How Minimalism Can Help You Study

 

Minimalism is one of those recent pop words that seems to be coming up more and more. But what exactly is minimalism? Minimalism is intentionally living with only the things that you absolutely need. Think of the term “less is more.” This is one of the key teachings of minimalism. But minimalism is not only applicable to your environment fact living a minimalist lifestyle can have a great positive impact on your study habits and academics.  

Declutter Your Space, Declutter Your Mind  

One of the key principles of minimalism is decluttering the space around you. It is so easy to gather up items in your home that are often unused or no longer useable. Think of old notes you forgot to throw away or pens that are no longer useable. If there is no reason to keep an item, then simply no longer keep it. This decluttering process is key to clearing your mind. Many studies have proven that your physical environment has a direct impact on how effectively you learn and absorb new information. Therefore, by having an organized, clean space you will be able to focus much better. 

Clean Out Your Phone 

Now that your physical space is clean, it is time to do the same with your phone. This little device is so accessible and fun to use that it's easy to quickly collect unneeded apps. These apps can serve as distractions from studying, such as games or social media platforms. The good thing is that it is easy to delete them from your phone and your app. Give the axe to all of your phone games. If that is too difficult, keep your favorite but set strict rules with yourself about time spent on it. Next is social media. While social media is great in many regards, it can affect your self-image, sleep and especially your focus while studying. Try to delete platforms you do not use as much anymore or will make a goal of not using anymore. If you want to catch up on TikTok, try setting a timer so you don’t get lost in the endless scrolling.  

Minimize Your Schedule, Maximize Your Studying  

Now that you have minimized your physical and online environment, it is time to start cultivating a minimalist mindset for the rest of your life. This might seem like an overwhelming task, but it will help you maximize your time available to study. Start by making a weekly schedule. After creating this, you can analyze what is on it and how that is adding to your life. This is to help set priorities and boundaries in your life. Your education and studying should always be a priority, especially if you have an exam coming up, but it is easy to let that fall in the wayside. By creating set study times in your weekly schedule, it will become much easier to study and have peace of mind that you should not be doing another task.

 

Final Thoughts 

A cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind. Adopting minimalism will help you prepare better for your next exam, as well as help you overall to live a simpler, more fulfilled life. If you are in need of proctoring services, check out Ashton Testing Services. 

How to Stay Focused

In today’s fast-moving world of technology and entertainment, it can be hard to know what to do first and stay on task when you have things to get done. When you need to start studying for a test or get some work done, more often than not you are sitting at home with no accountability. This means no teachers watching over your shoulder, making sure you aren’t watching viral videos or working on your online shopping cart. Staying focused can seem impossible sometimes with so many options of distraction around us. On top of that, these distractions also contribute to a decrease in our sleep schedules and affect our daily routines overall. These tips will be helpful when you are studying for your next proctored exam. Learning how to stay focused is a life-long habit that will benefit you overall. 

Factors Affecting Our Attentiveness 

A common cause of distraction is our constant use of technology and being online. Whether we are staring at our computer screens, iPads, televisions or phones, there is rarely a moment when we truly disconnect. The constant social media updates, notifications going off, TikTok and Instagram reels, or emails to check can accumulate to a lot of daily screen time. Go check your own screen time in your phone settings right now, you might be shocked to see a number higher than you would expect. Besides online distractions, if you are trying to study at home then you have unlimited access to the kitchen for snack breaks, friendly pets to play with, or even kids running around the house. We decide to do some laundry, or quickly vacuum the rug, the next thing you know it’s been hours since you cracked a book! 

Inadequate amounts of good sleep also affect our ability to concentrate and stay focused during the day. The average adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, anything less than this is linked to poor physical and mental health, and your body does not get enough time to go through the cycles of sleep and proper rest and recovery. Screentime is a huge deterrent when it comes to people getting to bed on time, as we all know about the late-night hours of scrolling paralysis and tv show binges.  

A poor diet and unhealthy food choices are other factors which will affect how you feel mentally. If you are not fueling your body with essential nutrients and energizing whole foods each day, your brain will not be functioning smoothly. Your body needs energy, as well as plenty of water, to keep functioning properly and not crash. That might mean replacing your second and third coffee of the day with herbal tea or water with fruit in it. 

Things to Improve Focus and Concentration 

Eliminate distractions. This starts with limiting technology and social media apps. Try setting up timers or locks on your devices during the day so you aren’t tempted to scroll through. Also, have a separate email account that you use for personal things, and only check your work or school email during your working hours. Silence your notifications so you are not tempted to check on things unrelated to your tasks.  

