Every student and pupil does it: sogging. Sog stands for study-avoidance behavior, and means that you are engaged in activities other than your studies. This while you should actually be learning for an exam or writing a paper. If you find yourself sogging often, then it is good to find out what you can do about this. This way you can ensure that you have a good learning environment, that you have little distraction from your smartphone and computer, and that you are sufficiently motivated for your studies.
Every student recognizes it: you have to learn for an exam or really work on that paper, but instead you waste your time on completely different things. For example, you check your mail every few minutes, read all kinds of (un) meaningful articles on the internet or check all messages on Facebook. This behavior is referred to by the term sog: study avoidance behavior. Students even use it as a verb (soggen). While sogging can be a lot of fun at times, it can also be very distracting. What can you actually do to keep your attention on your studies?
Working environment
Avoiding study-avoidance behavior starts with a good work environment. This starts with a permanent learning place. It is best to choose a desk for this, and not, for example, your bed or the sofa. This is because your subconscious mind also associates the place with other activities, such as watching TV or reading a book. And that makes you less able to concentrate after a while. Make sure that the place where you learn is only a study place at that time. It is important to make good use of your time, and this is only possible if you do not have all kinds of distractions around you. So remove everything that has nothing to do with your studies, or arrange your desk so that it does not bother you. You should also be able to work quietly at the place where you study. It is therefore best to avoid a place where you can be distracted by your mother or housemate.
Atmospheric
However, the above does not mean that your study place should become a boring place. It is also important that you develop positive feelings about this place. It is not the intention that you immediately dread studying when you sit down at your desk. This way you can put some nice photos, a bunch of flowers or something else on your desk. Provided it does not distract you from your studies. You may feel positive about putting a photo book on your desk, but if you keep looking at it, you encourage the sogging.
Practical
Make your desk practical as well. If you have to get up every time to get something, this will only cause distraction. Before you start, you should therefore think carefully about what you think you will need during a study session. Examples are your study book, pens, writing pad, marker pens, laptop (think about if you really need these!), Pencils and / or your eraser.
Diversion
Even if you’ve cleared your desk of unnecessary items, you can suffer from a lot of distraction. Perhaps the biggest distraction is the smartphone. It is very easy to check every time you have messages, or to check Facebook. If you are going to study, it is therefore advisable to switch off your phone completely. If this is not possible for you, you can turn off your internet on your smartphone and mute the sound. The tendency to look at your phone every time is greater.
Computer programs
Your computer can also be a distraction. Yet you often need your computer for your studies. If you notice that you are constantly on your computer looking at your email, your Facebook or other sites, then this is of course difficult. Various computer programs have been developed for this problem. An example of this is Cold Turkey, but you can also find other programs via Google. At Cold Turkey you can determine which websites should be temporarily inaccessible to you, and for how long they should remain so. So you can choose to close Facebook for one hour for yourself. After this hour you can take a break where you can view the site again, and after the break you can make it inaccessible again.
Motivation
To keep your attention on your studies, it is also important that you are motivated. So consider for yourself why your study is important, or why that specific subject is important. For example, you need your studies for a future job, or do you need that specific subject to better understand a part of your study. If you have clearly determined for yourself why your study is important, you can set goals. For example: ?? I will complete this course within 8 weeks, ?? or ?? I want to pass my propaedeutic certificate within one year. ?? Sometimes goals are too big, for example when your goal spans a period of one year. In that case, it is useful to split your goal into smaller goals. For example, you can have the partial goal of completing one course or all courses of the first block. When you have set your goals, it is useful to write them down on paper. This can give a good push at certain times, and you can tick off your achieved goals. If you have achieved a goal, you can also reward yourself. That is a good way to reflect on what you have already achieved.
Another way to stay motivated is to apply the five-minute rule. The idea is that you push yourself to work on an assignment for five minutes. Once you get over that threshold, it’s much easier to keep working on the assignment for longer.