How Is That Possible: Distractions from Studying Can Be Good for You, PART 2
Cool News
Giving in to distractions from studying is in fact just a form of procrastination as any other. Instead of doing what you should do (studying), you do all kind of other things, from looking out the window at every five minutes or so to checking your email, sending messages, chatting, browsing the web or playing games.
The good news however is the fact that distractions, just like any other form of procrastination, can be used to your benefit. How to do that? First of all by understanding why you get distracted in the first place and then by choosing the good distractions over the bad ones.
Why Do You Get Distracted?
The most common view is that distractions from studying simply happen because something catches your eye, an expected noise breaks your concentration or a sudden urge to check your email overpowers you.
However, unless your study environment is entirely unsuited for studying (and then you should just change it), such distractions are in fact caused by either a need to take a break or the very simple fact that what you have to do is rather difficult and not entirely enjoyable. Both those underlying reasons for distraction can be used to your advantage, once you take the time to understand which one applies.
If you get distracted simply because the task is difficult or you don’t find it enjoyable at all, there are a few solutions to try: break down the task into several smaller, more manageable parts; set yourself a treat for when you actually do the task (or each of the parts); finally, start working on something even less enjoyable (you will be surprised how compelled you might be to return to studying).
If, however, it’s not the difficulty of the task that puts you off, but you simply need a break, the best thing to do is to take one, of clearly defined duration. Moreover, by choosing the right activity to do during this break, you can effectively transform the distraction into one that can make you smarter or otherwise develop your knowledge and skills. It’s all about choosing the good distractions over the bad ones.
Good Distractions
Good distractions are those that actually help you achieve something important. Similarly, bad distractions are those that do not result in any significant achievement. It is worth noting that both types of distractions can be enjoyable: it’s just the final achievement (or the lack of it), which makes the difference, not the fun involved. Staring out the window, checking your email repeatedly, playing Farmville on Facebook or even washing the dishes are bad distractions (unless the dishes were really an extremely pressing problem).
By contrast, good distractions include for instance working seriously on your pet project, studying for a different subject that you enjoy more or even spending a reasonable amount of time developing your next empire in a strategy game, solving the puzzles to advance to the next level in a brain game, or devising and applying the winning strategy together with your team in an FPS game.
What all the above good distractions have in common is that they offer you in fact quite a lot for your time. Playing games can help you develop skills such as problem-solving, decision-making and teamwork. Studying for a different subject is equally important for your future career, even if you do it as a distraction from a different topic of study that you don’t really like.
Working seriously, even if it is on a pet project, is likely to reward you with a lot of useful experience and new skills that you learn without even noticing. Choosing such rewarding distractions can thus help you in fact in the long term through the additional achievements that they offer. So get distracted in a good way, but don’t forget to still study, even if you have to do it as a distraction from something that you feel even less inclined to do.
Happy New Year, guys! be sure to visit us in 2012 – we’ve prepared some great stuff for you!
