How to avoid annoying distractions while studying

Unfortunately, we’ve all been there. You’re overcome with a sudden wave of motivation and you tell yourself that this is the day when you’re going to start studying properly. 5 minutes later, and you’ve just started watching a movie, scrolling through instagram, or daydreaming.

Find the problem

The first thing you should do is identify what’s distracting you – your phone, loud noises, other people, or yourself. If you’re not sure, then try this method. Start a study session, and note down every time you get distracted and the source of the distraction. Then, try some of these tips to help you avoid those distractions!

Avoiding phone distractions

If you think your phone is a bigger issue and not just a distraction, check out this post on managing screentime! One of the best things you can do is to put your phone in another room, making it more difficult to access. As well as this, turn your phone on silent and do not disturb so that you won’t get annoying notifications! Finally, you can download apps like Focus Plant that reward you for not using your phone.

Avoiding noise distractions

Loud noises can be super annoying when you’re trying to work. If possible, try studying in a quiet space, like a library or your desk. However, you might not always be able to do that. You can instead buy noise-cancelling headphones or earbuds to prevent getting distracted by noise. If that’s outside of your budget, then you can play music on your headphones to drown out the distracting noises.

Avoiding distracting people

People are some of the most annoying and irritating distractions, but they’re also some of the easiest to avoid. Try studying in a private and secluded area. If you can’t do that, then let your friends, or the people around you, know that you’re studying and you don’t want to be distracted by them.

Avoiding internal distractions

It’s possible that you might be distracting yourself! A lack of motivation can lead your brain to focus less on the task at hand – try make studying more fun to motivate yourself to study. As well as this, anxiety and stress from exams might be muddying your brain. Remember to take care of yourself and prioritise your mental health over exam results!