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Put that cell phone down when you pick those textbooks up... Wanna know why?
1. It's Too Hard To Stay Focused
Yes. I know you like to think of
yourself as the kung fu master of focused studying but I can assure
you everyone does. Everyone thinks that they're somehow above the
mild urge to pick up their cell phone whenever they get a tad bit
bored. Even if you have the discipline not to pick up the phone, the
little urge in the back of your head will still distract you from
studying.
2. If You Get A Call...
If you get a phone call while studying,
whether you like it or not, you're going to get distracted. If you
don't answer it then your brain will suddenly start asking questions
like, “Who was that?” or “Is it important?'' That alone is a
distraction but it goes farther. Naturally, you're going to check who
called. Then if it's something you think might be important you'll
check your voicemail. Your brain has officially given up on studying
mode. Whenever you let your brain leave studying, you make it harder
to get back into it.
That is all, assuming you don't answer
it after the second ring like most people.
3. If You Get A Text...
Yea... I know studying seems boring. It
can be much more entertaining to text a few friends while you're
trying to remember the information. More entertainment isn't the
reason you should be studying though. If you want entertainment there
are better ways. The little distraction every couple minutes does
matter. Focus on studying or don't study at all.
4. Entertainment
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/64141731@N00/ |
Imagine you're sitting at a table with
a steak dinner on one side, and a meal you absolutely hate on the
other side. Studying is that meal you hate. When you put a steak
dinner next to it (like your amazingly fun phone) you're going to
need all kinds of discipline just to sit on the correct side of the
table.
Studying with a phone next to you just
makes studying more difficult. When you're in the habit of doing it,
you're bound to learn to hate the process of studying because your
brain always has the ability to compare it to using your phone.
Imagine you were hopelessly trapped in a room with nothing to do but
study or rot away for weeks at a time. Studying won't look so bad
when it's the only option. The more you make it feel like your best
option, the better you're going to do with it.
5. Your Friends Deserve All Of You
I can imagine that it (might) be
possible to study effectively while talking to a friend. That being
said, you won't be talking to the friend effectively. Studying
requires serious focus. If you're doing it right then your friend is
going to feel insulted by how little attention you're giving them. Do
your friends feel insulted while you're studying and texting with
them at the same time? If not then you're not studying right.
NO! I'm not saying you should make your
friends feel insulted. I'm saying you should focus on one or the
other. When you study, you should give studying the respect it
deserves. When you're talking with friends, you should give them the
respect they deserve.
6. Emergencies Don't Really Happen (Much)
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| https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/ |
This does not apply for everyone but do
not go assuming it doesn't apply for you. The vast majority of people
don't have emergencies that they need to be informed about
immediately. If you're a parent, a doctor, or a superhero, you may
have emergencies. Other than those, and similar categories, you
probably don't need to be informed immediately.
99.9% of the time you're not going to
have any important emergency while studying. Carrying your phone with
you every time you study is 99.9% of the time, a pointless
distraction. It will always have brain space whether you
intentionally think about it or not. It's better to accept that the
world will be waiting for you in 15-20 minutes when you're done
studying.
7. Cell Phones Make Terrible Calculators
Yes. The calculator excuse has been
done plenty of times before. Some students believe their lack of a
calculator is a good reason to carry their phone. Okay... I
understand that you need a calculator. If you have no other option
then maybe you should leave your phone next to you but really...
The buttons are usually crap. The
calculator rarely has all the features you need at easy access.
They're painfully slow. They can easily become a distraction. Spend
the 5 bucks to get a real calculator. If you're not willing or able
to do that then you have bigger problems than your grades.
8. Blankie Disease
The resistance people have to leaving
their phone ten feet away from themselves while studying is insane.
No matter how many rational explanations I try, people always want to
hold onto them for some other strange reason. I get the impression
it's similar to the attachment a child has to their blankie...
Grow up. You can live without your
phone for 20 minutes of your life. The world will keep on spinning.
You've lived without it before (probably) and you can last a little
while without it.
9. Smart Phones Make You Dumb
The more information your phone holds.
The less your brain needs to hold. Remember that.
There was a time when people actually
remembered the phone numbers to their friends. They didn't have
contact lists to help them out. Today more and more information is
getting stored. For most applications, that's great but it comes with
a cost. The more you rely on your phone, the less you rely on your
brain. The less you rely on your brain, the less your brain is
strengthening over time.
Does that mean you shouldn't ever use
your phone? Hell no. It's way too useful. Getting your memory a
little stronger isn't necessary for most people. The point of me
telling you this is just for you to be more aware of it. Relying on a
phone has negatives as well.
I have this creeping feeling that 9 out
of 10 students are going to pick up their phone after reading this. I
figure it's kind of like yawning. It's a little bit contagious. That
1 out of 10 students that learn to control themselves are going to be
the ones capable of making the most out of their study time. Try to
be one of those ones.
Do you want to learn to study faster
than ever? Be sure to follow this blog.
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