Studying is an important part of college life and learning early the most effective ways to study will help you throughout your college career. 

Here are a few tips to help you fight distractions while studying 

Do you need silence to study? The library or your dorm room is probably your best bet. Do you need people around? Maybe a coffee-house or dorm lounge. Maybe you need some fresh air while you study. Try sitting out on the quad or even outside at a coffee-house.

Our laptops, iPad’s and our phones can be a great source of information and help while we’re studying. They may even be necessary to help you write a paper, answer questions or further your research. 

However, the flip side is that constant notifications, texts, emails, and phone calls can be a huge distraction. Turning your phone off or putting it away can help you stay focused. If you have to use your laptop, make sure you just have one tab open and all notifications turned off.

     3. Make a To-Do List

It can be easy to get overwhelmed while studying which can lead you to look for distractions. Make a to-do list so you know what should be focused on at any given moment. It also helps to break down your assignments into smaller pieces and make each of them a to-do list item. It’s so satisfying to check off an item and can help keep you motivated. The smaller you make each item the better (i.e. if you have a research paper, your first item could be “decide on a topic,” the next could be to find 3 good sources, etc). 

Studying, homework, and papers can get overwhelming, make sure you take plenty of planned breaks. Schedule them in between tasks, after a certain amount of time, or other times that make sense. Having a break to look forward to will help you stay focused. 

Once you complete a particularly difficult task or finish your paper reward yourself - with a longer break, a walk, or maybe a quick episode of your favorite show - just don’t start binge-watching entire seasons!

What do you do to fight distractions?