfer the information into your planner the moment you get home.

3. Set up reminders.

Let’s say you have a project due in one week, so you write down “biology project due” on your calendar on the date it’s due. Sound good? No! No, because you don’t want to end up checking your calendar on the project’s due date and realizing “Oh crap! It’s due today!” So the hack for remembering to do the assignments you write down is this: remind yourself along the way.

You can do this several ways, depending on your system. If you’re using digital, like a phone, use the default reminder app to remind yourself of the project at least a few days before it’s due. You can even set up several reminders throughout the week. If you’re using a good old paper calendar, then in addition to writing down “project due” on the actual due date, write in several reminders to work on the project on the days leading up to the due date.

A reminder system also helps you manage your time for long-term assignments because it encourages you to work a little bit each day towards the larger goal.

4. Keep your planner/calendar accurate and up-to-date.

Your homework management system is only going to work if it’s accurate. So you’ve got to be sure that you update your calendar and your agenda as things change. So if your teacher gives an extension or changes the due date of a project, or if your band concert or meeting is rescheduled, make those edits in your calendar. (Try to keep it neat if you’re using a paper system, so that might mean using whiteout. Messy on paper equals messy in the head.) And remember the rule: make these changes immediately if possible.

If you end up using a combination of a digital system and a paper system, make sure you sync the two systems daily. I have run into the problem where I’ve added an appointment in my phone, but then forgot to add it to my paper calendar, and then I totally forgot about it. Oops! So I make it a habit to review both calendars/agendas every night to make sure they both contain the same information.

How to keep track of homework assignments: Extra tip

There are going to be times when you fall off the bandwagon and let your system slip. You might go a few days or even a week without writing things down – either because you forget or you keep telling yourself that you’ll do it later. But don’t give up on your system. Just pick up where you left off and get back to writing down every little detail. Whenever you wander away from your system, bring yourself back to it, and don’t judge yourself.

Also, these moments can be learning opportunities! Whenever you stop using your agenda or calendar, ask yourself why? Why did you stop? What part of the system wasn’t working? If the system was easy enough to use, you wouldn’t have stopped. Is your notebook so big that it’s annoying to bring with you? Then get a smaller one. Are you not writing assignments down because you don’t have enough space in the “Daily Agenda” part of your notebook? Then get a notebook that gives you more room to write down your daily tasks. Did you think you were a techie, but find the app stuff too complicated? Or vice versa? Then switch systems. Modify as you go. You won’t come up with the perfect system right away, but you will instead figure out what works for you as you go. Be open to change.

So those are my 4 strategies for how to keep track of homework assignments. If you have some strategies of your own, then please share them in the comments below!

Subscribe to ReportCard Newsletter!

Get your FREE download of 25 School Habits and Hacks when you sign up for our newsletter featuring awesome school tricks and tips

I will never give away, trade or sell your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time.