In today’s article, I will be answering this question to ensure that you have a distraction-free zone to complete all your tasks.

What Is A Distraction?

A thing that prevents someone from concentrating on something else. – Google

For example, if you are trying to do your math homework while also trying to talk to your friends unnecessarily, it may decrease your productivity and efficiency of that task or it may just take longer to complete the math homework. Everyone gets distracted but it’s about how you deal with it.

Examples Of Distractions:

• Phone 
• Social Media
• Unnecessary Noise 
• People Talking To You
• An Untidy Area
• Negative Thoughts
• Being Hungry
• Being Tired

How To Remove These Distractions:

Phone

If you are not using your phone for your work and you don’t need it while working, put it away.

Try not to place the phone in your work area. Put it in another room, give it to someone else in your family, put it in aeroplane mode or even use an app such as Forest to grow trees while you are studying. These are all pretty good ways to ensure that you are not using your phone while studying.

Social Media

Well let’s say that you need to use your laptop for your homework but you still have access to all your social media in your laptop…what do you do then? In that case, I would say to place an extension on your laptop. Use these at your own risk. With these extensions, you can block certain websites that distract you for a set period of time while you are working so you can’t access them. Problem solved.

Unnecessary Noise

If you are studying in a library, for example, and there are people talking which is distracting you and making it difficult for you to focus, I would suggest trying to block out the unnecessary noise by either playing white noise, listening to non-lyrical music or even moving to another area. If it is someone who you know making the noise, you could simply tell them to quiet down respectfully.

People Talking To You

If you are trying to study and your brother comes into your room and starts distracting you, you could simply try telling them to come back when you are free. Try to maybe have a notice on your door to let your family know when you are studying if needed to prevent them breaking your bubble of concentration. If your friend tries talking to you face-to-face, explain nicely that you are studying and they can come back after a set amount of time.

An Untidy Area

Sometimes, the distraction may lie in where you are studying. If you look at your study space and realise it is untidy before even starting to study, chances are you may feel like procrastinating. Therefore, if needed, spend 5-10 minutes before starting to study to tidy up. Not only does it make you feel put-together, but it may also increase your productivity for your next study sessions.

Negative Thoughts

If you are trying to study while having worries, it may decrease your productivity as the worry may take control of your focus. Instead, try to write down these negative thoughts and write the solutions next to it. If you don’t have a solution, then assign yourself time for when you will deal with that problem, either by thinking about it or talking to someone. This will ensure that you can give your full focus to your work.

Being Hungry

Some people cannot concentrate if they have not had their food. Therefore, in order to solve that problem, you could simply make sure you have proper meals during the days and also make some quick study snacks to have while you are studying. Mind you, I said ‘quick’ which means you can make the study snacks in 5-10 minutes, it should not cut out your studying time to make these.

Being Tired

If you have not had enough sleep the night before, it is more likely you will feel tired and lose focus very easily. Try to get the work done quickly and then have an early night to get the optimum hours of sleep you need. If you are just tired because you have had a long day, take regular breaks in between your study sessions so you have time to rejuvenate yourself.

There were some of the distractions that I could think of. Remember, it is okay to get distracted or even have a low day because it’s part of human nature and you can learn how to deal with it. But just keep working hard and don’t stress.

Comment down below what common distraction do you face. Please check out my other articles relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

If you are new here, my name is Surobi. I am a teenager and student who also is trying her best to create weekly podcasts on ‘The Chat Library’ (available in over 5 podcast platforms), create weekly blog posts on this website and stay updated with 2 Instagram pages (@surobiscribbles and @thechatlibrary). And if I can do it, you can probably do it too.

So here are my tips:

Habit 1: Find out what your true end goal and purpose is

A lot of people live very disorganised lives due to the fact that they don’t know why they are there. You need to find out what you are working towards. For example, instead of making school a place you go to just because ‘it’s required by law’, make it a place you are going to ‘seek knowledge and learn skills for life’. Find your purpose in life, and this doesn’t necessarily only mean your future career.

Habit 2: Write down your general routine

Now, after you have received that boss of motivation and purpose, it is time to look at yourself right now. Be honest to yourself but write down your general routine at the moment, meaning what you do generally on a daily basis.

Habit 3: Figure out your limits

If you realise that your routine is packed with unproductive tasks, it is most likely due to the little devil within you who tries to stop you from achieving things. Everyone has a different devil within and also different problems in life. Try to figure out what is limiting you to be productive.

Habit 4: Try to work on your problems

This may take time but you need to exercise this muscle every day bit by bit. You need to have a positive approach that if you have problems from stress to family problems to being undervalued, you need to solve them.

Habit 5: Get rid of your distractions

If there is anything physically that you can remove from your life quite easily, try to do so. An example of this is your phone so have limited screen time, put it somewhere else when you are working or even hand it to someone else.

