Going to community college is your chance to study better. Aside from the super-secret, awesome, helpful methods we share to become a top student at community college, one of the best ways to study better is simply by eliminating the distractions.
And if you don't have the will power to do it all by yourself, I have included some tools to help you along with way!
Minimizing Online Distractions When Doing Schoolwork
One of the best things about the internet is the ability to get information and almost everything you need right online. That is also one of the worst things about it too, especially if you are trying to study or research that 25-page paper that is most likely due tomorrow.
(It can happen when attending community college)
While going to community college, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube cat videos and your online shoe-shopping obsession can easily thwart your scholarly efforts. There are some ways to minimize these distractions and keep you on track but they will all require some effort on your part, just like anything in this life.
Utilize Internet Site-Blocking Tools
If you cannot muster the willpower to stop checking your wall or your ex-boyfriend’s long enough to get some actual work done, there are sites that will allow you to create a self-imposed hiatus from time-sucking websites, for an amount of time designated by you.
If you are a Mac User going to community college for 2 years, try Self-Control. Unless you know some good site blockers, please let me know in the comments!
Firefox has an add-on called LeechBlock which allows you to group different sites into up to six different sets and allows you to set use-parameters for each set. For example, you can block chosen sites from being used for a certain time or you can intiate a block after spending a certain amount of time on them.
Isolate Active Window on Desktop
If you need to be focusing on one particular website, you can install software that allows you to isolate the active window you want to focus on while blacking out everything else on the desktop. One program for Windows is Dropcloth while one for Mac is Isolator. Clutter Cloak can even take things one step further by blacking out everything except one subsection of a website.
This is probably most helpful for the students taking community college online classes.
Set Designated Times to Check Email
Email is one of the biggest online distractions…we may compulsively check it even if we are not waiting for anything important in particular. Quick peeks may not seem like a big time waster but anything we do to distract ourselves from the task at hand is going to add up to significantly drawing it out since it can take a bit to get us back to focus again each time.
Setting designated times to check email will help keep you focused and will lead to more efficient use of your time in general. It would be best to do this during your less productive times during your community college education so you can focus on the important stuff when you are at your best.
Write it Down
You always hear about how writing things down helps you stay focused when going to community college.
It may seem so obvious or simple you just dismiss it without ever actually trying it.
I have discovered in my journey that the simplest things are the most effective and if we actually give them a fair shot, they can make a significant difference - especially at popular community college like Austin Community College (click the link to get five killer steps for staying on track at community college).
By writing down what you need to get done and by when, you would be amazed at the increased focus you get simply from putting your intentions on a piece of paper, making them concrete and real. If you want to go to community college to study from 7 to 8:30, write it down.
If you have yet to try this oft-recommended time management tool, I heartily suggest you get to it.
More Information About Going To Community College
After reading this post, you're probably someone who cares about doing well at community college.
Learn how you can transfer to Ivy League universities by going to community college.
Seriously, you should check it out by clicking here.
About The Author
Kelli Cooper is a freelance writer who enjoys giving tips on how to use time more effectively so you can find greater succcess in your personal and professoinal life. Once you have earned a well-deserved breakd, try the xbmc dowload for a high-quality media player.
