The Four Horsemen of Distraction

The Four Horsemen of Distraction

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What actually distracts college students most often? Today we are going to explore the root causes of distractions that keep you from giving your full attention to your studies.

 

Let’s start with the idea that your mind WILL seek distractions. That does not mean you have weak willpower or that you have an attention deficit of some sort. That just means you are human. Let’s examine the most frequent sources of distractions for students.

 

4. Money

 

College students are often worried about money. You never feel like you have enough. Perhaps you are worried about a scholarship. Perhaps you are worried about paying your phone bill. Perhaps you are worried about paying rent or your car payment.

 

Money worries are like a flash flood – they can overtake you and erode your attention from focusing on the right things. Money problems and how to solve them may even consume you – you might lie awake at night worrying about these issues.

 

Let’s address two scenarios. First, let’s think about a situation where you have a job and you need those hours to pay for important things, but if you work, you won’t have enough time to do your school work. The solution is two-fold: You will need to cut back slightly on work to buy yourself a few hours. At the same time, you need to become more efficient in your studies so you use the time you have very effectively. We will address more techniques for becoming a more effective student in the coming weeks.

 

Second, what if your money problems cannot be solved by you at this time? Perhaps you lack a job or your present job simply does not pay enough to cover your needs. This is the time to reach out to your university for an emergency loan. Most American colleges have mechanisms to help students with emergencies. They offer small grants or short term loans. Look into this—it can really offer you the ability to deal with the situation effectively at another time. I want to give you a stern warning, however. Do not go to one of the payday loan businesses. This is a terrible financial choice and it will not dig you out of a problem, but instead create an even bigger problem later. You are not working full time (probably) and you should not be using such a service. Go to your university or your chaplain’s office for a temporary loan. If that is not available to you, reach out to extended family – your aunts and uncles, an older trusted cousin for a quick loan. You might be surprised at how quickly people will assist you.

 

 

3. People

 

People in your life can be the root of all distractions! Roommates, floormates, co-workers, family, significant others: they all demand time from us. First, if you are in a situation where someone is harassing you, reach out to campus counselors and campus police immediately. If you are resident in a dorm, reach out to the housing office right a way. There are solutions available, and you do not need to deal with this situation alone.

 

For all the rest, if you are facing a real crunch time with your academics, you will have to have some honest communication with the people in your life and explain that you are going to be deliberately ignoring them for a period of time. If you do this during a truly challenging time – the last three weeks of the semester, for example, that’s fine. If you do this routinely, you are just selfish. I assume that does not describe you.

 

The truth is you do not have to give your roommate time. You do not have to give your significant other time. You do not have to give your parents time. You DO need to let people know you are okay. You DO need to briefly check in for safety reasons.

 

Make a plan to check in with people at a point during the day, but let them know you will see them when your responsibilities ease up.

 

Dealing with this issue ahead of time – before there are misunderstandings and hurt feelings—is the mature way of coping.

 

If you still cannot navigate your studies and the people in your life, it is time to reach out to a counselor.

 

2. Promises

 

You made promises, didn’t you? You’d go with your teammates to dinner. You’d help Alex with his paper. You’d talk to Lisa about her interview. You’d call your mom more often.

 

But, you made a promise to YOURSELF, too.

 

The week your paper is due, the last three week of the semester, the days leading up to an important test or presentation: these are the times you have to fulfill the promise to yourself.

 

Remember, the instructions about the oxygen masks on an airplane? Put yours on first before you help someone else put on theirs.

 

You are worth fulfilling this promise to yourself. Do it.

 

1. Guilt

 

You shouldn’t have cut class. You should have started on the paper sooner. You could have read more of the assigned reading. You would have reached out to your TA, if it wasn’t for that other thing that came up.

 

Acknowledge all your woulda’s, shoulda’s, and coulda’s and put them in an imaginary jar. Tighten the lid down, and put that jar on a shelf. There is a time and place to evaluate what habits and choices got you into this academic crunch, but that time is not now. This time is just for getting stuff done. If these continue to haunt you, repeat after me, “You did the best you could, at the time, with the information you had.” Save the post-mortem for AFTER your final exams.

 

It’s go time, people.

 

I’m Rita Thompson. I truly hope you find this helpful. If so, please let me know in the comments.

 

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