Finals week is always rough. It feels endless when you’re in the thick of it, and the late night study sessions get draining super quick. I always come out of it absolutely exhausted, but also feeling like I could have done more and was never as prepared as I wanted to be. As a senior, I’ve spent years trying different ways to study better, like studying in different places and at different times of day, and trying to write notes on paper versus on my iPad. But no matter what I tried, I still felt like nothing was changing.
This quarter, I had a final that I really needed to lock in for. It was such a hard class (biochem) and I needed to do pretty well on the final to get a good grade in the class, because I didn’t do too well on either of the midterms. I was majorly stressing over this final, so, I pulled up to the library with snacks and an energy drink in hand, ready for a long night of studying, and there I realized what my real obstacle was: my phone.
I noticed that I was constantly reaching for my phone when I was studying. After almost every practice problem I did, I would reach across the table and take a “scroll break” to clear my head. My average screen time per week would literally go up during finals week. It made my studying so inefficient, and it messed with my ability to focus so badly.
I realized that this whole phone thing was really going to get in the way of effectively studying for this final, so I decided to just delete every form of social media off of my phone (and my iPad) to just eliminate the distraction entirely.
I honestly noticed the change in my studying almost immediately. Without the constant distraction, I was able to get into the study flow much easier, and I felt like I was becoming much more efficient. It helped me to use my time so much better, and I was able to get so much more studying and practice problems in than I had originally thought I would, because my study time was actually only study time, not half study and half phone time. I was honestly even enjoying studying more, because I felt so focused and accomplished. It was just an all-around improvement, and made a huge difference.
Of course, I’m still human, and can’t study for eight hours straight. I wasn’t taking phone breaks every 15 minutes anymore, but I still needed time to clear my head and refocus. So, I turned to other means: I would take a quick walk or go sit outside in the sun for a few minutes, to get some fresh air and take some deep breaths. I would also bring a book with me, so I could read a chapter or two when I needed something non-academic to focus on. You know — the kinds of analog hobbies that have been all the rage lately.
I honestly think that these other forms of taking a break also contributed to how much better I was focusing and studying. My breaks started feeling like I was slowing down for a second and taking an actual rest, and really made me ready for another round of studying. I had never felt that refreshed after scrolling on my phone for 15 minutes as a break.
Overall, deleting the social media made my study experience much more efficient and enjoyable, and I ended up absolutely crushing my final. But this week, once my finals were done and I could put everything back on my phone, I found myself simply… not wanting to. After the week of not having it, and seeing how energized and productive I felt, I didn’t want to go back to scrolling all the time.
I realized that I didn’t have that FOMO feeling that I thought I would have about missing out on pop culture news or social media trends. In fact, honestly, I was getting absolutely nothing from scrolling social media. Now that I knew what actual relaxing breaks looked and felt like, the scroll breaks I had been relying on before didn’t even come close in comparison.
So, I’m going to keep my digital detox going, for the near future at least. (Though, in total honesty, I do check Instagram once a day on my computer because I like to see my friends’ posts.)
As I head into my final quarter of college, I want to be as present as possible and soak my last few months in. Social media is the exact kind of thing that makes staying present so much harder, so I’m going to just take it out of the picture completely. I want to spend my time doing things that are actually fulfilling and that add things to my life, and I finally learned — in addition to all my biochem material — that social media absolutely does not fit in that category.