Ask KSIM students and teachers whether they should work during holidays and almost nobody says yes. Ask whether they actually do work, and almost everybody does.
A survey in which 5 teachers, and 13 students from year 8 to year 13 participated showed key data about productivity on holidays and work patterns. 16 out of 18 of respondents do schoolwork or studying during holidays, most of them work a few or 1-2 times a week. Reasons for it vary, but most respondents outlined summative and formative assignments as reasons why they work.
Many productivity advice nowadays are significantly focused on removing distractions, for example: phone screen tile and social media limitations, which work without a doubt to some extent. But, only 17% of respondents mentioned that their phone prevents them from working or studying. Most respondents mentioned that mental tiredness and lack of motivation get in their way. Often people are not distracted but exhausted, which may significantly impact productivity.
The most commonly stated organisational method mentioned in the responses is working “whenever I feel like it”, whereas commonly used strategies are: pomodoro method, work prioritisation and removing distractions. One year 13 student, who works for 5-6 hours a break despite believing that holidays are for rest, uses a strategy as: “Break the work down into small chunks and complete them consistently every day, tracking your progress somewhere.”
Teachers primarily believe that students and them should rest during holidays, even though they also work on holiday themself. Opinions are also divided among students: some strongly believe that holidays are only for rest and some think a reasonable amount of work or studying will be beneficial. It can be overall concluded that in order to work the best during holidays, it is important to prioritise the rest since it allows students and teachers to avoid mental and physical frustration, which leads to work being done faster.