Learning how to make time go faster at school is helpful for students who often feel bored and want a positive experience.
An active mind often perceives time as moving faster than a bored one.
In addition, time feels much slower when you aren’t present to participate and fully engage in the moment’s activities.
Since our enjoyment and presence impact our perception of time, finding ways to enjoy the current time better is essential.
This article covers numerous strategies, tips, and tricks to enjoy the present moment and make time go faster at school.
1. Focus on Being Present
A lack of presence is one of the most significant factors that cause the time to feel slower at school.
Daydreaming might seem an excellent way to escape the current situation or classroom lecture.
However, it also reinforces a belief that we can’t focus effectively or enjoy the present moment.
Sometimes daydreaming is beneficial, but it can also cause the time to feel slower whenever we return to the current moment.
Depending on your daydream or external stresses, you may dread school even more than if you focused on doing well in class.
The more engaged you are in school activities, the less likely you’ll notice time passing and look at the clock less frequently.
Focus on the various sensation of the moment, and concentrate on doing your schoolwork as effectively as possible.
Become committed to writing the best papers, getting excellent grades, and impressing your teachers.
Stop focusing on daydreaming or concentrating on future tasks you can’t complete now, and put your efforts into school.
Tips on Being More Present
When time moves slowly, it’s often because we end up lost in thought.
We think of other important things or consider where we’d rather be than where we are now.
We also concentrate on how our current situation is taking time away from other things we could be doing.
Unfortunately, thinking this way doesn’t improve our mood, perception of time, or ability to get things done.
Instead, it robs us of our ability to concentrate on the moment and get the most out of our current time.
To help you focus on being present, there are numerous things you can do to reconnect with where you are.
Firstly, concentrate on your breathing, feel your chest move up and down, and notice how hot or cold the air is.
Next, tighten and loosen the muscles from your feet to your head and feel your clothing drape on your body.
Look around the classroom, observe how students are engaged or disengaged, and examine whether they’re present.
Listen to the teacher’s tonality and interest in the subject they are discussing.
Feel the hardness of the chair, your table, and the floor your feet are planted on.
Once you feel connected with the moment and stop fixating on other things, start actively engaging with the class.
Ask intriguing questions, listen intensely, and find exciting aspects of the lecture.
If you’re in a group project, concentrate on finishing the project rather than focusing on things outside the classroom.
You’ll also want to improve how you study by removing distractions and making your study space comfortable and quiet.
The better you can enter a flow state, the more effectively you’ll study and not notice how quickly or slowly time passes.
Distractions from internal dialogue, future stresses, phone notifications, or screens make your perception of time sluggish.
The more time you spend hoping you are someplace else or thinking about other things to do, the slower time feels.
Contrarily, you’ll improve your perception of time by being present and finding interest and pleasure at the moment.
How to Be More Engaged in the Moment:
- Ask engaging questions
- Listen intensively
- Find the exciting moments in lectures
- Observe your surroundings (students and teacher)
- Concentrate on what you need to do now, not later
- Focus on what your senses experience at the moment
- Prioritize doing your best in school
- Improve your study setting and routines
- Practice meditation and be more present
Being present lets us focus on enjoying the moment and being engaged instead of worrying about time!
2. Take More Creative Notes
Taking creative notes requires students to be more active and engaged with their classroom.
Those who take better notes understand and retain school material more effectively and efficiently.
It also helps the time go by faster at school by immersing students instead of them focusing on how slowly the day is going.
There are numerous ways to make note-taking more engaging, creative, and delightful.
Firstly, you can illustrate the notes in a notebook or on an iPad Pro.
Using an iPad enables you to take creative notes with a pen and apps and easily access them from an iPhone or MacBook! It’s perfect for syncing school work and other important data.
This enables you to retain information better, and the time you spend illustrating helps the time go by faster.
You can also use multi-color highlighters to organize specific notes and ensure they’re more easily viewable.
Besides that, there are numerous notebook designs for note-taking.
For instance, there are journal notebooks with distinct styles of paper and formatting to accommodate different use cases.
With these journal notebooks, students can enjoy using various note-taking styles.
It includes shapes, doodles, illustrations, drop shadows, bullet points, audio recordings, charting, boxing, and mind mapping.
Moreover, digitizing these notes with an iPad is an excellent way to ensure you always have them nearby.