Have a peaceful designated workstation. It Is also important to make sure that your workspace is free from distraction as well. Wherever you choose to set up this spot, it should be a quiet and simple space where you can be alone. It should have adequate lighting, a door to close and be clean and simple. Some people like to listen to white noise or brown noise, which can be a calming tool to help a racing mind zone in on a task.  

Prioritize your sleep and eating. Sleep is one of the most important factors that will improve your concentration levels. This is how your entire body runs, and without adequate sleep, you will not be at peak functioning levels. This goes for healthy eating as well. Having whole, non-processed foods in your day will sustain you and keep your mind sharp. Prioritizing exercise throughout the week is also important for mental health and regulating stress and anxiety levels. Good food and exercise will also make sleeping at night easier. Cut out screen time an hour before bed, and try unwinding with a book, quiet chats with a loved one, or some meditation. Having a bedtime routine every night will help regulate your body to have a normal sleep pattern.  

Schedule your day with a routine. Even if your day isn’t always the same, create your own personal routine that you stick to as best you can every single day. This means waking up at the same time each day, and maybe taking 15 minutes to yourself to journal or have a coffee on the porch. Set allotted times throughout the day to take breaks, which could include eating, a walk around the block, or calling a friend for a quick chat. By scheduling these types of things into your day, you already know that you will be doing them and you will be less tempted to stray from your study session. 

Practice mindfulness and don’t multitask. When we have multiple projects to work on, emails to send, or classes to attend, the urge to multi-task in an attempt to get more done faster is very strong. This is actually making you more stressed and getting less done than if you just worked on one thing at a time. Giving one task your entire attention instead of giving 3 tasks each a little attention will result in more efficient work, fewer mistakes, and much less mental stress and headaches. Take a deep breath and take things one step at a time. There will always be new concepts to learn, and studying is never truly done. Know when to give your complete focus, but also when to log off and take a break. 

Staying focused is something that just about everyone struggles with in their life. When you pinpoint what it is that is hindering your concentration, these tips are an excellent place to start changing your daily habits and routines. These can even be implemented in small steps, and by just choosing one or two things on this list to start including in your life, you might notice a difference not only in your study sessions but also your ability to focus during your next proctored exam at Ashton Testing Services.  

Written by Ashley Fazekas

Why You Shouldn’t Procrastinate Studying for Your Next Exam

We have all been there. You find out ahead of time that you have an exam coming up. Teachers will most likely give at least a week's notice that a test or exam is coming up. If it is a heavily weighed test, such as a final exam, you may know the date when you first start the class. And yet many students will do the one thing that can put their grade in jeopardy, procrastinate. This classic mistake is one that all students make, but only some learn from. So, when should you start studying? Continue reading to find out why you should start thinking about for your next upcoming test now.  

Study a little bit everyday  

Every teacher tells you to do this, and for a reason. Setting aside time every day to go over new material is critically important. This does not have to be a big part of your day, but it is important to follow the same schedule. A good amount of time to start with is an hour every day, which can decrease or increase depending on your individual study needs.  

Make A Study Plan  

Even if your test is not coming up soon, one of the best ways of guaranteeing that A is to start planning now. These study plans can range from figuring out what topics you are still struggling with, thanks to a little bit of everyday studying, to what will be the best way to study for your exam. Will it be flashcards or rewriting your notes? Creating a study plan ahead of time will help alleviate stress and allow you to focus on what is important.  

You can take study breaks  

Cramming for an exam the night before is perhaps one of the worst things a student can do. Not only will you have to rush through the material, but you will not be able to get a good night's sleep before your exam. Studies have shown that getting 8 hours of sleep a night improves your academic performance and sleep deprived students have a lower GPA. Also studying ahead of time will allow for study breaks, and even study naps! Sleeping right after studying has also been shown to improve memory retention. 

 

You can form a study group or a time to study with other students  

One of the best ways to study can be reviewing with others. By starting to plan early for your next exam, you can have time to reach out to other students and make a study group. This can allow you to get help on concepts from different people and you can help solidify your own knowledge by teaching others the material you know. Also, it limits studying procrastination by having set times for the group to get together and study. Plus, it is a terrific way to make friends! 

No Temptation to Cheat 

It is a sad fact that students are more likely to cheat or plagiarize if they have low expectations of success due to perceived lack of ability or test anxiety. But by studying ahead of time and being prepared, the thought of cheating will not even come to your mind. As well, many exams are now using proctoring services that protect against cheating and maintain academic integrity and validity. If you need proctoring services, check out Ashton Testing Services. 

Written by Maria Veras