Finals are coming and there’s only so much you can procrasti-nap, so use these tips to keep you focused when you run out of Netflix to distract yourself with.
1. Reward yourself. I would go to the gym every single day if I could hang a piece of chocolate cake in front of the treadmill and then eat it afterward. Work is always easier when you’re working towards something (rather than just a test.) With the nice weather and all of NYC at your fingertips, there are probably a million things you want to do. Having finals doesn’t mean you can’t! Tell yourself that for every assignment you get done, you’ll do something fun afterwards. It’ll amaze you how fast you’ll finish that novel for lit when you have a picnic at Central Park on the other end. But don’t just wait until you’re done; make sure you…
2. Take breaks. Everyone has had those moments when their brain just stops absorbing information. No, rereading that paragraph one more time isn’t going to do anything. Instead, get up and walk around, even if it’s just to the café to get a Snapple. Do a couple of jumping jacks (I’m sure people in the library have seen weirder.) It doesn’t have to be long, just enough that your eyes come back into focus. Even a twenty-minute show is a good idea – as long as you know you can get yourself to stop!
3. Go outside. If you spend your non-studying time outside, you might feel less like you’re missing out on the weather while you’re studying. Your wishful staring out the windows can be granted, even if it’s just for a lunch break. If you can study outside and kill two birds with one stone, then more power to you!
4. Get off campus. I know that I’ve given up studying the second my friends have told me about something (which is pretty much anything) better to do than write a paper. If you’re downtown, will you really want to travel 30 minutes on the subway just go to get coffee from Diana? And a change of scenery can break the monotony that a whole semester of studying has brought to the campus study spaces. Just make sure you don’t go somewhere more eclectic, where you’ll realize after two hours you’ve been staring at the person in the tie-dye overalls making balloon animals on the street.
5. Stay comfortable. I don’t know about you, but I definitely can’t focus on studying if I’m focusing on how much my back hurts. Especially if you plan to coop up for a while at a time, a comfortable chair and environment can make all the difference. But comfortable means something different for everyone – know what works best for you.
6. Study with others. I don’t mean your friends, because you probably won’t stay focused for long with them. I mean people in your class, a study group, the kind that you aren’t close enough to trust with your gossip but who you do trust enough to take their notes when you miss class. This is a double whammy: you can ask them questions while you’re studying and they can keep you on track. You’ll feel compelled to stay focused if you’re getting side-eyes by the kid in your study group every time you log onto Facebook.
Obviously not all of these will work for everyone, so find what works best for you. (Don’t procrastinate finding out like you’re procrastinating those essays.) And good luck and happy studying