I'm not gonna apologize for the title. I stand by it.
Study blocks are saving my ass. I wish I had discovered them earlier this semester. I probably would be making 3 As instead of an A and two Bs.
At first glance study blocks seem like a big fat "duh." But if you're like me, you are distracted easily and have trouble focusing for long periods. Actually, my biggest issue is beginning to focus. I don't know if that's ADD or just being a person, but it makes me less productive than I'd like to be.
Here is a typical "study day" for me.
I wake up later than I meant to. I look at my planner and realize I need to study two subjects today. I say to myself, Self, you need to put in a couple hours today in Chem, and at least a couple hours in Pre-Cal.
Two hours later I have drunk coffee, looked at Pinterest, let my dog out twice, done a load of laundry, eaten breakfast, and the only vaguely study-related thing I've done is found my flash cards and highlighters. (They are next to me on the couch... somewhere... maybe under a blanket.)
Eventually I get down to studying, but every 15 minutes or so I check a text message, get up and get a drink, check my email, change the Netflix or music, etc.
In the end I'm lucky to get an hour or so of actual work done.
The library hasn't helped much. I still get distracted by my phone, the Internet, music, and guilt over the fact that I left my dog in the kennel to go to the library when I have my own office and desk at home.
I wasn't quite sure how to handle this problem without drugs or therapy or something, until I attended a free online MCAT strategy webinar held by Leah Fisch, an MCAT tutor. (For the record, she is not paying me to plug her. She's not even aware I'm plugging her. I just have really found her site super helpful.)
Leah introduced me to the idea of study blocks. This is how she has her students organize their study time.
Basically, instead of saying, "I need to get in two hours of studying today," and writing "Chem - 2 hours" in your planner, you schedule a block. For example, 1:00 to 3:00. You write "Chem 1 pm - 3 pm" in your planner and draw a rectangle around it. Use a colored pen or highlighter to make it stand out.
The next part is the most important: honor the living hell out of that block. Treat it like it's the scheduled C-section of your first child. It has to be that much of a priority. (Ok, maybe not that much...)
This means that during your study block you:
- turn off or silence your phone and DO NOT LOOK AT IT. The world can wait two hours for you.
- block yourself from the sites you waste your time using, especially social media sites.
- don't check your email or do any other "important" online tasks.
- make sure you have water, snacks, or any other needful things at your side because you're not getting up unless you have an explosive diarrhea situation or a significant portion of your house catches on fire.
- set your Netflix or iTunes playlist to repeat so you don't have to mess with anything, because even little things like this can pull your focus big time.
- go to the bathroom, fold your laundry, let your dog out, do any little pesky things you need to do because, in case I didn't mention it, during this study block you are not allowed to do ANYTHING but study.
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| My life. Err'day. |
Think of it this way: the "block" in study block doesn't so much mean a "block of time." It means everything else in life is blocked by studying for that period of time.
Basically you are treating your study block like something important that you cannot get out of, not like an optional activity that you work around everything else. You treat it like an important work meeting or a final exam, so that everything else takes a backseat and your entire focus is on the subject at hand for that two hours.
Speaking of two hours, that is the max amount of time I schedule myself without a break. Usually after two hours I will be done, or take 15 to 30 minutes and switch subjects. Sometimes - for instance, this weekend, since I have 3 finals next week - I will go longer than 2 hours per subject, but not without a break.
If you can't study for two hours, and you're planning to take the MCAT or GRE or another major exam, it's important you start gradually building your endurance. The MCAT, for example, is 7.5 hours long. If you can't focus in big chunks you're gonna be in trouble.
The study block method is one of those genius ideas that seems obvious once you know of it, but few of us truly shut out everything when we study. Doing so has been the key to solving my focus problems and has made me significantly more productive.
If you have other tips and tricks that work for you, I'd love to hear them!
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