Stop Procrastinating and Get in the Zone!!

In our February blog we look how to use the best of your time with the work in front of you…

Procrastination ‘The action of delaying or postponing something.’

Procrastinating is one of the common words used in line with studying as it seems we love to do just about anything to avoid the task at hand. This can affect school marks which in turn, can lead to suffering exam results. The worst part about procrastination is the fact that we never procrastinate in favour of something equally or even slightly productive. We won’t be subsituting our studying tasks for another productive task, it is usually just browsing our phones or ending up 10 pages deep on wikipedia, something we would never do if we weren’t trying to avoid doing something else!

We tend to kick ourselves upon realising how much time we have just wasted doing nothing, but it is never so simple as to just do it already.

Here, I’ve compiled a few tips to help you to stop time wasting and to get in the zone in order to make your time more productive. If you’re having one-to-one tutoring sessions, this advice will make sure you are 100% present in the class to make the most of your classes so you don’t wander off in a daydream.

Be Prepared

Before sitting down to start your session whether alone or with a tutor, make sure you have everything you need. This way you won’t have to get up five minutes in to grab a pencil sharperner, which could mean your mind drifts off to other things. If you’re going down to the local library, remember to double check you have everything. Don’t give yourself an excuse to finish up early and head home.

Set Yourself a Time with Breaks

Nowadays with all the distractions of mobile phones and other devices, the average attention span has drastically decreased. Learn when you need to take breaks, for example, a planned two minute break every 30 minutes may help you to be more proactive during each of the 30 minutes. Set yourself a time and most importantly, stick to it.

Talk about your Goals

Don’t be shy to tell other people about your goals. Tell your tutor at Cardiff and Vale Tutors what you want to get out of the class or what your aims are before the next week. The more people you tell, the more determined you will be to complete these aims.

Stop finding excuses

Decide when you will study and don’t let excuses get in the way. There will never be a perfect time to study and if you keep allowing yourself to use this as an excuse, you’ll never get anywhere.

Block off distractions

Put your phone away and don’t allow yourself to look at it until after you have finished your study session. Use a watch to keep track of time, not your phone! Do not allow yourself to open up that extra tab on your laptop to check out the newest cute dog video.  This is for your free time.

Stop procrastinating and do it now !!

 

Holly Patterson is a Cardiff & Vale Tutor and Blog Writer.

 

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