Does your student have trouble focusing on their nightly homework assignments? Here’s how to create a distraction-free study room!
1. Use only necessary devices.
In today’s day and age, the smartphone is without a doubt the biggest distractor – both inside the classroom and at home. The problem has gotten so bad that schools all over the country have started implementing special cell pouches that effectively lock a student out of their phone until the end of the school day.
Phones are a serious distraction, and unfortunately “putting it on vibrate” isn’t going to cut it. Put simply: unless your phone is specifically required for an assignment (which is highly unusual), it shouldn’t be in your study room.
We understand that laptops and tablets are essential tools in modern education, but students should still make an effort to avoid casual browsing during homework time. We recommend creating separate user profiles to keep everything organized – click here for our guide on priority management tools!
The “classic” distractors should not be forgotten, either. This includes background television, video games, and loud phone conversations!
2. Background noise isn’t always bad.
People will often assume the “ideal” study space is a perfectly quiet room, but this isn’t always the case. Everyone’s preferences are different! While some students do enjoy a quiet work environment, others find certain types of background noise actually improve their focus.
For music lovers, we recommend sticking to instrumental pieces (lyrics can be distracting). It has long been established that listening to classical music is highly beneficial while studying, but any “relaxing” instrumental music is fine. Jazz and lo-fi are particularly popular with students right now!
- Tutor Doctor Pro Tip: If you find music is too distracting but a quiet room is too sterile, we’ve got the perfect solution: white noise! White noise is essentially a soothing background tone that helps us to relax and improve our focus. These tones can range from a gentle static to pattering rainfall, or simply just a fan blowing. Dedicated white noise machines are a great option, provide a variety of background tones, and are fairly inexpensive from most online retailers!
3. Stay hydrated and bring snacks.
To avoid interrupting your study session, we encourage students to prepare snacks ahead of time. A water bottle and a small nutritious snack (fruit, veggies, yogurt, etc) is our preferred combination! Students should try to avoid greasy “junk” foods and sugary snacks (especially sodas), as these items will not provide a source of lasting energy.
Here’s a list of great tips to ensure that our bodies – and brains – are getting proper nutrition!