It also enables you to be incredibly creative with note-taking efforts using digital enhancements so you appreciate the process.
Hence, getting into creative note-taking is a perfect way to stay involved and make time go by faster at school.
When taking notes, learn to be more creative and enjoy the process to help the time go by faster.
3. Don’t Focus on Tasks You Can’t Complete Now!
One of the biggest drainers of energy and time is focusing on things we can’t momentarily change.
For instance, it’s easy to concentrate on bills, a recent breakup, chores you must finish, or what you’ll do when class ends.
Unfortunately, focusing on these things creates anxiety at the moment, which makes time feel like it’s taking longer.
It also prevents you from being at your best during school because you aren’t focusing on the things that matter now.
There’s nothing you can do to change things beyond your control at the moment.
Therefore, you should put energy into your school work, note-taking, and engagement instead of things outside your control.
You can still schedule a specific time to focus on the other things on your mind.
For instance, if you’re getting over a breakup, schedule time during the evening when you’re free to talk or journal about it.
During that time, give all your attention to understanding the breakup, how you feel and how to move forward.
If you’re concerned about paying late bills or debt, set some time aside during the weekend to dig into your finances!
Scheduling important things at specific times relieves you from needing to focus on them now!
Again, thinking about problems you can’t currently influence only creates anxiety.
It won’t help solve your problems or enable you to move forward because you can’t do anything about it right now.
Therefore, let your mind know you will give those matters your full attention at a specific time and schedule it.
That way, you focus on thriving now, knowing you’ll do your best to resolve those matters when you have sufficient time!
4. Turn School into a Game
The more we enjoy school activities, the faster time seems to go.
Gamifying schoolwork makes completing tasks and assignments more engaging and enjoyable.
Conversely, focusing on the aspects of school you don’t enjoy makes it exceedingly difficult to make time go faster.
You’ll also struggle to appreciate the positive aspects of school and think of it more as a chore/responsibility than a game.
It’s vital to gain a sense of progress when we gamify school assignments, projects, and classroom lectures.
Therefore, you’ll want to determine what methods you want to use to track your progress.
You should perform weekly reviews to decide whether you’re moving towards your goals and try to improve efficiency.
Asking a series of questions to determine whether you are on track and creating progress bars/benchmarks is helpful.
Remember, tracking progress regularly is essential to ensure you aren’t wasting time and gaining progress.
You’ll also want to receive valuable feedback from a goal-tracking app, tutor, instructor, or guidance counselor.
They’ll help you determine whether you’re moving in the right direction and provide guidance if you’re wasting time.
Another important aspect of turning school assignments into a game is changing your perspective on schoolwork.
Videogames typically have a low-risk/high-reward outcome.
In other words, you can take chances regularly with little to no significant consequences to your real life.
When you perceive failure as learning or a pearl of positive wisdom, you are more likely to take action and succeed.
Fear and boredom are two significant factors that minimize our interest in school and cause us to dread every hour.
Therefore, learning to perceive school as a game instead of an obstacle, chore, or stress is highly beneficial.
It Starts with One Step
One way to minimize failure and maximize progress is to break down significant assignments into small, simple goals.
For instance, if you want to become a long-distance runner without experience, start walking around the corner daily.
You don’t need or want to run a marathon on your first day or first few weeks.
You’ll burn out, lose motivation and increase the odds of quitting.
Instead, set the goal to be highly manageable and make it so simple it’s nearly impossible to fail.
Then monitor your progress weekly to determine whether you are heading in the right direction.
Continue to build yourself up, walk two blocks, and then jog two blocks until you’re running longer distances consistently.
The best plan is one you can stick to and improve, not the fast-track plan you’re likely to fail because it’s too demanding.
Setting small goals ensures plenty of wins while moving towards the larger objective.
It also reduces the risk of failing the more comprehensive objective while improving persistence and success.
Study Small, Learn Big
There are countless apps, study routines, and experts giving “unique” study tips and advice.
Unfortunately, there is no perfect study routine for everyone.
Some people study for 8 hours a day, every day, and have enough momentum and discipline to keep moving forward.
However, using their study routines if you haven’t developed enough focus and discipline can be too demanding.
Instead, set small goals and steps to study daily and build your habits over time if you can’t maintain focus and discipline.
Set a specific time every day to study in a quiet, distraction-free space, and establish simple goals to track your progress.
