Great Ways To Unwind After Studying

Image Credit

Even if you enjoy studying, which many of us actually do, you still know that it takes a lot out of you - especially if you’re studying quite an intense subject or have been studying for a longer period of time.

You’ll probably know by now that as ambitious as you may be, there’s no point in forcing yourself to keep studying after a while because your brain can only absorb so much information and you’ll become less focused and productive if you’re pushing yourself too hard.

So, the best thing to do is study for a bit, then take a break so that your brain and body can regain some energy and be able to focus and concentrate properly when you go back to study.

In this post, we’re sharing with you some tips to ensure that you can unwind and refresh effectively after studying so that when you go back to it you’re completely focused and productive to get the task at hand done to the best of your ability.

The good thing about these tips is they’re all either free or low cost things and some don’t even require you to leave your house.

Watch a movie:

Switching your mind from completely focused on something intense like studying to watching a movie is a great way to help you relax and unwind - even if you’re not completely focused on the movie or the storyline, you’ll definitely benefit from the change of environment and that will be enough to help you recharge after your studying. If you’re traveling somewhere, for example at a conference and want to watch a movie on Netflix in your hotel but the movie you want to watch isn’t available because of your location, then you’ll find plenty of solutions online at places like bestvpn.com that will allow you to get around the location restrictions.

Read a book:

If you’ve just been sitting with a book in your hand to study, the last thing you might want to do is pick up another one, but reading is a great way to relax your mind and since there are so many genres, a good fiction book could be the perfect way to unwind for an hour or so.

Meditate:

Meditation is a seriously effective and very healthy practice that is recommended as something that you should be done daily to maintain a good level of physical and mental wellbeing. However, even if you’re not meditating daily, it’s such a wonderful way to quiet the mind and regain focus that it’s the perfect way to unwind after studying for long periods.

Go for a walk:

Just getting out of the house and going for a walk in fresh air to enjoy nature is such a healthy thing to do daily, but even more so if you really need to recharge and relax your mind after studying so that you can be more focused when you return that will allow you to be much more productive. Plus it’s also good to move your body a bit after prolonged periods of sitting.

3 Reasons Play isn't Just for Kids

Image Credit: Unsplash

Playfulness is a trait that appears across the animal kingdom. All animals to it to some extent and for some, like us humans, play isn’t confined to childhood but continues throughout life. You might say that playfulness is an essential part of the human condition - after all, if we didn’t like to play so much, we wouldn’t pay celebrities to dress up and pretend to be other people in films.

It is important for everyone to enjoy some playtime. It might sound a bit patronizing but play time is the only chance you get to let your hair down and do something fun. Play is usually sociable, gives you a chance to practice the skills and behaviors that make you human (logic, memory, teamwork etc) and learn in a relaxed and fun way.

Play Gives You a Boost

When you play, you release the hormones that make you feel happy and relaxed: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. These hormones are important because they are what make you feel good about yourself and the environment you are in. Essentially, when you are having a good belly laugh, these hormones are the reason you feel so good.

Playing releases these hormones, reducing your stress and improving your mood. This is true whether you are playing a team game like basketball or you have just won using a virgin online casino promo code. To maximize the boost you get, you should focus on playing the games that bring you the most joy. This isn’t necessarily something you are good at, just something that gets you thinking and laughing and having fun.

Play Improves Your Problem-Solving Skills

Most games are about solving problems, whether you are solving the problem that your team doesn’t have as many points as the other or you are working your way across a digital plane solving a zombie-apocalypse type of problem. And, let’s face it, solving problems is what life is all about.

For the most part, games are really just good at teaching you how to solve the particular problem in front of you and many brain training games are more about getting good at the game rather than actually boosting IQ. However, there is a pretty good argument for the idea that learning the different methods for solving different types of problem is also a really useful skill to have.

