When is the last time you sat down to read a book and were able to flip to the first page without being distracted by a text or email popping up on your phone? Sometimes even a shower can be cut short by an incoming call. In today’s hyper-wired world, it’s hard to get some quality “you” time – without interruptions from Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter. Read these tips for (temporarily) logging off and laying back.
Have a Technology “Bedtime”
There’s nothing more stressful than settling under your warm, cozy covers only to check your phone and find an email reminding you of your big math test next week. About fifteen minutes before you plan to go to bed, vow to stop checking your email for the night. You’ll fall asleep faster, get more sleep, and be better prepared to start your day the next morning.
Go for a Walk
In our machine-obsessed society, it can be easy to forget that there’s a world outside the screen. Close your laptop, switch your phone to silent, and explore your city! Go try that new bagel place you’ve been wondering about or pull out a book at your favorite coffee shop.
Try Writing It Out (By Hand!)
Even under the pressure of a big paper deadline, it’s hard to ignore your Facebook feed. Solve the problem by logging off and shutting down. Then write your paper out by hand. It may seem old-fashioned, and you will have to type it up again, but the time you’ll save by not having access to the internet will make it all worth it. If you need to get online for research, try Keepmeout.com – it will warn you when you’re getting on a website too often in a given period of time.
Set Limits
Set a limit on the number of times you can check your email in a day, and the number of minutes you can spend on Facebook. If you go over that limit, double the number of minutes you went over, and spend that amount of time studying. This is also a great way to get motivated to do your homework!
Post Your Goals
Write your short-term (as in weekly) and long-term (think yearly) goals on post-it notes and stick them up on the wall in front of your desk (or wherever you usually study). Having a visual reminder that isn’t stuck behind everything else on your desktop will provide constant motivation.