Studying, in a world full of distractions and commitments, fun activities to do and cool people to talk to, can be difficult. It seems so much easier to just put off your assignments, your work, your schooling, till later. Especially when its not some concrete homework assignment of 25 math questions you need to finish by Thursday, and is instead a test on Thursday that you know half the material of half as well as you really should. Sometimes, the willpower dips just an inch, but the entire boat seems to sink. Well, there’s always ways you can solve that. Here’s 3 of them.
First? Find a Mantra. Not the first definition on Dictionary.com, but the second. “A statement, or slogan, repeated frequently.” Come up with something, and have it mean something a little more than it sounds like. Personally, I’ve got a couple. When I need to get moving, or I need to get started on something, I’ll give myself a three count. 3, 2, 1. I’ll say the words out loud, too, so that once the dust settles on that last 1… You don’t really have a choice if you don’t get out of bed and get working. I also have a “keep going” mantra, I’ll just go “Hoo, Ha, Hoo, Ha” under my breath for a while when the willpower starts slacking. I do it when I hit the gym and need to lift weights that are a bit too heavy, or when I’m studying in the library and after thirteen minutes of hard work my mind starts wandering. Mantra’s work, if you train them, and even though they miss at times, and you fail, it’s still worth trying.
What’s next? Get out of your room. We all have productive spaces, and unproductive spaces. Personally? I can’t get ANYTHING done in my room, ever. Whenever I tell myself “oh, this time I’ll master that space and work productively in it” I end up watching podcasts on the ethics of hunting bears with a bow and arrow for four hours. WHile I’m something on an expert when it comes to both sides of that debate, now, I’m scrambling for grades. I hit the library, and a specific section of it, and if possible, a specific seat. I have one “power” spot on the second bottom floor of Bobst? I’m invincible there. An unstoppable force.
Finally, get help. Be it an online resource, or a friend, limit your own options of screwing around. I’ve got an app called “Cold Turkey” on my computer, which you can get for free here at https://getcoldturkey.com. I block websites, apps, and distractions with it every single day from 10 AM to 10 PM, and I get a lot more done because of it. Whenever I try to open up netflix, boom, blocked. Facebook? Nope. Today, by sheer force of habit the first tab I opened up while starting up on this article was youtube, and I was greeted with a gray screen and a quote that I think sums up the importance of taking the proper steps in your study routine, which I will use to close off this article, and get back to the 25 page paper I have due next week.
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” -Confucious.
So go, slowly, sure. But don’t stop. Keep trying.