Does the thought of beginning an assignment ever feel daunting? Maybe even terrifying? It does for me at times. Once I get in the groove though, those overwhelming, anxiety-inducing feelings begin to dwindle, and I feel so much better. In fact, it gets to the point where I have written the introductory paragraph of an essay worth half of my grade, which is a start, but certainly not close to complete, when I decide I no longer need to stress about the assignment and can afford to take a break. And then, of course, I fall victim to the never-ending stream of videos on my Instagram feed, and no longer have any motivation to complete my assignment.
But we all need breaks. So here is how I have tried to break the habit of taking a never-ending break from studying or writing, while still giving my brain the respite it deserves.
- Hide your phone. Literally hide it in your room like you are hiding Easter eggs for an egg hunt. If it’s out of sight, it’s generally out of mind. Also, while it isn’t the best study spot, if you end up doing your work from your cozy bed or comfy couch, are you really going to get up just to grab your phone? Trust me, you might the first few times you test out this method, but eventually, it won’t seem worth it. You will realize how much work you can actually complete within an hour, and suddenly, doom scrolling doesn’t feel as good as it once did. And if there’s an emergency, most of us have access to social media or text messages from our laptops, so we can reach out to others if we absolutely need to without our phones.
- If you are going to abandon your study spot, give yourself no more than five minutes. We all get hungry or need to stretch our legs after studying or working for prolonged periods of time, even after an hour. But allowing a break to last more than five minutes, especially if you are in a time crunch, is a recipe for disaster (sorry, but it’s true). You may think you can push the five minutes into ten minutes and still pick up where you left off. And, if you can, then you have much greater willpower than I do. But if you can’t, then ten minutes will turn into twenty, and then thirty, until you have wasted an hour. I say wasted because you are still stressing over your assignment, so you aren’t actually enjoying your break. Five minutes allows your brain to decompress and then jump back into work.
- I know, staying off of social media is hard, especially when stressed. It’s a bad habit, and we all know how easy it is to shut our brains off and doom scroll instead of getting to work. So, if you absolutely need a social media break, take no more than five minutes and only go on Pinterest. Yes, I am serious. Pinterest is not as overstimulating and noisy as Instagram or Tik Tok, so taking a break there won’t make it as difficult to return to your work. However, whatever you do, do not take your phone out. Only log in on your computer to avoid the temptation of pressing the Instagram or Tik Tok button on your phone. Sure, you can still log into all of these accounts on your computer, but you certainly have to think about it more than you do when robotically clicking on an app.
These tips may seem a bit extreme and ridiculous, but breaking unhealthy habits and forming healthy ones will always feel difficult. The most important thing to remember is to give yourself grace. I still reach for my phone while studying, but I am slowly getting better at staying focused for longer periods of time. Finding study habits that work for you certainly takes effort. However, taking strides one day at a time will get you into a study routine that is the perfect fit for you!