I believe in focus, the value of concentration. I’ve posted about doing two important things at once as a recipe for getting nothing done.

I used to do my homework during class though, and it was highly effective strategy for me. For one, I believe, listening to lectures generally does not bring a high level of retention on its own (see learning pyramid), and sitting down just listening makes it difficult to stay engaged. You get bored and tired.

Doing homework in class, I would shift in between listening to the teacher and solving problems. I would sometimes pay a particular attention to the lecture if it was on the topic relevant to the homework problem I was solving at the moment. I learned to gauge when the teacher was saying something important and when it was just filler.

Action begets action. Homework in class is a form of active listening. Stay active. Enjoy creative time at home, free of the need to spend time on your homework that you already completed.