If anyone can procrastinate, it’s me. Paper due tomorrow? No biggie, I’ll just start it tonight at 10 o’clock. Movie night with friends or the reading that’s due tomorrow? Psh, is this really even a choice? However, staying up until three o’clock in the morning on a regular basis is finally starting to take its toll on me. Sitting in my afternoon discussion class, my eyelids begin feeling heavy and I’m unable to contribute any meaningful thoughts to the conversation because my brain is a foggy mess that is working at full capacity just to keep from shutting off. So starting now, I’m heeding my own advice and am going to start applying these very helpful tips to my study regime!
- Phones away
This is a biggie, and personally my worst distraction. What has worked best for me is giving my phone to my friend and having them hide it. Granted, normal people can exhibit a little more self-control so simply placing your phone in a desk drawer should suffice. Out of sight out of mind.
- Give Yourself Breaks
You can’t expect to be mentally present for 5 hours of straight studying. This doesn’t mean take a 30 minute Instagram break, then wander around looking for snacks, and following up with an hour binge watching Netflix. Take a 5-minute phone break to relieve your FOMO and check in on your notifications. But don’t exceed 5 minutes or you’re likely to fall into a social media black hole and be unable to find your way out.
- Make a List
Okay, this one I am pretty good at. I make lists for EVERYTHING. Prioritize your work by writing down all of your assignments in the order that they are due and work your way through it. Not only will this be helpful in organizing your thoughts and making sure you don’t forget anything last minute, but its also extremely satisfying when you are able to cross something off of it.
- Set Goals
Determine how much homework you plan to get done by 8 o’clock and use that to help motivate you to finish your work. However, be realistic in creating these goals or else you will just cause more stress on yourself. Something such as read 100 pages and get halfway through my essay in 2 hours is highly unlikely to be fulfilled so you may end up getting less done than if you were to try and finish 20 pages in an hour.
- Reward Yourself
Tell yourself that if you reach your goal by your designated time that you will allow yourself to watch an episode of Netflix or eat a bowl of ice cream. This helps you by having something to work towards, because we all know that there really isn’t much satisfaction in finishing your homework alone.