H.A.L.T.S and Student Productivity

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A few years ago, I learnt an important part of being productive. It was a good lesson to learn, but it’s amazing how important it was when teaching kids how to study.

We all know that productivity is about getting things done. Even better is getting important things done.

Kids can struggle with this. Consider kids that need to do some homework, but it takes 2 hours to do a simple set of questions. For most kids, there’s generally two sides to the coin for why they struggle to sit and do their homework.

Study productively for best results

1. 

Firstly, they’re not disciplined with doing tedious tasks. This could be homework, but it could also be cleaning or sitting for an extended period of time. Most parents are good with working on this with their kids. It’s a game of patience, but most kids will learn this. It’s fair enough that kids struggle with this, but it’s our job as the adults to help them with this.

Secondly, they’re H.A.L.T.S. This is when learning about productivity in kids became interesting for me. H.A.L.T.S is an acronym that stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, or Sad.

The 5 emotions are great at reducing productivity, but also, they work to obliterate discipline. Even in the most disciplined individuals. On top of that, even if the person is able to ‘dig deep’ and push through the H.A.L.T.S, their overall performance is still a lot lower.

For instance, if you’re trying to write an essay, and your stomach rumbles every minute, it’s extremely hard to concentrate on the task at hand. If you’re angry, more than likely your mind is completely elsewhere, thinking about ways to get back at someone or an argument. If you’re sad, good luck editing the essay while you’re crying!

No H.A.L.T.S here, so these girls are productive.

2.

This begs an interesting question then: what is the most important part of study? It might seem simple, but let’s double check we’re all on the same page.

For example, is it more important that a student does 500 multiplication questions and can kind of do multiplication but is still confused, or is it more important that they do 1 multiplication question but can now multiply any question?

It’s a heavily exaggerated example to prove my point, but I’m sure most would agree: the goal is for the student to be able to do any multiplication question. The goal is to remember and apply what they’ve learnt in any situation. It’s important to keep at the front of mind that goal is not to do as many questions as possible.

If that’s the case, then H.A.L.T.S is what we need to work with kids to prevent and overcome.

It’s extremely difficult for anyone to do anything meaningful when confronted with H.A.L.T.S. Even more difficult is how well the lesson was memorised, learnt and can be applied later.

For this reason, it’s generally a good idea to teach kids about the dichotomy of study time.

Smiling. Reading. Focused. Definitely no H.A.L.T.S here.

3. 

Generally speaking, a good rule is “I want you to sit and study with no excuses, unless you’re H.A.L.T.S”.

This creates a great framework that gives kids the openness to talk about why they might not be ready to study. If they’re making it up, or they’re using H.A.L.T.S as a chance to procrastinate, you can revoke that part of the rule for a certain time. Keep in mind that we don’t allow “It’s boring” or “I don’t wanna” as a reason to not study.

If they really are dealing with some emotions, this then gives you the chance to talk with them about what’s happening in their life and work through some things to fix it.

A simple example of study time at home might look like

Mum: “I want you to sit and study with no excuses. If you’re Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, or Sad let’s deal with that now.”
Student: “I’m really hungry right now.”
Mum: “Grab something to eat, then straight to study.”

Food like watermelon and other fruits, are great to conquer hunger.

4. 

As the adult, we’re also extending an olive branch that we want them to do something important, but there’s reasonable reasons why that might not happen immediately. This doesn’t mean they get to be sad and never do any study again though. The aim is to work with them to figure out how to get out of these negative emotions as quickly as possible.

In the case that one of these reasonable reasons is preventing study, we can then work together to overcome them. This also teaches kids how to be respectful of themselves and others, while still aiming up in life. A successful outcome is they are eventually able to do this by themselves, and even help others with it. They have become fully autonomous in their productivity.

Productivity requires focus, and focus requires no H.A.L.T.S.

5. 

Is this easy to do and seamless 100% of the time? No, nothing with kids is. Nothing with people is, in general.

But, it’s a good framework to work off of, which can help kids learn the importance of their study. It also reduces the chance that your kids will lie to you when they don’t want to do their homework. Hopefully, that makes the household a little easier for everyone and as they mature, it gives your assurance that they can handle themselves properly in the world.

Revision is when we turn some words into a comprehensive piece of writing

6. To Sum Up

Productivity is key when studying, here’s how to get the most out of it:

1) Improve discipline
2) Study daily, unless H.A.L.T.S
3) Know your H.A.L.T.S triggers and counter them
4) When not H.A.L.T.S, study hard

Best of luck with your study time going forwards.

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