Managing time and distractions is woven into the very fabric of organization and study skills. In fact, after gleaning countless articles and research, study skills really breaks down into effective note-taking strategies, study skills and test preparation, and concentration and time management. Jason Van Meter, our campus Academic Interventionist, wrote a post on Study Skills earlier this semester and Natalie Cannon, Latin teacher and World Languages Department Chair crafted one on Vocabulary Study Tips in November…. so before we tackle that topic any further or deeper, we thought it might be helpful to discuss managing time and distractions.
During the PSAT tests, Freshman students went through 4 rotations that were designed to support them with their experience here at WHS. You can read more about this day on Steve Ramsey’s blog.
The Ed Techs did a session on “Managing Your Digital Lives”. Part of the session focused on acknowledging and managing digital distractions. We thought the best way to go about this would be to share some insight and tips from from current students with our students and then support that info with ancillary resources and materials.
Below is the survey results for, “What apps or online sites are most distracting to you?” (It should be noted that students could choose multiple answers so clearly the responses do not add to 100%. However...the circles are proportionate.)
Clearly, the end goal was to acknowledge that everyone gets distracted and to gather tips for alleviating or combatting distraction. Beyond putting devices in do not disturb mode and placing the device physically in another room, students shared some other tips that essentially fell into two categories:
- Proximity and Communication:
- Asking boyfriend/girlfriend/family member to not text or interrupt for an hour or so
- Putting phone upside down, in backpack vs. pocket, or charging it in a different room
- Giving phone to someone else until done with school work or studying
- Breaks and Goals:
- Using an app like Stay Focused (Chrome app) to block Youtube and FB
- Taking 10 minute video breaks
- Taking timed breaks for games (Building in 10 minute video game breaks where you play a round versus an untimed mission)
- Checking phone in between homework
- Using social media as a reward for finishing it
Beyond these, we also suggested 3-4 apps that might be helpful:
- Moment: screen time tracker app
- Flat Tomato: time management app that uses the Pomodoro method
- 30/30: visual task manager app
- Forest: $ (the only paid one) - essentially you select a span of time (e.g. 20 minutes, 45 minutes, 2 hours) that you want to stay focused. While you are focused, the app grows a tree. If you leave the app, then the tree dies. Multiple analytics are included and you can eventually build a productivity forest with all of your favorite trees.
We will continue to post the content in chunks from these sessions. We also wanted to let you know that we have started a Tech Talk video series if you would like to see the full content for this session or check out any of the previous topics:
- Digital Distractions and Social Media (embedded below)
- Notetaking and the Digital Organization
- Common Sense about Digital Citizenship
Stay Healthy, Chaps!
Lisa Johnson and Kristi and Katie