5 Ways To Study Better Using The Internet

A new year, a new chance to actually KEEP that resolution to do better in school. Before you head back to class this week, here are five things on the Internet to help you on your scholastic quest.

Listen to white noise

Studies have shown that listening to white noise helps students who are easily distracted concentrated better and focus on the task at hand. Don't spend $25 on a white noise machine at your nearest Sharper Image though (do they even have those anymore?); websites like Simply Noise and White Noise provide loops of white noise for free.

Stop procrastinating

Okay, okay, I know. It's impossible to concentrate when you KNOW someone just followed you on Twitter or liked your newest Tumblr post or wrote on your Facebook wall. That's why online apps like SelfControl were developed. SelfControl lets you add sites that you want to block in order to concentrate and set a timer for how long you want to block those sites. Best/worst part? There's no way to deactivate the block once you've started the timer. (P.S. - a similar add-on can be downloaded for those of you who don't have Macs here.)

Stay on track

Focus Booster, for both Macs and PCs, helps you stay on track and ensures you take frequent study breaks. It allows you to create a to do list and sets 25 minutes per task. When 25 minutes are up, it allows you a five minute break, and then lines up another 25 minutes for the next task.

Keep track of what you're doing

With TrackTime, users can see how they're spending time on the computer - how much time they're spending online, on their email clients, and actually on that word document that needs to turn into an English paper by tomorrow. The app even puts all the information into a colorful graphic, so users can enjoy looking at how much time they're wasting.

Actually study

Now that you've officially wiped out all distractions from your computer for the time being, ProProfs is a great site for making flashcards and quizzes to prepare for your big test. So there you have it. Now stop looking at that article called "24 Adorbz Cat Photos!" and get to work.