How to Avoid the Biggest Distractions During Class
First there were pagers, then there were cell phones and now there’s laptops, iPads, iTouch, iPods, and well, pretty much iEverything. These distractions are not only causing students’ grades to slip; they’re also causing rifts between them and their teachers.
To help you avoid distractions and keep you focused during class, follow these tips:
Identify your weakness. If you’re aware of what your distraction is, avoid it at all costs. Some of the most common distractions include:
- Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter
- Instant messenger
- Blogs
- YouTube
- News sites
- Games
- Texting
- Dating sites
Turn off your notifications. Pop-ups, signals and noises for chats, emails and anything else can be turned off during class and while you study. For example, to turn off Facebook email notifications, click on the small arrow in the upper right corner of your page and click on “Account Settings”. Click on “Notifications” in the upper left-hand corner and on that page you can customize what types of email notifications you can get, if any.
Turn off your phone. if you turn on vibrate, you can still hear it. Turn it completely off or on silent, put it away and don’t look at it until class is over.
Use the distractions as a reward. When your class is over and your studying is complete for the allotted time, give yourself a few minutes to respond to your emails and browse the latest trends on your favorite social network. Don’t, however, get carried away.
If need be, place your distractions out of reach. If you can’t discipline yourself enough not to look at the distractions during class, then you should keep them out of reach. There are many browser tools that can block certain sites, such as the StayFocused extension from the Google Chrome Web Store.
Do you find yourself getting distracted during class? Leave a comment and let us know what techniques you use to help you stay focused.