Play Brings Us Together

When you think of all the best memories you have with your friends, you can almost guarantee that the ones that spring to mind are those where you were playing or letting out your inner child. Messing and joking around or actually sitting down to play a game, any form of play gives you a chance to get closer to someone by lowering the boundaries we put around more formal interactions. When you play, you get to test the waters for other types of behaviors, expose your personality and depth without fear and express new ideas.

In short, play brings us together and makes us more human.

Things You Can Do To Help With Boredom When You’re Broke

We’ve all been there, right? We’ve spent a little too much money, and it’s a few weeks away until your next paycheck. So now you’re broke and bored, so what can you do that’ll help with the boredom but not cost you money? Here are a few suggestions!

Image Source

Play Video Games

You can spend hours on a video game, living out a fantasy life and there are so many to choose from. Driving games and adventure games will keep boredom at bay and doesn’t cost you any money to enjoy them...unless you buy more of them.

Invite some friends round, cook a big meal that costs very little and have an evening of gaming. It’ll be as much fun as it would going out and spending money.

Start A Blog

If you enjoy writing, then you might want to consider starting a blog. It’s a great platform to get your voice and opinions across to a wider audience and with blogging becoming even more popular, you could even make money from it.

It’s very simple to start a blog, and you can write about any topic you like from beauty to health, cars to gardening. The opportunities are endless!

Do A “Spring Clean”

Unless you’re one that hates tidying up, doing a spring clean can be a great way of decluttering your home and getting rid of stuff you no longer need. You can always sell anything of value too, so it’s a win-win situation.

Put on some music to get you in the mood and take your time with it. You can waste away hours tidying.

Work On A Skill

Perhaps learning a language is something you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time. With so much available online for free from videos to articles, developing a skill has never been so easy to do.

Think about what you’ve always wanted to do, write a list and get started.

Take Advantage Of Free Attractions

You’ll be surprised by just how many free attractions there are in your neighborhood, just waiting to be explored. From parks to museums, there’s plenty to do that won’t cost you anything at all. Check out local venues for free concerts and seek out food markets as they’ll tend to offer free samples that you can take full advantage of.

Have A Movie Night

Explore your DVD collection or see what films are available on any streaming services you may have like Amazon Prime or Netflix. A movie night is the ideal night in whether you’re on your own or with friends and family. Buy some cheap snacks, curl up in a duvet on the sofa and watch a film or two. Have a movie themed night where you watch films in the same genre or trilogies.

The best things in life are free, so when you find yourself struggling for cash, there are plenty of things you can do to help with the boredom and save on spending. It’ll bring around payday a little quicker, that’s for sure.

Excel in Your Exams: Preparation and Reducing Stress are Key

Exams are always going to be stressful. After months and months of study and hard work, it all comes down to how well you do in this set amount of time, which really does put a lot of pressure on you. Some people just naturally aren’t good at exams, and even the most level headed students can have an off day, and so if you have the date looming- chances are you’re going to be worried. Thankfully, there’s plenty you can do to get yourself as prepared as possible, reduce stress and go into the exam on the day knowing you’ve done everything you can. Sometimes, this thought alone is enough to give you the confidence to go in there and do your best. Read on to find out more.

photo sourced from Pexels.

Draw up a revision timetable

To properly revise a subject, you need time. Leaving it until the last minute and cramming is only going to add to stress levels, so get prepared and go about your revision in the right way. Once you’ve got an exam date, you can work out how much time you have to revise each topic, and set out a timetable giving you time each day to put in the work you need.

Find a method of revising that works for you

We’re all individual, and each of us will have our own methods of revising which work best for us. Some people are very visual, and find drawing up spider diagrams, posters and post it- notes to stick around the house can be effective. Others do better listening, you could read out all of your notes and record them on an app on your phone, and then listen back to them. Some people find that physically writing out all of their notes again with a pen and paper helps to secure it in their mind. And others might do better with things like flash cards and getting quizzed by others. Find a way to revise that works for you, and the information will sink in and stay in your mind much more easily.

