I’ll admit that when I first stepped foot on campus this past September, I thought that I had everything figured out when it came to studying. But obviously, I really didn’t. Realistically, how many of us really studied in high school? Yeah, I thought so. Neither did I. But when I got to Northeastern, I realized that my biggest problem would be all of the distractions! So, here are five tips to help you avoid distractions while you study:
1) Turn off Facebook: In fact, turn off your computer and your phone. This past weekend, I went over to a friend’s dorm room to study, but I was talking and perusing Facebook for a good hour. And between Facebook chatting and texting, I wasn’t getting anything done.
2) Find a nice, quiet place to do work: A lot of people will tell you to go to the library, but while the library does have many great resources (check out ‘Tips For The New Snell’ if you haven’t already!), it may not always be the most viable or most accessible place for you at any given moment. Personally, I prefer to study in my dorm room, but you can also take advantage of places like floor lounges, dining halls, computer labs across campus, etc.
3) Leave the group: In theory, studying with friends is a great thing. Each person views things in a different light and can contribute so much to a group discussion. But when you’re doing math homework, one friend is doing psychology, and both of you are still talking about whatever Miley Cyrus was doing at the VMA’s, then maybe it’s time to study alone and see if that works better for you. More often than not, you’ll find that it does.
4) Learn to say no: There will be other parties, other events. As you will come to realize soon enough, if you haven’t already, is that you attend college in Boston. The possibilities are endless because there’s always something going on! So buckle down and get your work out of the way now, because that awesome restaurant that you just found out about isn’t going anywhere.
5) Immerse yourself in your work: Reading chapter after chapter can be so boring but you know you have to do it, so try to pick out interesting things in what you’re reading. If it truly is the most boring piece of literature on Earth, switch things up and use different highlighters to keep things fun. Or you can dry drawing illustrations for certain things (drawing skills not required!). And if that doesn’t work, set a goal and/or deadline for yourself. Having a goal to work toward almost guarantees that you’ll get it done!