{"id":54,"date":"2016-07-09T13:16:37","date_gmt":"2016-07-09T13:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.europace.org\/?p=54"},"modified":"2016-07-09T13:16:37","modified_gmt":"2016-07-09T13:16:37","slug":"5-tips-for-dealing-with-distractions-and-procrastination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/5-tips-for-dealing-with-distractions-and-procrastination\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips for Dealing with Distractions and Procrastination"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>Distractions and procrastination happen to everyone. A text message, email or phone call can derail a study session just as easily as checking the latest sports scores can when you\u2019re trying to study.<\/p>\n<p>And distractions can be a child crying, having to prepare food or even walk the dog that won\u2019t stop whining.<\/p>\n<p>When trying to manage your time, it\u2019s important to know how to deal with any and all distractions that occur. Five key methods for overcoming distractions when studying are:<\/p>\n<h3>1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Set Goals<\/h3>\n<p>You want to set goals for each study session. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.projectsmart.co.uk\/smart-goals.php\">Realistic goals<\/a> should be set that can be accomplished, and don\u2019t include reading 20 chapters in one sitting. Set goals, such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Read chapter 1<\/li>\n<li>Revise notes<\/li>\n<li>Make coffee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you know you\u2019ll have to do something, plan it into your schedule and goals to make it more fluid.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-56\" src=\"http:\/\/www.europace.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Smart-Goals-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"Basic RGB\" width=\"450\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Smart-Goals-300x214.jpg 300w, http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Smart-Goals-400x284.jpg 400w, http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Smart-Goals.jpg 639w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Minimize Interruptions<\/h3>\n<p>Life happens, and the best you can do is try to minimize interruptions. This can be done in a variety of ways:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Study when the kids are asleep<\/li>\n<li>Put your phone on vibrate<\/li>\n<li>Shut off your email<\/li>\n<li>Disconnect<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you just have one hour of no interruptions, you\u2019ll be shocked by how much you\u2019ll be able to achieve.<\/p>\n<h3>3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Keep the Workload Realistic<\/h3>\n<p>If you need to pass a course, the last thing you want to do is take on a workload that is unrealistic. This means keeping classes to a minimum and not taking on too many personal responsibilities, too.<\/p>\n<p>If someone asks you to babysit and you know you won\u2019t be able to study as a result, politely decline.<\/p>\n<p>Workloads that are too daunting lead to procrastination, which ultimately reduce <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oxford-royale.co.uk\/articles\/student-productivity-tips.html\">productivity<\/a>, waste time and result in poor quality.<\/p>\n<h3>4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Try to Avoid Perfection<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to let perfection get in the way of your ultimate goal. People that have a tendency to redo a project 20 times will find that they\u2019re not making the best use of their time. You\u2019re not painting the Sistine chapel, so put in the effort, but don\u2019t let your perfectionist personality add stress and wasted hours to your life.<\/p>\n<h3>5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Make Short-term Deadlines with Rewards<\/h3>\n<p>Short-term deadlines allow you to take a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Micromanagement\">micromanagement<\/a> approach to your learning. With short-term deadlines, you\u2019ll be able to quickly tackle any course and assignment with satisfaction of reaching your goals along the way.<\/p>\n<p>Another trick is to reward yourself, too.<\/p>\n<p>Life isn\u2019t all about your assignments, so after a big midterm, treat yourself to a night out with friends at the pub. Sometimes, you need a few hours to unwind and enjoy life, too.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Text&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;] Distractions and procrastination happen to everyone. A text message, email or phone call can derail a study session just as easily as checking the latest sports scores can when you\u2019re trying to study. And distractions can be a child crying, having to prepare food or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions\/57"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/europace.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}