Keep stress levels down

Stress makes everything worse. An anxious mind is far less likely to retain information from revising, and it can stop you from sleeping well. And we all know that when you’re tired, learning can feel impossible. While there’s always going to be an element of stress when it comes to exams, it’s important to find ways to cope. Have a relaxing bath, do some exercise or meditate as a way of managing the symptoms of stress and clearing your mind. You’ll do far better and will be able to focus more. Herbal remedies and over the counter medicines such as Rescue Remedy and Kalms can be effective if you’re really struggling. If your stress levels are impacting your life, you might even need to speak to your GP.

Take mock tests

A great way to test yourself, practice for the real thing and have a ‘test run’ of the exam is to take a mock test. These are often papers from previous years, and will give you a feel for the wording and what exactly it is the exams are looking for. Some companies offer specialist mock exams for specific subjects, you can find out more about this here. See if there are any online mocks as part of your revision materials from the school you’re studying at. If not, ask your tutor for some past exam questions and have them go through your answers with you to see how well you did. While the same questions won’t crop up again, if you’re able to answer these it shows you know the material well, and should be able to do just as well in your own exam. If you’re doing well in mock exams, it can really give you the confidence on the day to do your best on your own. If you’re struggling, you know that you need to put more work in. Better than turning up on the day and realising you weren't as prepared as you thought!

Speak to your tutor

If you’re able to get in any one-on-one time with your tutor, definitely use the opportunity to do so. Go armed with questions, and have them explain in more detail anything you’re not sure about. Classes in schools, colleges and universities tend to be fairly large and so it’s not going to be often that you get this kind of time with your tutor, so if you do, make the most of it. They should also be available via email to get back to you with any questions you have too. Don’t be afraid to ask, it’s their job to make sure you know the information. So if you’re stuck or unsure, let it be known.

Think about the day of the exam

On the day of the exam, you want to walk in feeling refreshed, well rested and confident. Do your very best to get a good night’s sleep, which will improve your mental clarity. Eat a light breakfast and make sure you’re well hydrated, since dehydration can lead to reduced mental performance. Have everything you need to take with you packed the day before, and even lay your clothes out. That way you can get up, get ready with no stress or messing around. Plan your route so there’s no risk of running late or getting stuck in traffic. This can help you to get off to the best start, so you can breeze in, do what you need to do and then breeze back out. You could have a notebook with a few points written down to revise on the day, but don’t put too much pressure on yourself. With the right preparation you’ll have already covered everything you need to do and the knowledge will be in your head and ready to be used.

Do you suffer with bad exam stress? What do you do to ensure that you keep stress levels down enough to perform well?

Does Cosplay Have Any Practical Benefits?

Photo Source

“Cosplay” is something that any nerd or geek has likely engaged with or at least heard about at some point or another. However, with its increasing popularity come more and more questions about why people cosplay and what they gain from the process and experience. Let’s take a moment to look further into this!

What Is Cosplay?

Cosplay is a portmanteau for “costume” and “play”. It is quite simply a process in which people dress up as their favourite characters - generally from a host of video games, comic books, anime, manga, films, and television programmes. People engaging with cosplay tend to purchase their outfits from cosplay stores or may go DIY and create the entire ensemble themselves.

Where Do People Cosplay?

If you’re standing in queue at a fast food outlet and a bunch of people dressed as Link from Zelda, Sailor Moon, and other popular characters suddenly pile in to make an order, or if you’re on public transport surrounded by a host of Batmen, Spidermen, and Wonderwomen, chances are that there is some sort of cosplay event on nearby. Perhaps the biggest events that people choose to cosplay at are Comic Con.

The Benefits of Cosplay

Getting a cosplay outfit together generally takes commitment, time, and money. So, why do people go through all of this? Here are just a few of the benefits that come hand in hand with a little cosplay!

Escapism

Some people revel in the opportunity to put themselves in someone else’s shoes for the day. While many people will simply dress up as a character, some will take on the character, spending their day portraying another person. It’s like an extended acting session or a mode of performance art!

