How to Focus While Studying
From social media to text messages, distractions are everywhere. When it comes to studying, they can really get in between you and your goals. However, there are some really easy things you can do to help yourself stay focused.
Don’t just take it from us though! Today, we’re bringing you ten tips on how to focus while studying. You’ll hear from people who have been there and found ways to avoid distractions to achieve their goals: our partners at Verizon! Verizon knows that millions of U.S. students lack access to the tools needed to succeed in the digital world, and they’ve been working to solve this problem since 2012, when they started a powerful program called Verizon Innovative Learning.
Read on for ten real-life tips our partners at Verizon have used to help them reach their goals!
Ten Tips to Help You Focus While Studying
1.Create a written plan.
According to Daniel, “When dealing with distractions and procrastinations, it’s best to write things out and put a plan in place to get them done.” He continues: “The best thing you can do is schedule focus sessions to tackle the tasks that need to be completed. You could block out one hour every other day to work in the library on those outstanding tasks.“
This might mean creating as simple as a to-do list in a notebook that you can use every day. For some students, nothing beats the powerful feeling of physically crossing something off your to-do list.
For others, an app might be easier to keep track of and easier to access at any given moment. Conveniently, there are tons of free apps out there to help students stay organized! For a simple to-do list, you might look at Trello or Todoist. If you want something more robust, there are student planner apps out there that can help you keep track of your goals, communicate on group projects, and so much more!
2. Break your work into small parts.
This bit of advice comes directly from Matt, who says “Procrastination is often the result of avoiding a large task. Large tasks are much easier to tackle when they are broken into smaller parts.”
This is a skill I personally use when trying to manage big projects. Whenever I start a big project, I essentially create a simple outline to list out all the major steps and minor steps I’ll need to achieve my goal, just like I would create an outline if I were writing an essay. It not only helps me prevent any feelings of being overwhelmed, but it also helps me complete projects on time, and with ease!
3. Take breaks while studying.
It might be tempting to knock out all your studying at once so you can focus on more exciting things, but studying for too long can actually hurt your ability to focus and process what you’re trying to study.
John suggests, “Break your work into manageable amounts of time. Take a little break, then get back to it. Set yourself a schedule and stick to it. That way you will remain focused during that time.”
John’s advice is backed by research. Research has shown that taking study breaks can help rest and refresh both your mind and body, leading to increases in energy, productivity, and the ability to focus.
4. Balance is key.
While making good grades is important in your quest to achieve your big goals, your grades aren’t the only thing that matters. Maintaining healthy relationships with friends and family, having time for hobbies, and taking care of other responsibilities are also important. Creating a balanced schedule can help you prevent burnout as you aim for the moon!
As Kris puts it, “Strike a balance in your time between your friends and extra curriculars. You don't need to be solely focused on your studies, but you can't neglect them either. Make time even when you feel like you are too busy or don't want to.”
Creating a balanced schedule can be a great tool for helping you prioritize your schoolwork, your mental health, and your friends and family, which are all important!
5. Set goals and write them down.
Setting goals is a great way to set yourself up for success, but writing them down is even more important. How important is it, you might ask.? Well, research shows that those who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them.
As Verizon employee Colleen explains, “I find that setting a goal for my morning or day–no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential–helps to eliminate procrastination. Writing the goal down or jotting a note on your phone helps keep us accountable to completing the goal.
We tend to procrastinate because there is no immediate reward, but setting a small goal gives a feeling of accomplishment when the goal is completed. This accomplishment then becomes the reward helping us seek ongoing similar rewards.”
6. Create routines.
Junar’s #1 study tip is to “Set a routine. Always set aside time for homework and test preparation. You can set time for homework before dinner and test preparation after dinner.”
For some students, creating this sort of consistent study routine is what makes all the difference.
How can a routine help you? Having a set routine can help you get into the right mental state for studying. If you already know you’re going to focus on test prep for an hour after dinner each night, then your mind will start getting into that post-dinner study mindset on its own after a few weeks!
7. Use social media wisely.
No, we’re not asking you to delete TikTok. That would be ridiculous, especially when studytok has so many great tips. However, we do have to acknowledge how big of a distraction social media can be.
As Maureen puts it: “Social Media makes it hard for all of us to be distracted -- adults and kids! When you have an important assignment or a test to prepare for, put your phone in another room and turn off notifications. You will be amazed how great you will do if you are not distracted by snaps and chats and bings. Remember, they will be there when you are done!”
8. Create a competition with yourself!
Struggling to complete a big project and all the other productivity tricks aren’t working? Take a page out of John B.’s book, and turn it into a competition. He says “My personal method of dealing with procrastination is to activate my competitive nature. Even with things I'm not crazy about doing I can motivate myself by setting a goal and meeting or beating that goal. I also give myself a simple reward when I achieve my target.”
An external reward (or incentive) can be a powerful motivator for some students, and your reward doesn’t need to be big or cost anything.
John continued, “If I have to write a paper, I may set myself up to start with the opening paragraph. When I'm done with that, I’ll go shoot 10 free throws or grab a handful of grapes as my reward. Then I get back to it, knock out the next paragraph, and repeat the cycle. A lot of times I find I get into a groove and complete a page or more before stopping for my break.”
9. Start immediately to beat procrastination.
For some people, nothing can help them beat procrastination like just getting started immediately. As Scott put it, “For procrastination, I used to be among the worst offenders. I’ve since learned to start a new assignment immediately, even if it’s just initial prep work. The sense of getting something done quickly eliminates the feeling of falling behind.”
10. Don’t create more distractions by overwhelming yourself
Social media is far from the only thing distracting us these days. As Chad put it, “Nowadays there are so many distractions ... Setting one goal for your day will help you to remember what you want to accomplish. No need to overload yourself with goals because too many goals could just create even more distractions. Start with one goal and then maybe add more later for the next day or the next week.”
Yes, you read that right: setting too many goals can be a … distraction. In fact, while the average person sets 4-5 goals a day, those who set only three tend to be more successful. Start with setting one goal a day, but try to avoid overwhelming yourself with more than three.
Final Tips for Staying Focused
It can be hard to stay focused while studying, and we get that! We hope you can put these tips from our partners at Verizon to good use.
Need some more help? Check out the following resources:
Sign up for free 1:1 tutoring through UPchieve.
Check out Upchieve’s High School Survival Guide.
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