As parents, we all want to see our children thrive, not just academically but emotionally and socially too. Yet many parents may be noticing two trends in their household particularly as their child moves into Year 9&10: a drop in motivation for schoolwork and a growing attachment to devices, gaming, and social media.
It’s a challenge we didn’t have to navigate ourselves as teenagers and it’s leaving many families wondering how to find the right balance between encouraging productive study habits and managing screen time in a healthy, realistic way.
Why Screen Time and Study Motivation Go Hand-in-Hand
Between TikTok scrolls, gaming marathons, group chats and YouTube, it’s easy for students to lose track of time and motivation. This constant digital stimulation impacts:
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Focus and attention span
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Sleep quality
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Mood and anxiety levels
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And ultimately, academic engagement
When students spend hours online scrolling and texting, their ability to concentrate in class, retain information, and stay motivated to complete schoolwork suffers.
The dopamine highs of social media notifications and gaming achievements also make ordinary tasks like reading a textbook or completing homework feel very dull by comparison!
A recent study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies found that 85% of 14-17 year-olds spend > 2 hours per day on screens outside of school hours, with many exceeding 4 hours. The same study linked excessive screen time with poorer sleep & reduced academic outcomes.
So what is the solution?
Parents are pretty attuned to building controls and accountability around devices, but how can parents support their child to improve their mindset, motivation and study habits? I believe that this can be done through our first 3 (of 6) Student Key Behaviours.
KEY BEHAVIOUR #1: Engage Your Vision
Students must connect to why they’re showing up and doing the work they don’t want to do (rather than jumping on their devices) by developing a personal, meaningful vision for their future and schooling journey.
Is it to improve your ranking in Maths? Is it a course you have your eye on for post school? Is it an Early Entry offer you would like to receive?
When students regularly remind themselves what they’re working towards, it triggers higher motivation levels, boosts dopamine through achievement milestones, and encourages them to stay focused on long-term goals over short-term digital distractions.
1: Open up a conversation with your teen about their academic goals and how results, mindset, study habits and discipline built today will get them much closer to achieving those goals in Years 9, 10 and beyond.
2: Recommend your teen create a visual representation of these goals that they can put in their study area so that those ideas, goals and aspirations are front of mind.
3: Check-in regularly with your teen around their goals and how they are progressing towards them. Motivation dips easily, so constant reminders and maybe some accountability will make all the difference!
KEY BEHAVIOUR #2 Plan
Most students feel overwhelmed because they don’t have a clear plan. However a great plan with no motivation is just a long list of tasks that probably won’t get done! At HSC CoWorks, once students have a strong Vision of what they want to achieve, we work with them to create realistic, achievable plans, breaking down big goals into manageable daily actions. This helps students avoid procrastination, manage their workload, and find a healthy balance between study, screen time, and personal wellbeing.
Good planning involves;
- Taking proactive action. You topic will be assessed – so start that exam / assessment preparation well before the teacher finishes the topic in class.
- Tackling the tasks you least enjoy first – Eat Frogs First!
- Pushing your comfort zone to complete tasks that are getting your brain ready for the exam room. It is very easy to fall into the trap of well intentioned but ineffective study behaviours by staying firmly inside of your comfort zone.
Building on Action #1, when a student is feeling motivated and connected to their why, they are much more likely to be effective with the limited time available to them.
KEY BEHAVIOUR #3: Train Daily
Success isn’t about cramming, it’s about consistent, daily effort through regular practice, past paper training and study challenges which allow students to build routines that hardwire productive habits. Training daily also releases feel-good dopamine (not too dissimilar from what teens will get from a device) as students see their skills improve.
Just 10-20 minutes each day can produce ‘game-changing’ outcomes, giving students the confidence to take on the tasks that matter (always the more challenging tasks).
Examples of quick daily training tasks which will ensure a student has high levels of familiarity around their subject content include quote write outs and syllabus mind maps from memory (each mind map is 5-10 minutes).
At HSC CoWorks we have built our own gamification tools so that students are rewarded with GIFs, achievement badges, leaderboard rankings, streaks and monthly prizes for engaging in study and exam training behaviours.
Setting the Scene for Year 11 & 12
By introducing these habits and behaviours in Year 10, students aren’t just preparing for their current school workload, they’re building the mindset and resilience they’ll need to navigate Year 11, Year 12, and life beyond the classroom.
To further discuss how HSC CoWorks could support your teen, please call our team on 0483 980 820.
Sarah Gardiner
(Parent to 3 children and also battling the war against screen time!)
Sarah Gardiner is the Business Manager at HSC CoWorks.
Sarah is passionate about supporting young people develop the skills they will need for lifelong success and also supporting parents navigate the final years of school with their teen.
Jesse & Sarah live in Sydney’s Northern Beaches and are parents to 3 children.
