You sit down at a table with your notebook, textbook, and laptop in front of you. You briefly sigh and say to yourself, “Okay, I’m going to start studying RIGHT now.” Not even 5 minutes later and the inevitable has occurred; you’re sitting there scrolling through Instagram even though you just checked it a few moments before. Sound familiar? That’s because we’ve all been there.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my phone. I can connect with family and friends and use it to help with schoolwork. Even though the majority of us are attached to our phones, studying is one of those times where you CAN live without it. It might be extremely hard for some people to give it up for an hour or so, but it’s definitely worth it.
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Often times, I’ll set my phone on the table face up so that I can see any notifications I receive. This is a terrible idea. Even if it’s a notification telling me that my “battery is sufficiently charged,” I will find a reason to take a little break and browse through my feeds. I’ll even find myself looking at my Twitter likes for a quick laugh. Am I the only person that does that? I don’t even care if I am, I love that app.
Anyways, the simple solution to the problem is to remove the problem altogether! Whatever you have to do, get that thing away from you. Personally, I give my phone to my roommate and tell her not to give it back until I’m done studying. This is also helpful because she’ll let me know if I get any important notifications, like if my mom is calling! (Side note: call your family all the time. They appreciate it more than you know!) If you’re by yourself, I wouldn’t recommend giving it to a stranger. Don’t do that. Just turn it off and throw it in your bookbag until your study session is finished!
You might not think that the absence of your phone will instantly make you a great studier, but you will definitely see a difference in your focus. Without the distraction, it is so much easier to pay attention to the material and retain the information. Just try it for yourself once and see how it goes! Wishing you all the best of luck and A+’s in the future!
HCXO,
Maria