Expressing What You Love

When you choose a character, you are showing everyone your appreciation of that character. Your costume can give others at an event an insight into your interests and preferences.

Social Aspects

Cosplay events bring people with a comparatively niche set of interests together in one close setting. This gives people the opportunity to socialise with others on a similar wavelength to them, making friends along the way. The cosplay community is constantly expanding.

Attention

If you have a great outfit, you’re bound to get a whole lot of attention. There’s something extremely satisfying about someone asking to have their picture taken with you. At cosplay events, you can be showered with attention and praise all day long.

When you look at the different benefits that come hand in hand with engaging with cosplay, it’s not all too surprising that increasing numbers of people are getting involved! Who knows, maybe this could prove to be your latest interest or hobby!

Managing Your Money as a Student

Image Source

If you’re in high education then your focus is most likely going to be on studying, yet at the back of your mind will be the ever present stress of money management.  Of course, some people are in the privileged position of having their parents take care of the finances of education, yet for many others, money can be tight and a genuine concern.

When it comes to managing your money as a student, there are two factors to think about, first is to reduce the amount you spend and budget wisely - for instance, you could use a best budget app to keep on track when it comes to managing your spending.  Then, on the other side of the coin is that of making money, which is what this article is going to focus on.

The challenge when it comes to making money as a student is that in most jobs you are having to trade your time for money - and with a limited supply of time, due to the fact you will be in lectures and seminars, then studying independently, time can be in very short supply.

This is where you need to start thinking of ways to make money that either don’t rely so heavily on the exchange of time for money, or pay better rates, meaning you can work less hours but still make enough money to survive.

Here are three aspects to consider:

1. MAKE MORE MONEY

If you can make more money per hour, then you can work less hours.  Consider setting something up yourself such as a micro business offering a service such as mowing lawns or cleaning windows.  It might sound basic, but let’s say you charge $20 for a lawn. In a day, you could easily service six clients which would be $120… meaning, you only need to do a day or two in order to make the same amount you would working many more hours in a conventional part time job.

2. USE THE TIME WISELY

There are certain jobs where you can use the time you have at work to simultaneously study, for instance, if you were to be babysitting when the children go to bed, rather than watch a film you could use the time to focus on coursework.

Similarly, some jobs such as night security or receptionist jobs in hotels, allow for plenty of time that you can use to focus on work.  Indeed, because you don’t have much better to do, you might be more motivated - plus you will be paid whilst studying, making it a win-win.

3. CREATE PASSIVE INCOME

Today, there are all sorts of ways to create passive income.  For instance, you could create a blog and start to monetize the blog with advertising, affiliate marketing, or by creating your own online courses.  You could similarly leverage a platform such as Udemy to promote your course and let them take care of all the advertising and marketing.  

Let’s say you have a course sold via Udemy that you receive $25 for, each time it is sold.  It’s very possible to sell a course 100 times each month, meaning you would be bringing in $2,500 per month without having to trade your time for money - as you are leveraging the asset you created.

Can Gaming Teach Valuable Life Skills?

Image Source

Are video games a waste of time? Or could they actually be setting kids up with valuable life skills?

Whilst there’s no denying that some people spend way too much time playing video games, the idea that it’s a completely mind-numbing activity is a load of rubbish. Gaming requires lots of concentration and tests our cognitive abilities – there are even studies that suggest it can make the brain bigger.

Can this added brainpower be used to perform other skills better? Research would certainly suggest so. Here are just a few examples of life skills that can be developed through gaming.

Problem solving

Games are all essentially puzzles – they require an equal mix of creativity and logic to complete, which are the key ingredients required to solve problems.

Many games teach the fast decision making needed in high pressure situations by giving players lots of information and a short time to process it and make good use of it. This extends all the way from basic games such as Tetris that require the player to fit together shapes quickly all the way to highly detailed games such as Call of Duty and Forza. Such skills can help people to act faster and more efficiently in an emergency by quickly processing and reacting to the information around them.

