when i was younger i remember being a
teenager and not caring too much about
having a clean study space
with school sports and console games
occupying most of my day
i didn't spend much time on my desk
anyways yet as i got older and
progressively spent more and more time
sitting in front of a computer screen
the value of having an efficient desk
setup started becoming more apparent
when i arrived at university no one was
there to spoon feed me information
or tell me exactly what i had to do to
pass the test to perform well required
you to put in the effort
go beyond what you saw in lectures and
start researching information for
yourself
i needed a study space where i could
concentrate get in the zone
and work effectively at first i thought
it was as simple as finding a table
getting my notes out and begin working
but it's never that simple
it's not always easy to stay focused our
environment makes it hard for us to do
so because it's filled with constant
distractions
whether that be social media
notifications trying to draw us back to
our devices
or the accessibility of youtube netflix
and video games
that are only a click away
procrastination seems to get the better
of us
even when we know we should be studying
by creating a workspace that encourages
you to be productive
i believe that you can get all your work
done while still having the time
to enjoy the things you love hey guys
welcome back to the channel if you're
new here i'm sebastian a medical student
from australia
and in this video i'll be sharing with
you some tips on how to create a
productive workspace
with many of us now studying and working
from home it's becoming increasingly
difficult to stay focused
because no one is there to hold us
accountable it's up to us to make
efficient use of our time
and i think organizing your desk setup
is the first thing to doing just that
before we begin i just wanted to say
that these tips are not instructions for
what you should exactly follow
these are just principles that have
helped me create a more productive
environment in medical school
and some of which i hope you can employ
in creating your own study space
make it comfortable
so with any work and study space it
needs to be comfortable
you need to be relaxed when you're there
and because you're going to be spending
so many hours in the day at that spot
it needs to be something that you enjoy
being in so the first thing to make it
comfortable is to ensure that you have a
clean
organized workspace if there's dust or
some coffee stains on the table
clean them up as weird as it sounds i
think that if your desk and your
environment is clean
your mind will think more clearly and
you'll be more focused you need to be
thinking about your lighting and if
possible it's important to try to use
natural light so that means putting your
desk near a window so you can get some
fresh light coming in in the morning
if that's not possible then it's
important to try organize some lighting
equipment
maybe a lamp or something to try light
up any dark spots so that you're not
straining your eyes when you're reading
texts
or when you're doing tasks i'd recommend
getting a bulb or a lamp that has
different brightness settings
so that you can adapt it according to
the time of the day in order to make it
comfortable you need a good chair
this is what you're going to be sitting
on for hours and hours and if the chair
is not comfortable
you are definitely not going to enjoy
sitting there i'd suggest choosing a
chair that has lower back support to
ensure that you have good posture in the
long run
and i'd also suggest if possible to get
an armchair so you have something to
lean on when you're feeling more tired
and following this idea of constantly
moving i'd suggest getting a standing
desk for me i don't have one
i enjoy my l-shaped desk but if i had to
upgrade or if i had to change
getting a standing desk will allow you
to get a second wind by standing up
by getting the blood flowing and it's
also better for your general health as
well as humans we're not designed to be
sitting down for prolonged periods of
time
so being able to stand up and move
around that's really helpful in the long
run
make it easy
the first step into doing this is to
create an environment where its sole
function its sole purpose is to work is
to study
that way your brain will be conditioned
to going into that environment
and then being focused and then being
switched on it's also good because when
you finish your study or work session
and you come away from that study
environment
your brain will disassociate from doing
work and you'll be able to relax more
effectively
and to help you with this it's important
to get rid of any obvious distractions
and that can be in the form of removing
shortcuts to games or social media
to turning off your notifications on
your phone putting your phone on silent
mode
or even putting your phone out of the
room altogether i find using the
pomodoro method to set study blocks for
yourself
is a good way to compartmentalize your
study into short energized bursts
tomato timer and forest are some apps
that i enjoy using for setting my timer
and that way i can focus in those 50
minutes that i've set for myself
and then i can check my notifications
and have a short break for five to ten
minutes afterwards you also want to
choose a study space that is quiet so
any noise distractions will be removed
if that's not possible i like to listen
to music while i'm studying
lo-fi cafe sounds anything of that sort
it really helps me stay focused for long
periods of time
my friends also tell me that using noise
cancelling headphones are particularly
useful for getting rid of any noise
distractions
and that can be a worthwhile investment
if you really need that quietness
making it easy means having quick access
to items that you're using all the time
and that can be your water bottle so
that you're hydrated a box of tissues in
case you need to blow your nose
and having sound controls nearby so you
don't have to fiddle around
with volume have your pens pencils and
paper nearby
if you're one to write notes having an
organized desk set up for the things you
use commonly
is really important in saving time and
making it easy and finally you want to
replace equipment that's causing you
problems
you want your equipment to help you be
more efficient and not cause any
friction between your work ethic
and your work output what i mean by this
is that if you've had a laptop for five
years and it's been slowing you down
causing trouble the a key is not working
properly i'd suggest replacing it
it doesn't mean that it has to be the
most expensive or newest device but one
that won't break your flow
the time that you should replace
something is when something's causing
you an obvious problem
like a 10 second delay when you type or
speakers that are making like a loud
static sound
that's just unpleasant to your ears
replace items that are slowing you down
but don't spend too much money on things
you don't need as long as your items are
working and not breaking your flow
you'll make the experience of studying
more enjoyable and easier to do
make it yours
that's the most important thing about
creating your own study space you can
make it unique you can make it fun to be
in make it different make it yours
i'm someone who likes to keep things
tidy and organized so having a
relatively
minimalistic study space is really
useful for me but i also like to have
other things on my desk like my little
Lee Sin figure some fake plans and this
little penguin to help break up the
monotony of my white desk and black
electronics
but if you're someone who likes to have
everything around you you might want to
have your notes handy
or textbooks that are easily accessible
organize them correctly and mould your
study behaviors
to the desk setup it could be as simple
as including a little plush toy a
figurine
plants photos of family and friends
anything that makes you feel like you
belong in the space
that's the advantage of studying at home
compared to being in a library or being
in an office
it's familiar it's pleasant to be in it
has character
another thing to think about is where
you study everyone's different and if
you prefer not having a fixed location
to always be in
and instead you like to move around the
house change location
and be flexible do that instead it's all
about finding a system that fits your
workflow so you're drawn to working in
that space
i believe that your environment shapes
your behavior and it's one of the
strongest drivers to get you working
especially when internal motivation is
low so when it comes to studying
making the environment comfortable
making it easy making it yours
these are the things that will boost
your productivity and help you
incorporate good study habits
because at the end of the day the extra
time that we save by working hard at our
desks
will mean extra time to do the things we
love if you enjoyed the video remember
to hit that like button and to subscribe
to see more content like this
i have plenty more videos about study
tips on my channel and i'll link a video
on my own study desk setup
in case you wanted to check it out
thanks so much for watching and
until next time this is sebastian stay sharp
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