When I wrote my post about what to do during a study break, I felt tempted to write also about what not to do, so here is the follow-up with four advices addressing this issue.
The first thing you should not do during your study breaks is going on the computer, unless you have iron discipline. Facebook, twitter, and all your other favourite websites provide more distraction than you are aware of, and before you know, your 10-minute break becomes a 40-minute break. Despite all this, computers and Internet may be necessary in order to study. In that case, download everything you need to your harddisk or an external memory and shut off the Internet for the time you plan to study.
The second thing is slightly related to the above. As much as you want to reward yourself with an episode of your favourite TV series halfway through the day, it is wiser to save these up for the evening. Your break is at best 10-15 minutes: long enough to empty your mind, but not so long that you get so distracted and your mind gets set to very different things. Episodes of TV series usually take 40-45 minutes to watch, which is far outside the 10-15 minutes range.
Next is staying in the same room as where you are studying. Being surrounded by your textbooks and lecture notes will not help you relax, so it is better to get away from them. If you really insist on staying inside the room, then turn your back on your books.
Last but not least, avoid stressful people during your study breaks. Avoid the people who always complain about things. All these complaints have a very demotivational effect on you that is likely to keep you from studying when your break is over. Also avoid stressful people because stress is contagious and another thing that inhibits good study behaviour.
This was my post on what not to do during study breaks. What do you do when you take a break from studying? What do you avoid to do? Is there something else people should avoid during study breaks, according to you?
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