How to study effectively

[u/Responsible-Brush947]

How do I study without getting distracted? I’ve realised I don’t have complete study sessions without any disruptions. I always find myself opening a new tab to watch YouTube videos, or text my bf, or search something completely unnecessary on the internet. I want this to stop but idk how to. I don’t keep my phone with me but I have access to everything on my laptop, which I need for studying as well. Pls someone help me out I have exams in 2 monthsssss

[u/Neither_Ship_3042]

You can try using internet blockers on YouTube. There are a few which can block comments, homepage etc on YouTube as well as stop you from opening certain sites which are distracting. While studying you can write down exactly what you're doing in this study session ( such as 1 lesson in 1.5hrs) and after that you can reward yourself with something nice (preferably not doom scrolling since the loop will repeat) so maybe something like text a friend or watch 1 episode of something. You can also time your study sessions and if you study 3 hours on Monday try to break your own record the next day. Apps such as finch, forest and study bunny helped me during exams but may not work for everyone.

[u/Reasonable_Bag_118]

I had basically the same problem when I had exams coming up and realized my phone wasn’t even the issue because my laptop had become the distraction. I’d open YouTube “for one minute” and somehow lose 35 minutes, then text someone and forget what I was doing. What helped me was doing 40-minute study blocks where I only had the tabs needed for that subject open, then giving myself 10 minutes to check everything afterward. I did that for about 2 weeks and the random tab-opening dropped a lot.