Gaming can also teach problem solving on a more longer time scale. RPGs that require players to select builds and skills can help teach forward planning. This can help people to prepare for problems in advance.

Some researchers have gone so far as to recommend gaming as a useful tool for improving the spatial problem solving required for engineering. There have also been many instance of gamers solving scientific problems to finding new planets that could support life to helping find a cure to AIDS by resolving enzyme-like structures. Should gaming be something more of us are putting on our CVs?

Multi-tasking

Video games require players to do multiple things at once. As well as mastering the controls, games require players to pay attention to multiple pieces of information on the screen as well as potentially communicating to other players over a headset.

Studies have been made into this and have found evidence that this could be improving our multi-tasking skills – in fact, one study using a game called NeuroRacer on a group of 60 to 85 year olds for a few hours was found to improve the multi-taking abilities of its participants for six months afterwards.  

Multi-tasking is something that is required to complete many tasks in life from driving to cooking to looking after children. Gaming could helping us to pick up these tasks more easily without us even knowing.

Teamwork

Gaming has long been viewed as an anti-social activity, simply because it prevents people from going outdoors. But modern games are actually encouraging socialization by allowing players to communicate via headset. Not only can you play with your friends, but you can also meet new people playing online and develop new relationships.

Many games require people to work together under pressure to meet a common goal. These are the very same teamwork skills required in many workplaces.

Studies such as this one support the fact that co-operative games can build a sense of teamwork. However, these studies also found that playing video games purely competitively can harm these teamwork abilities. This suggests that if you want to become a better team player, you need to stop choosing free-for-all modes.

Empathy

The idea that video games are turning us all into psychopaths could also be utterly false – video games could actually be doing the opposite, helping us to develop our sense of empathy.

Studies using the game Crystals of Kador, found that video games could be used to develop empathy - this game requires players to play as a robot that has crash-landed on a foreign planet and who must build rapport with aliens on the planet in order to make a recovery.

This is of course only one type of video game - the same might not be so easy to prove with a game like Mortal Kombat - however it could be true of other games such as Mass Effect that require you to build relationships with characters.

Perseverance

Video games often require a lot of perseverance. Getting through those challenging levels on the hardest difficulty often requires tens (if not hundreds) of attempts. The only way to beat the game is to try and try again.

Perseverance is a valuable life skill – if you fail, you need to have the strength to get up and start again. There are many times in life when we may fail repeatedly such as trying to get a job or trying to give up a bad habit. Could the persistence required to keep trying in gaming help us to not give up when it comes to these real life challenges?

Few studies delve into this, although gaming has spawned an entire philosophy of living life like a video game – the idea that you can keep working to improve parts of your life as if leveling up a character.

An argument could of course be that gaming teaches too much perseverance and that it develops addictive behavior over things that aren’t necessary for human survival. Just as there are times when you shouldn’t give up, there are other times when quitting is the healthy thing to do, and games don’t do this – they’re designed to make us keep playing!

Dealing with Freshman Year Homesickness

Image source

Regardless of how excited you are about starting college, you could still be struck with homesickness, especially if you have never been away from your family for any length of time before. You suddenly find yourself in a situation where you have to make your own daily routine, you have to adjust to college life and make new friends. All this with no mom, dad or sibling to give you a hug and tell you that you can do it.

Homesickness Is Normal

Homesickness is a natural reaction to a sudden change that takes you away from all that you are familiar with. Everyone has thoughts of home, but for some people, it becomes an obsession that sees them crying a lot and not able to concentrate on the work they should be doing. For some students, it is so severe that they seek teen depression treatment to help them through the first few months. It’s far more common than you might think.

You should not think you are weird or strange because you are missing home and once you accept that everyone is feeling it to some degree, you will be on the right road to dealing with it.

Get To Know Your New Surroundings

Part of feeling homesick is being in strange surroundings. Get to know the campus and the surrounding area by walking around it to find out where everything is. Remember, you are not on your own in feeling this way and you may well find that others would like to walk with you, as they need to discover things as well.

