How To Study After Wasting Time

Hey there, how’s that procrastination going? How much study have you done today?

Or in other words…

I am making good on a promise I made to my friends earlier today that I would summarise my daily struggle to study for finals.  Here goes.

I had already lost half my morning thanks to staying up late playing a Risk-esque game. When I woke up, I was amazed I could study. I started flipping through my lecture notes, scanning the pages trying to decipher the microprint powerpoint slides. I even got two pages of answers down.

And then the inevitable.

It starts innocently enough.

I need a break, I’m just going to check my emails. 5 minutes gone. I might scroll through my newsfeed for a bit too. Hey, that looks interesting! 10 minutes gone.

Then you start justifying your wasted time.

You know what? I’ve already wasted 10 minutes, I’ll just relax another 15 minutes until 10 and then I’ll continue.

Speaking from personal experience, it really takes one poor decision per day to ruin your plans whether it be exercise, study or other commitments. How many times have you made plans for your day only for them to fail? I end up playing 3 games at the same time.

At the end of 3 hours of gaming, I’m tired, depressed and pissed off.

It’s only then I convert all those negative feelings into motivation and action.

I eat lunch, pack my bags and leave early for the library before my student arrives. When it comes to study, the library and its silence is your best friend. Airplane mode is necessary and a malfunctioning free WiFi system is also highly recommended. By minimising my distractions, I could then focus completely on study, putting in two to three solid hours.

Of course, if I studied properly in the first place, none of this would have happened. But willpower is like a muscle; the more you use it to resist temptation, the stronger it gets.

That’s my goal. What’s yours?