Habit 6: Make small adaptable changes/habits into your life

When you are working on these problems, believe strongly that you will solve it and also do it slowly. You can’t expect yourself to completely eliminate your social media in one go if you have been using it for 5 hours daily. Take it slow but try to stay consistent.

Habit 7: Have a planning system

A lot of people do end up procrastinating because they have so many tasks and they don’t know where to start from. Start by writing a brain dump of all the tasks and then prioritise and go from there. You can stay consistent on doing this procedure by having a set planning system, whether it is a bullet journal, academic planner or a digital app.

Habit 8: Set aside time for relaxation and self-care

Relaxation and self-care are needed so when you are incorporating healthy habits into your life, ensure that you also have time in the week where you focus on yourself. This is not always a fixed time but just try to assign times where you can take care of yourself and not tire yourself out.

Habit 9: It’s okay to have a break

Remember that sometimes it is okay to have a break. But do not use your breaks as a reason to procrastinate. What I am saying here is that if you feel burnt out, want to reward yourself for actually achieving something good or if it is spontaneous, then you should have a break. 

Habit 10: Keep accountable with someone else

If you are finding it hard to do these tips, do not worry. Take it slow bt if you need some extra help, ask for help! You can ask for help from a trusted adult who is most likely to be your parents, older siblings or a counsellor. You can change your life for the better.

These were some of the tips that sort of helps me to manage my time well and I hope this helped. Use these tips to your own risk as it is your choice. And remember, that you should never give up because that is just not worth it. 

If you liked this article, you will probably like this one too:

Also, you can click on the clickables above for more about me, my podcast, Instagram pages and this website.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

In this day and age, many young people own phones that they use on a daily basis. This can be really useful but at the same time, it can be very addictive and distracting to your productivity. So how can we turn using the phone into something that will help us to keep productive? This is why in today’s article, I wanted to share some of the cool apps that I use that have really helped me to keep productive this year and will hopefully help you too!

Disclaimer: Please remember that these apps may or may not help you. There may be in-app purchases too so be aware. This is what works on my iPhone so it may be different on your phone. I am also not sponsored for these apps, all opinions are my own.

App #1: Snapseed 

Snapseed is an editing tool where you can edit your pictures really easily. This can increase your productivity levels as you may be spending too long editing your Instagram photos or even trying to find an easily accessible editing software to produce high-quality photos for thumbnails. I use this app sometimes to edit some of my photos and even my sister uses it. It may drastically reduce the time you spend using your phone.

App #2: FreePrints

This also falls under the category of photos. This year, I really enjoyed using this app. If you want to print out your photos in high-quality photographic paper but you don’t want to spend too long running around shops in order to do that, FreePrints may be the solution. You can easily choose photos from your Camera Roll, Google Photos, Google Drive, Instagram and other places and click on your selected photos. You can then print them out for free and only pay for delivery to arrive at your doorstep. I think it’s quick and efficient.

App #3: Socratic

Socratic is an app made for students and it gives student-related searches. If you are a student and you had to research, chances are that you may have struggled as you may not find the right articles that you need. Therefore, Socratic gives the only student-related searches to decrease the amount of time researching so you can get your homework done faster.

App #4: Memrise

If you are looking to learn a new language which could be a New Year’s Resolutions for many, then Memrise could be the solution. This is where they provide courses with a variety of questions to learn a new language. They offer courses for many languages, so you can start anytime!

App #5: RealizD 

This app is amazing for anyone because it tells you your screen time which you may be guilty about. If you want to track how much you use your phone, then you can use this app.

App#6: Google Apps specifically Drive, Google Photos and Google Docs

Drive is useful to see everything in your account from your essays to your slideshows. Google Photos automatically backs up your photos from your phone which means you won’t have to spend hours waiting for the pictures to download. Google Docs is amazing to write your essays in your phone or upload photos from your phone and find them in your laptop.

App #7: G E I S T

This app contains games that help with concentration and focus which could be a good break after a day of work. They are fun and kind of helps your brain.

App #8: Muslim Pro

I think I have recommended this app before but I will repeat. This is one of the best apps for Muslims. You can find everything here from Adhan times to the Quran recitation to even the Qibla direction. It is amazing.

App #9: Yousician

Yousician could also be a part of your New Year’s Resolutions. Over here, you can learn how to play an instrument such as the keyboard very easily. They guide you through with colours and an instructor. This has helped me to learn the basics of the keyboard.

App #10: Calm

Calm is a brilliant app due to the provision of calm sounds and noises such as the rain. This can help you to reflect, meditate or relax at any time and reduce stress levels. You can totally do this before the new year.

These were some of the apps that o have loved using this year of 2019. I hope this helps you to keep productive, learn something new or even make your screen time a learning experience. Make sure to share this with your family and friends if you enjoyed it. Please check out my other articles:

http://surobiscribbles.com/how-drinking-more-water-impacted-me/

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!