Get Involved

At home. you were an important part of a family and now suddenly you are one of hundreds. To overcome this feeling you need to get involved in college life.  There are often volunteering opportunities, you could become involved in campus politics, or join some of the college clubs.  Filling your social time with meeting people who have similar interests will make you feel less lonely and help you to make new friends.

Keep In Touch With Home

Keeping in touch with your family is an important part of helping you to miss them less. Hearing one of your parents on the other end of a phone each day can be very comforting to start with, but eventually, as you start to feel better, you should try to wean yourself off this habit. When you are feeling low it is great to know they are still there for you if you need them, but at the end of the day, you are making a new life of your own. They will always be part of your life, but you should not make it so that you cannot cope without daily contact.

Talk To Your Friends

No matter how much you are told, it might not sink in that you are not the only one feeling this way unless you talk to your friends. Then you will understand how others are suffering too, and may even be able to do things together to ease the burden of homesickness for you and your friends.

This is an experience that many freshmen go through and part of the secret is to stay positive throughout. Eventually, you will get used to college life and not having your family so close and as it becomes part of normal life, the feelings of homesickness will start to diminish.

Mobile Games That Give Your Brain a Workout

Mobile games are brilliant. They are a great way to escape your stress and leave the real world behind. They give you a way to meet new people and have some fun. They can be fun, exciting, terribly frustrating and incredibly addictive. They can even improve your concentration. Now that we’ve all got a phone in our pockets, we can play games wherever we are. We can lose a few minutes while we wait in the doctor's surgery, or we can spend hours giving them our full attention.

Games like these range in styles and types. Some, like online Bitcasino games, give us a chance to earn a little money while having some fun. Others are simple and addictive, a great way to kill time. Others are more serious. You can play shoot ‘em up games. You can play classic arcade fighting games. There are platform games and building games. You can even play mobile games that give your brain a bit of a workout. Here’s a look at some of the best mobile games that force you to use your mind.

https://unsplash.com/search/photos/mobile-phone

Lumosity

Lumosity is a proper brain training app. It focuses on games, tasks, and puzzles that each train different areas of your mind and different thought processes, giving you an all over mind workout. You can personalize your account for how much time you’ve got, and Lumosity will set you challenges each day.

Words with Friends

Words with friends is a bit like good old fashioned scrabble. But on your phone and with an added social element. This incredibly popular word building game is easy to play but forces you to think in a way that you might not usually. Now that we all rely so heavily on autocorrect and spell checkers, actually stopping to think about forming words is something that we rarely do, so despite its ease, this game can give your brain a great workout. It’s also pretty addictive, so you’ll be keen to play it as often as possible, and it’ll never feel like a chore.

Flow Free

Free flow is such an easy game at the start. The graphics are simple, there’s no flashy bells and whistles, but it’s a game that gets you thinking, and progressively gets harder as you play.

The simple premise is a grid of colored dots. There are two of each color on the grid, and you have to join them to each other using colored lines or pipes. The catch is that you can’t go through other lines to do it. So you have to find creative ways around the board to link your dots. The first few grids are easy, but it quickly becomes much more challenging.

The Room

The room is more visually appealing than the other games on this list. It’s a beautiful game, with much more complexity than a simple puzzle game or brain training app. But, the challenges offer the same great mind workout. It’s an adventure game, with a plot and story, that uses games and puzzles to forward the narrative. Think grown-up Professor Layton.

Challenging your mind as often as you can is proven to reduce your risk of memory issues and mental health problems. Things like learning a new language and reading are great, but playing games on your phone that make you stop and think can be equally effective.

7 Clever Tricks To Improve Concentration When Studying

Trying to concentrate when you’re studying is so difficult. There is a long list of things that can distract you and you probably won’t work that hard to avoid them if you don’t want to be studying in the first place. It might be your phone or social media, or even just staring out of the window. Whatever it is, you just need to find a way to maintain your focus and be more productive. There are quite a few different ways to do this. Finding the right work space is a start, but if you’re still struggling, you can try some of these handy tricks.

