🧠 Study Skills & Note-Taking · Lesson 6 of 6
Focus and your phone
Deep work blocks, the Pomodoro technique and a distraction-free setup.
Multitasking is a myth
When you “multitask”, your brain actually switches between tasks, and every switch costs time and attention. Studying with notifications on means dozens of small switches an hour. Students who text while studying take longer and remember less.
The Pomodoro technique
- Choose one task
- Set a timer for 25 minutes and work only on that
- Take a 5-minute break (stand up, water, no scrolling if you can)
- After four rounds, take a longer 15–30 minute break
- Adjust: 50/10 works well for many college students
Your setup
| Phone | In another room, or in a drawer with Focus / Do Not Disturb on |
|---|---|
| Laptop | Close tabs you don’t need; use a site blocker during study blocks |
| Place | A library or a consistent study spot your brain links with work |
| Plan | Write down exactly what you will do in this block |
Energy, not just time
Schedule hard work (problem sets, writing) when you are most alert, and easy tasks (email, formatting, organizing notes) for low-energy times. Exercise, sleep and real meals improve focus more than any app.
Tip
💡 Keep a “distraction pad” next to you. When you remember something you need to do, write it down and get back to work — deal with it at the break.
✏️ Practice: your turn
- Do four Pomodoros today with your phone in another room
- Write down how many times you wanted to check your phone
- Find a study spot you’ll use all semester
- Plan your hardest task for your most alert time of day
✏️ Study planner: turn your exam dates into a day-by-day plan
🧠 Quick quiz
Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.
0 of 4 correct
All lessons in Study Skills & Note-Taking
- 🧩 1. How memory worksEncoding, storage, retrieval — and why rereading fools you
- 📓 2. Cornell notes and other note-taking systemsCues, notes and a summary — and when to use outlines, maps or charts
- 🎯 3. Active recall: test yourselfPractice testing, flashcards done right and the blank-page method
- 📅 4. Spacing and interleavingSpread out review sessions and mix up problem types
- 📘 5. Reading textbooks and articlesSQ3R, reading for the main idea and keeping up with long readings
- 📵 6. Focus and your phoneDeep work blocks, the Pomodoro technique and a distraction-free setup