Sara P. answered • 02/27/20
Patient and Hardworking Teacher and Tutor
I experienced a lot of these same things throughout high school and even through college. When it was something I was interested in, I was able to dedicate my time to it but if I wasn't interested in it, it was like my brain couldn't retain any of the information. This was affecting my success in school.
I began setting small goals for myself. First I made my environment calming. I turned my phone off-that is crucial. Also, if you can study with books do that and avoid the computer so you can avoid getting distracted by other websites!
Setting small goals for yourself means like "If I study for ten minutes straight with no distractions then I can can give myself a 5 minute break." and continue with small goals working your way to bigger ones.
When you get your distractions under control, like I did- I was able to project Youtube to my TV and play extremely calming music with underwater ocean scenery. It was very relaxing and helped keep me focused.
Another thing that helped me out was doing any little thing I could do to get myself excited about studying. I bought a pack of felt tip markers that I loved with all bright and pretty colors. I bought the see through highlighter so it would be easier to see what I was highlighting, and I bought a cute notebook that I would use strictly for studying. Being able to color code different things made it easier, organized, and more fun for me because I only used those materials for studying.
It all might seem like minuscule changes from what you're doing now, but it worked wonders for me :) I hope this helps!!
Abby K.
02/29/20
Molly B.
Hey, I am just popping in here to give more advice that I use since I had the same problems. I like to set timers on my phone. So I will tell myself like, okay, if we can work for 15 minutes then you can take a break/do another subject/ move locations/ etc. And then, during those 15 minutes, only have the thing you are working on in front of you and either you will work on it, or you will become so bored just staring at something that you will want to work on it because its the only thing there. The other piece of advice I have is to break any assignment you have down to smaller sections and make a plan for each section. (ex. If you have to read a textbook and it is 4 sections, only do one section at a time). And then, reward yourself in some small way after you have done something positive. It doesn't have to be expensive or take time, it can literally be one m&m that you eat after you finish a section, but that tells your brain, we did something good, we should keep doing that. Anyways, I hope some of this helps! Good Luck!03/01/20
Julie S.
Sara, thank you so much for the wonderful advice! I am glad to know someone had a similar experience. I will definitely try out everything you mentioned here, including setting small goals, avoid device usage, and pretty notes! I am excited to implement them soon. I hope you have a great day! :)02/28/20