It’s no secret that college can be a distracting place in terms of productivity, with friends, fun, and frolics a feature of everyday life. You might indulge in extra-curricular pursuits, invest in a sports team, or just love socializing at parties in the evening, but you’ll always have in the back of your mind the nagging feeling that you should be getting some work done. The maxim ‘work hard, play hard’ is the best to adopt while at college, and this article focuses on the first half of that – how to stay focused on the work at hand in college.
Make a Timetable
Making a timetable will definitely help you stay focused at college. This doesn’t need to be smart and professional, but it should detail all your lessons throughout the week and built around them you should add some hours of library time, or time spent in a quiet place working, reading or writing. Making a study plan schedule will help establish a fundamental level of discipline in what you’re doing and will also help to familiarize yourself with just how much work you’re getting done every week.
Study with a Friend
Not all friends make good study mates, but all study mates make good friends. Find someone on your course who you can trust to drag you in on a frosty morning may be a good idea. You can ask questions and discuss ideas with them, and you will find yourself far more motivated to focus on the intricacies of your work. As a by-product, this may result in making more friends who are hopefully as willing to work hard and play hard as you are.
Get Motivational
Sometimes a morning in bed seems a good idea, and before you realize it was a bad idea, it’s 5pm, and the sun’s going down. Most students have been in this predicament, and what may help at this time is some motivation in the form of art or music. Decorate your college room with a personalized touch with the help of a motivational poster maker that will reference some images and words you find particularly powerful, or perhaps have a song to put on to get you pumped to go and do some work. Even try look up study strategies to better help you stay focused at college. But first things first just make sure you get out of bed and make it to class or you will struggle to stay focused at college.
Set Micro-Goals
It’s all very well setting yourself the ambition of scoring the highest grades once you’ve finished college, but sometimes setting a far-off goal can mean that you’ll struggle to find motivation when you’re near the start of your course. Instead, set smaller and immediately achievable goals, such as reading certain texts or securing good grades in essays. In this way, you’ll progress towards your bigger goal while remaining focused on the tasks at hand.
Go Easy on Yourself
Stress levels can be high at college, and many students become particularly anxious or nervous around exam season or deadline day. As far as possible, try and mix fun and relaxation with friends with your work so that you never lose sight of the good times in life – although; being kind to yourself at college also means not leaving an essay until the night before!
College is a moment in time where you find a balance of enthusiastic fun, and motivated, focused work, and with some thought and organization, you can help to make sure your college days are some of the most memorable and productive days of your life.