Okay. Prepare yourself. I am about to suggest something radical and unheard of, and I want you to bear with me for just a second (or a page). This finals season, do more than just put your phone on airplane mode or do not disturb. While this feels like an effective method for eliminating distraction while studying, all you have to do is press one quick button and the stream of notifications and images of people ~not studying~ come flooding back. Its a surface level fix that can be undone at any moment. What I am suggesting you try, even just for a day, is deleting the apps altogether. This doesn’t mean deleting your accounts, thats a little too drastic, but just deleting the actual application off your phone. This past week I deleted the Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook apps, after I had sat in the library for two hours one afternoon and never looked up from my phone, and the difference it has made in my levels of productivity is actually shocking. The first day I would catch myself unlocking my phone and scrolling to where the apps used to be at least every three minutes. By the second day, it was every ten minutes, and by the third day I was barely looking at all.
My productivity improved drastically. I found that when the option to check social media was not present, I was far less easily distracted and less likely to just pick up my phone when I got frustrated with what I was working on. Also, when I did become frustrated and needed to take a break, I was actually able to think during that time instead of being distracted, and come up with ideas to solve my frustration.
Aside from the homework-related benefits, I realized that my social-media-free week helped me to be more present with the people I was around. I know this has been said before and is not a ground breaking revelation, but without the apps I realized just how much of my time spent “with others” was actually spent on my phone. I spent quality time with my friends, actually looked around when walking to class, and (shockingly for me) even read a book for pleasure.
I know how hard it seems to detach from these platforms, but my week without them did me so much good. I felt less tied to my phone, and actually did not feel like I was missing out that much. I have since re downloaded the apps and find that I now check them way less. It’s a small change (though it may feel huge) that gives major positive results and I highly recommend you try it for this finals season and see what a difference it makes!