You’re deep in the middle of a cram session for your 8 am Psychology exam. Note cards are littered across your floor, pens that ran out of ink 4 hours ago fill the trash can, and two empty Starbucks cups are mocking you. Your phone is on airplane mode deep in a desk drawer and when you check your clock, you realize it’s been two hours since you put your textbook aside. When time is limited, it makes sense to study without stopping…right?
According to the MIT Center for Academic Excellence, studying is best done in one hour chunks – 50 minutes of studying followed by a 10 minute break. That’s probably the best news you’ve heard all day, right?
Now before you slam your textbooks shut and go for another coffee run, you need to make sure that your study time is actually…well…study time. That means putting the phone away, not checking Twitter in another tab every five minutes, and logging yourself out of your Netflix account. When it comes time for a break, treat yourself to ten minutes of catching up on Twitter, a quick jog around campus, or a bowl of popcorn. Don’t (I repeat – don’t) let ten minutes turn into twenty, then thirty, then two hours. Set timers to hold yourself accountable and keep your study sessions on track.
You have our permission. Take a study break. Treat yourself to chocolate or ten minutes of Grey’s Anatomy. Trust us, your brain will thank you later.