For instance, if you have to write a 10-page report, consider each page you complete a goal and acknowledge your success.
You completed 10% of the larger objective and achieved a smaller “self-made” goal/objective that feels very rewarding.
The mind enjoys making progress, achieving goals, and succeeding in life.
Thus, completing small goals feels much better than acknowledging success only after finishing the entire report.
Small bite-sized wins grow into enormous momentum and progress toward massive goals.
The more you learn to gamify school and set small goals, the more you develop momentum, motivation, and discipline.
Over time your habits will improve, time will feel like it’s moving faster, and you’ll be more successful in school.
Turning a massive project into small, easily achievable goals makes you feel less stressed and more motivated. Stop focusing on how long the ladder is and enjoy each story you climb.
5. Try Learning in a Different Way
Using the same study routines and learning strategies can feel tedious and bland if you don’t keep things fresh.
Studying in the same manner daily can also make time feel longer since the mind can tire of a lack of variety.
Indeed, some people study best by not switching their routines or strategies.
However, for those who need variety, it’s beneficial to adapt different learning styles depending on mood and situation.
Numerous learning styles help students learn, understand and retain information quickly and effectively.
For instance, some students learn more effectively using visual aids or tactile experiences.
Other students learn and comprehend information most suitably from reading, writing, or auditory formats.
Understanding your learning style helps you dramatically improve how effectively you understand and retain information.
Utilizing multiple learning styles can even improve your engagement with your study material.
As a result, time will feel faster at school and while studying because you’ll be focused on education instead of time.
6. Get Adequate Rest
One of the most prominent factors that affect how fast our days seem to go by is whether we feel adequately rested.
Anyone who’s had to go to work or school while tired understands how much it affects how long time feels through the day.
Thus, sleep, rest and recovery are vital to staying focused and positive and creating a sense that time is moving quickly.
Receiving sufficient sleep daily is essential to allow your mind to rest, recover and perceive time efficiently.
It’s also necessary to keep you in a positive mood and enable you to engage fully in various activities throughout the day.
Consequently, a lack of sleep or energy makes it seem like time is taking forever.
Many students stay up late to study for classroom sessions, exams, and quizzes.
Unfortunately, cramming information when tired will reduce your attention, retention, and studying efficiency.
It also impacts the next day as students have less energy and attention to learn, and their perception of time is much slower.
Setting aside sufficient time to study for classroom sessions, exams, and quizzes is vital.
However, you must understand whether you benefit from staying awake and studying to retain information while tired.
You may retain very little and exhaust yourself the following day, making time at school feel longer and more unbearable.
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7. Minimize Anxiety in Other Areas
When we are anxious, it robs us of being present, enjoying the moment, and completing critical tasks.
In addition to feeling a lack of presence, we feel like we’re wasting time doing anything that doesn’t alleviate our anxiety.
As a result, it’s easy to feel like time is going slowly at school when you’re anxious about things outside the classroom.
If you’re prone to anxiety, consider creating a daily/weekly schedule to manage goals, tasks, and chores that cause stress.
Focusing on anxiety-evoking tasks at school isn’t helpful because you can’t do anything about it in the classroom.
You can be more present by setting aside time to address non-classroom issues that cause anxiety when not at school.
In addition, ask yourself weekly whether you’re moving in the right direction with tasks you need to address or complete.
A strong sense of moving forward and making progress is essential to minimizing anxiety and stress in life.
Fortunately, numerous tools, software, time management notebooks, and apps exist to manage essential obligations.
Use them to track progress, stay motivated, make weekly changes, and minimize anxiety.
A sense of continual progress minimizes anxiety and stress. Thus, tracking progress and setting manageable goals are paramount to positive motivation, focus, and success.
8. Enjoy Non-School Time
It’s imperative to enjoy our free time to rest, recover, and recharge when not studying or at school.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day.
However, time seems to move faster when we are refreshed and in a positive mood.
Enjoying yourself when you aren’t working, going to school, or studying helps you recuperate and restore your mind.
As a result, you’ll have more focus, energy, and effectiveness in school, which helps the time go by faster.
In addition, you won’t feel as tired, lack attention, or be stressed about classroom sessions or studying.
While we can’t directly make time go faster at school, we can use the previous strategies to improve our time perception.
As a result, time will feel faster by being engaged, reducing stress, getting rest, and making activities more enjoyable.