How to handle commitment problems
Many students, such as Barnie, has a commitment problem. Like a lot of teenagers, he surfs the net, clicking on links posted on social networks, then
proceeds to do his homework, review in case test comes tomorrow, and then grows restless, then apathetic, and finally gives in to the internet. In the process, he puts off his homework for tomorrow. This causes cramming the day just before the deadline with results that are barely satisfactory.
Welcome to the 21st century. A world filled with distractions everywhere you turn. How is it even possible to get homework done at all, let alone focus on doing homework without being distracted by a wide variety of social media. I really try, I really do, but a few minutes later and then I’m online again. It’s like your eyes are passing over the words but you’re not taking in what they say, because you really don’t want to study. Then you decide you’re taking a break, and when you realize what’s happening, it’s already 10 pm and you haven’t even started with your other homework. The next morning you’re really sleepy because you just woke up after 4 hours of sleep, imagine repeating this for a whole week, and let’s see you try staying awake in class.
Researchers speculate that evolution has wired our brains to be constantly scanning for changes in our environment; if a change is sensed, our minds direct our attention towards that thing. For our primitive ancestors this ability was a safeguard against dangers and predators. In the modern age, that sense has been hijacked by the constant stream of incoming stimuli. “Look, I see a bear!” has become “Look a funny video on Youtube! An interesting article on this news site! A photo of my friend on Facebook….”
The brain was not designed for homework. There are no genes for homework like there are for language or vision and other lifecycles. In fact, sitting on your chair writing and reading for longer than 10 minutes, is actually bad for you. The human body is not designed for such tasks, but spurred by the emergence of Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Phoenician alphabet, Chinese paper and, finally, the Gutenberg press, the brain has adapted to read and write.
But thanks to the internet, we have applications that keep us from being distracted such as stayfocused, it is free to download application that limits the use of sites that we are frequently distracted with. Just enter the name of the site and then set the amount of time you are allowed to use it. If you stay on a site longer than what you had allowed yourself, the site will no longer be accessible until the cool down time is over. But you can change the settings so you can use a site for a while longer than you are allowed to. So in the end, you just have to learn some self-control so you can finish your tasks, with results that just might surprise you. By implementing these methods to curb my mindless surfing, I suddenly found myself with a ton of free time I didn’t know existed. Give it a try if you’re looking to be a more productive, industrious, and successful member of society.