Pixnio

Shut Off Your Phone

Your phone is one of the biggest distractions there is because there are always notifications popping up and you won’t be able to resist picking it up to check it. Once you’re on your phone, it’s easy to waste half an hour without even realizing. That’s why it’s a good idea to switch it off whenever you’re trying to study. If you still need the phone on in case you get a call, you can download some great apps to stop yourself from getting distracted. You can block everything apart from phone calls and shut off all of the notifications. If you try to open your phone and start procrastinating, it simply won’t let you once you’ve activated the app. You can turn it off, of course, but it’ll make you wait for a minute and then ask you again if you really want to open your phone. Most of the time, you’ll realize that you don’t really need to use it anyway and get back to work.

Take Regular Breaks

The biggest mistake that people make when they’re studying is thinking that if they have fewer breaks, they’ll get more done. But you can only concentrate and work effectively for a short period. If you carry on working after that, you’ll still be working but you won’t be productive. But if you have a small break and then come back to it, you’ll get a lot more done. Don’t think that working for 8 hours straight without taking a break is going to help you get more done. You’ll just end up getting stressed out and that’s the worst possible thing for studying. You need to take regular breaks and do an activity that relieves stress. When you come back to work afterwards, you’ll be a lot more focused.

The Right Background Sounds

Pixabay

Some people prefer to work in silence but some people find that even more distracting and they prefer a bit of background noise. Picking the right background noise is essential because it can do more harm than good. Music with lyrics in it can be a big distraction so if you are going to listen to music, something instrumental is best. You can also listen to specific music designed for focus. Certain tones and melodies impact the brain in different ways so there are pieces of music that are composed with the sole purpose of improving concentration. If you do a quick search on Youtube, you’ll be able to find plenty. Get yourself a decent quality pair of headphones from this website so you can shut out any other noise from the outside and focus solely on working. Listening to the background music for video games is another tip that sounds pretty odd but it really works. The soundtracks are designed to keep you engaged so you play for longer so they’re actually great for improving concentration.

Meditation

You probably haven’t considered meditation before and most people associate it with spirituality and religion, but it’s actually a useful tool for everybody. Meditation is a great tool for relaxing and de-stressing when you aren’t studying, but it’s also great for improving focus beforehand. The Calm app has loads of guided meditation programs that only take 5-10 minutes. There are ones for relaxing and reducing stress as well as ones that improve focus. If you do this before you sit down to study, or when you find yourself getting distracted, you can get back on track. There are some great ones that help to improve your sleep which is very important when you’re trying to be productive.

Dress For Business

The clothes that you wear have a big impact on your attitude. If you’re wearing pajamas, you’re not going to be in a working mindset and you might find it harder to stay focused. But if you dress like you would if you were going into an office to work, you’ll be a lot more motivated. That doesn’t mean you need to put a full suit on every single day but you should take pride in your appearance and you’ll find it a lot easier to work hard.

Get Some Plants

Pxhere

Putting some house plants in your room is a great way to brighten the place up but it’s also good for productivity as well. Studies show that it improves your overall mood and increases productivity by up to 15 percent. It also helps to clean the air and improve air quality in your study area which is always a bonus. Creating a comfortable and inviting workspace is important and this is one of the easiest ways to do it.

Exercise

Exercise is important for your general wellbeing and it can really help you to improve your studying as well. A regular workout will improve your overall motivation and energy levels which make it easier to study. You should also consider doing a workout immediately after you’ve finished studying. Research suggests that exercise improves brain function and helps you to retain information. If you do a workout immediately after you’ve finished studying, you’ll remember a lot more of the information the next day. Exercise is also a great stress buster so it’s the ideal way to end a hard day of studying.

Staying organized and creating a good workspace are both important when you’re studying but if you’re struggling to concentrate, you can use these simple tricks to improve productivity.