It’s that time of year again—finals. When you can feel the stress radiate off of everyone, and the only thing that you actually do on a daily basis is think how you should have started studying earlier, scream, maybe cry, and take a "quick study break" which ends up being a one- to three-hour break. I am of course guilty of doing this as well. However, there are a couple of things to beat this procrastination and actually get your things done. Here are a couple of things to do while studying:
1. Listen to classical music:
Many people like to study to music; however, some music can be distracting if it has lyrics. Instead of doing this, you could check out the website Noisli. It has multiple sound effects that are nice to study with because they are white noise. They have sounds like rain, wind, forest sounds, fire, coffee house sounds, and many others. You can mix the sounds and control their volume to create the perfect sounds for you. When I use this, I also like to either use the website Pandora or 8tracks. For Pandora, you can put in a genre, artist, or song and then it will give similar songs. For 8tracks, you can put in a genre, artist, mood, or even just words, and it will then give you multiple playlists that other people have created with those keywords. I would suggest using the keywords "study," "classical," "calm," and other things like that.
2. Reward system:
A good way to keep on track is to create a list of things that you need to do and then check off each of the items as you complete them. Whenever I complete something, I reward myself with some snacks, more coffee, or a short break. Some good study foods include peanuts, M&M’s, Goldfish, Skittles, or basically anything that you can easily snack on without getting too messy, otherwise you might end up with sticky notes. Remember to also have a water bottle with you and then refill it when you need to.
3. No phone:
I find it impossible to not have my phone with me, even when studying. However, I do have my study times when I do have my phone off so I don’t get distracted. I found the times that I do my best studying and then try to get as much as I can done during that time. I turn off my phone for about two or three hours. The other times when I study, I have it on silent so I don’t get too distracted.
4. Study place:
Look for a study place. This can be the library, a little area in a different building, or a courtyard. Try to find some study places where it is quiet enough to study but still has people in it. I feel like I need to be more productive when people around me are being productive and studying hard.
5. Take breaks:
You need to take some breaks. Get up and walk around, workout, or go talk to someone. Sitting for too long of a time will make your mind go numb.
These are only a couple of ways that you can improve your study habits. I hope that everything goes well for you! Good luck!
