Distraction is anything that prevents someone from concentrating on important things. It is easy to get distracted by things that don’t matter in a student’s life.

It is not surprising to find students who spend more of their time lavishly on things that cause distraction rather than pursuing their careers in this fast-paced world. We find that we can never complete a task within the deadline; we procrastinate.

In this rat race of capitalism, it feels like nature’s stipulated 24 hours is never enough in a day. When was the last time you completed all of your work within the specified time, feeling completely satisfied? Hard to answer, right?

The following is a compilation of the most common distractions in a student’s life.

1. Social Media – Distractions In A Student’s Life

Social media applications — By Twin Design/ Shutterstock

These days, it’s quite impossible to sit in one place and not have the urge to check out the latest updates on social networking sites. What seems to be a 5-minute check turns into hour-long loitering.

This is the most debated distraction in recent times. Social media like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter prevent students from concentrating on their studies and tempt them to waste their time sharing selfies and engaging themselves in trivial conversations.

2. Smartphones and other electronics – Distractions In A Student’s Life

Young woman using her phone — By insta_photos/ Shutterstock

Electronics are a major distraction in a student’s life. When a student sits down to study, a small ‘ping’ invites them towards their smartphone. Playing video games, watching television shows and texting are some of the activities that find their way into our busy schedules.

3. Girls and Boys – Distractions In A Student’s Life

College girl and boy — By Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock

For some students, people of the opposite sex often distract them from their usual course. This is the case for most students when they reach adolescence years. They spend more time than necessary in ‘pursuing’ or ‘checking out people.’ Flirting and relationships pose more as a diversion when not handled properly.

4. Random chit-chat, gossip – Distractions In A Student’s Life

Often, a 5-minute small-talk gets converted into 30 minutes of random conversation. You should socialize, but only if it does not interfere with your work. Backbiting other people is a very negative habit. Stop doing that.

5. Movies and TV Shows – Distractions In A Student’s Life

The fad to go and watch a new movie as soon as it releases is commonplace. Further, these days, it is conventional to download movies and TV shows in bulk. They eat up a lot of time in a student’s life.

Ways to handle distractions:

- Social media, the biggest distraction, should be used in moderation for 15-30 minutes to update a status, send a few tweets or reply to someone, then log out soon after.

- Chatting should be completely avoided. Instead, if you want to talk to someone about something important, give them a call. This restraint will be tough, but it will be worth the wait.

- In leisure time, try to avoid irrelevant gossip about other people. Instead, use that same time to talk about world news or do some mental ability puzzles. It is more character-building and a beneficial way to kill your time.

- While using smartphones, it is advisable to keep them silent for everything other than phone calls. With the plethora of apps in today’s smartphone, it isn’t easy to concentrate if notifications keep popping up every few minutes.

- People should avoid short-term relationships. It ends with grief and pain and a lot of futile time and makes you dependable on the other. Instead of chasing after some hard-to-get person, it is better to invest that time in a hobby.

- Finally, it would be best if you restricted yourself from watching too many movies, maybe one movie a month. It’s better to ask a friend to review how a particular film is rather than going and watching the first day, first show.