How to Prepare a Distraction-Free Study Environment

It can be really tough to prepare yourself for your finals and exams when there are just so many things that keep your mind otherwise engaged. This is why it’s so important to create a distraction-free study environment at home, that will allow you to concentrate on your subjects and give your best. Some students know how to zone out and focus on their studies regardless of their surroundings, but if you notice that you’re easily distracted, the following tips are definitely for you.

Clean up your room

This may seem like a cliché tip to start with, but the fact of the matter is that the cluttered and messy environment puts mental pressure on you, which can seriously prevent you from concentrating on your studies. Therefore, before doing anything else, it’s essential that you tidy up your room as much as possible. If you can, try to declutter things that you don’t use and/or like to make this process easier for you. Once you’re done with cleaning up and organizing your room, you can proceed to the next steps.

Organize your desk

While clean and tidy room usually plays a big part in creating a distraction-free study environment, don’t ignore the state of your desk either. After all, this is where you’ll be doing the studying. In that respect, your desk has to be properly organized, with all the necessary study material easily available for you to use. If necessary, use some pillows/cushions to create better support and more comfort for your chair. Of course, it’s important to add your own personal touch to the desk area, but don’t go overboard. Too many trinkets, photos and details can draw your attention away from studying more than you’d like.

Limit social media distractions

Most of the students nowadays will have to use their PC/laptop in order to cover all of the subjects completely. But, the Internet is another place where distractions lurk from. As you probably already know, it’s really hard to focus on your studies when your friends are online or there’s always a new meme or pet video to distract you. Therefore, make sure to log out of all social media accounts you have – not just on your computer but your phone as well. Actually, mute your phone completely if possible. By doing this, you’ll literally create more room for your willpower and concentration to win over the urge to spend endless and useless hours on social media.

Know your notes

Make sure that you have all your notes ready before actively starting to study. That way, you won’t waste time or succumb to distractions by looking for what you need. Of course, there obviously has to be a moment when you’ll actually search for the notes and gather them all prior to studying, but once you do that don’t let the same process repeat over and over again. Do your best to keep your informative WACE study notes as well as other important material in one place so that you can easily continue where you left off. What’s more, don’t hesitate to take your own notes as you study, especially if you’re using online materials and sources. Writing down your notes will help you memorize and focus on your work more.

Choose the sounds you like

Some students have to study in complete silence while others find music really helpful in boosting their concentration. It’s important to assess what group you belong to. If you find that any type of sound and noise bothers you, you may want to get some noise-cancelling earplugs for your study sessions to minimize the distractions this way. On the other hand, if you find music useful, pinpoint what kind of music works the best for your focus. It may as well be your favorite musician but it may also be a playlist of soothing, classical and concentration tunes that are readily available online.

For those of you who find studying at home troublesome and concentration-breaking, no matter how hard you try to create a distraction-free environment, the best choice to go with is the library. Just remember to bring all the necessary material and stationery with you so that you don’t stress yourself over forgetting something or breaking your focus because you need to borrow a pen.