5 Distractions to Keep Out of Your Off-Campus Study Space

By Elana Goodwin on January 20, 2018

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When it comes to studying, it can be all too tempting to find other “pressing” things we need to do rather than hit the textbooks. That’s why it’s important to keep distractions out of your study space so you can actually and successfully focus on your material and work on that paper, retain the information for a test, etc.

Here are some distractions you should avoid in your off-campus study space as well as how to keep them from distracting you.

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1. Clutter. If your study space is cluttered, you may distract yourself by reasoning that you need to clean it before you can actually use it. You might also find yourself trying to study but getting distracted by other things on your desk that are more interesting than whatever class’s homework you are trying to do.

Avoid messy distractions by keeping your study space perpetually clean — this way, it’s ready for you to sit down and use it whenever you will need to and you won’t have to spend time making room for your material before you can actually study.

Additionally, don’t keep items in your study space that won’t aid you in your studying. Pens, post-its, highlighters, etc., can all be kept in your study area but magazines and other non-study distractors should be kept elsewhere.

2. Unnecessary electronics. You may ask yourself, “Is there really such a thing as an unnecessary electronic in the year 2017?” The answer is yes when it comes to studying.

Using a laptop or tablet may be crucial to doing your work or studying but if it’s not, turn it off and get it out of your study space. If possible, and when necessary, use a calculator rather than your phone as it will help you avoid the natural distracting pitfalls that a phone brings.

If you are using a laptop or tablet, don’t let yourself get sucked into social media! Once you check Facebook, Instagram, Buzzfeed, your email, YouTube, etc., it may be a long while before you resurface. If you don’t have adequate self-control, consider downloading a program that will lock you out of those distracting sites that you can implement while you’re studying.

Also, use social media as a motivator — decide to study for a certain amount of time and once you have, reward yourself with 10 minutes of fun time on your electronic device.

3. Noise/music. Noise can be very distracting when you are trying to study. Make sure you set up your study space in your off-campus home in a place where noise is at a minimum. Also, if you really need quiet while studying, give your roommates a heads-up and see if you can set some quiet hours or ask them to keep the noise to a minimum for the duration of your studying.

Depending on your study style, music can either be a distraction or it can be helpful. Figure out which it is for you and then use it or don’t use it according to your preferences. If you are going to listen to music, make a playlist before you start studying so you don’t allow yourself to get distracted with finding the next perfect song to study to every 3-4 minutes once the song’s over.

Consider making a playlist of classical music, music without lyrics, acoustic tracks, or nature sounds, as they’re likely to be the least distracting, and keep the volume fairly low so it serves more as background music.

4. Sidetracking décor. You don’t need to keep the walls around your study area completely blank but you do want to avoid distracting décor. Things like photos of you with friends, family, pets, traveling, etc., can cause you to sidetrack if you look at them and start remembering the occasion during which the photo was taken, where you were, who you were with, etc.

You don’t need to spend time thinking about how cute your dog is or how much you wish you were back in London or that you should text your best high school friend to catch up while you’re trying to study so avoiding those photos around your study area is probably best.

Instead, consider putting up inspirational posters or quotes that will motivate you to do your best and study hard.

5. Other people. Another big distraction to keep out of your study space while you are using it is people. That means don’t let yourself look out the nearby window and get distracted by people walking by and don’t let your roommate come into your room and start talking to you.

While you are in your study space, your focus should only be on studying so you can do so effectively and when you let other people encroach on your study space or let yourself be distracted by people, studying effectively is not going to happen.

Now that you can identify these distractions, make sure to keep them out of your study space so you can focus and actually study; it’s not called a study space for nothing!

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