In this blog, Anna Barnes offers some tips on how to avoid social media and other potential distractions while studying
Hi everyone, it's me again! Time seems to have flown by since my last blog -- I hope you all enjoyed it. As mentioned in my last piece, I said I would write about what you need to avoid and stop doing while studying, so I hope the following tips help you.
So, say you are ready to put pen to paper but you need to reply to someone on your phone or someone has tagged you in a post on social media so you need to check it. Then you decide to go on all social media accounts like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even do a bit of online shopping. This just takes your focus away from studying.
"You need to stop scrolling away and start revising!"
The best thing to do is to put your phone away in a drawer or even in a place that is walking distance away from you, so you are not tempted to grab it. You may need to use your phone to check the time so use it as an alarm and don't make any excuses! You could even take the next step by deactivating all social media accounts while you are studying.
My next tip would be to stop rewriting the study book out line by line. Everyone has a different learning style but personally, I do feel this is a waste of time. I used to do this for a number of years but realised it just doesn't work for me, as I didn't seem to be learning anything even though I thought I was. Now, I like to read a paragraph or section, cover it up and then write it down in my own words. Not only will this help you understand what the author is saying, it will also help with paraphrasing which is an essential skill needed when studying for your DIP or ACII qualification. There is a big jump from the CII exams to the DIP exams, so I would suggest trying this technique out if you haven't done so already.
If you need to memorise specific points for the exam, I would suggest writing these points down on sticky notes which you should look at every now and again.
My last tip would be to avoid taking long breaks. It's up to you how much time you take for your break but I would suggest taking no longer than a 30-minute break for every hour of revision you do. It is also good to vary the break activities you choose to do and keep in mind that you need to return refreshed and
focused.
THREE THINGS TO TAKE AWAY
- SOCIAL MEDIA -- If social media is a distraction, deactivate it for a while
- WASTING TIME -- Stop wasting time rewriting the entire book
- BREAKS -- Avoid taking long breaks
Anna Barnes is compliance & technical services assistant at NMU