The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Ali Postle, Freshman at Northern Illinois University -DeKalb;
2012 West Central Grad -Special For The Quill
Do you ever find yourself getting distracted every 5 minutes? That may be an exaggeration, but I know how easy it is to find yourself doing something completely opposite from what you should be doing. I probably have one of the worst attention spans ever. When you get to college there are just 100 more things here to distract you from what you really are here to do.
In today's world, there are tons of things that can make you lose your focus so easily. Now I am not saying that there is anything wrong with a little distraction. People actually say that it is good to take short breaks to give your mind a little break. Now a little break does not mean online shopping for 4 hours instead of doing your English paper, which is what I find myself doing.
I feel like the biggest distraction is the Internet! It can be so extremely helpful when doing research, but also can also be an excuse not to work. One minute you are looking up information on George Washington for a paper, and the next minute you are on Youtube watching funny videos of a cat named George. That's the power of the Internet. You search one thing and find yourself looking at a million other things that have nothing to do with what you need.
Trust me, I know exactly how hard it is to get work done and not want to be doing a million other things. In college there is always something going on. Somebody wants you to go to a game, there is a social event you want to be at, or your friends just want to hang out. All that sounds 100 times better then working on a paper or homework, right? Anything sounds better then homework to a student, but you have to get your work done!
There is always time to have fun with friends. The sooner you get your work done, the sooner you can do anything that is much better than work. Try your best to stay focused and get all the major stuff out of the way so you aren't freaking out when it is due on Monday morning and its 2 a.m. on a Sunday night. I promise you will be much happier if you get it all done early and don't have to stress about it!