Most college students can agree that our phones are crucial to our everyday lives. Whether we’re checking social media, texting our friends or listening to music, our phones are with us 24/7. So when it comes time for class, why should anything change?
You probably know that using your phone during class is a distraction from the material necessary for your next exam, but most of us find ourselves justifying our phone usage, saying things along the lines of “I was just answering a text” or “I needed to check Snapchat.”
Although it may seem necessary … is it? Do the benefits of using your phone during class outweigh the costs? Probably not. But don’t worry, because VALLEY has the tools you need to become a phone-free student in every class.
Remember Why
Imagine a world where studying for an exam didn’t involve cramming the night before along with sleep deprivation and copious amounts of coffee. Although this may seem impossible to stray away from in order to pass the class, there’s an easy solution: focusing. If you spend every lecture actively listening and processing what is being taught, studying for the exam won’t be nearly as difficult. In fact, you’ll find yourself able to cut down your studying time substantially. You’ll probably even do better on the exam. Reminding yourself of these worthwhile benefits when you feel the urge to reach for your phone during lecture will help you carry on in your mission to unplug during class.
Turn It Off
A crucial step in successfully cutting down on screen time during class is setting your phone to Do Not Disturb or simply turning it off altogether. Seeing your phone light up during class just adds to the temptation of reaching for it and scrolling through Instagram. Even if you muster up the willpower not to grab your phone, you’ll find yourself wondering what the notification was about instead of focusing on the material being taught, which is almost just as bad as using your phone during class.
Set It Down—Out Of Reach
The next and most important step is putting your phone down, and don’t just set it down in your lap or on your desk. Instead, put your phone in your bag, coat pocket or anywhere else that is out of your reach during class. Out of sight, out of mind. This way, even when temptation strikes, you’ll realize the trouble to rifle through your things and cause a possible distraction to others around you is simply not worth the trouble of checking your phone.
Although it seems like a daunting task at the moment, unplugging during class is essential to cutting down your time spent studying and boosting your GPA. “At first it was pretty difficult,” says Cheyenne Hansen, a freshman business major, “but after just a couple of classes without using my phone, I realized that it truly made such a difference in my overall understanding of the course concepts and my performance on exams and quizzes. I even found that I could study less and still do better on exams.”
So, what are you waiting for? Given the hard-to-resist benefits of going phone-free during class, this tactic is definitely worth a try.
Have any other tips we missed for unplugging during class? Tweet us @VALLEYmag and let us know your tips and tricks to becoming a phone-free student!
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