How behavior affects learning?

            Our behaviors impact everything we do, including learning.  When we are a student, there is so much pressure to learn a certain amount within a specific amount of time.  That fact comes with a lot of pressure and being more in control of our behaviors can help that pressure to hopefully feel less heavy.  One key behavior to think about is to be focused rather than distracted.  We all have different limits here and it is important to think about where you are at. For example, some of us might be too distracted by many things on our desk and if that is the case, we will need to take action and organize our desk to help prevent those distractions. 

Also, we all have different tools that help us to stay focused and it is important to think about what helps you and what does not help.  Some of us might need to sit very still in order to be able to focus whereas others might need to fidget in order to focus. There is a lot of science that shows that for some people fidgeting can help regulate themselves and help them to focus more.  Then for others, fidgeting behaviors can be a source of distractions.  So, it is important to reflect on where you lie with that and follow through with behaviors that promote focus.  Some people do really well with setting a timer to go off every few minutes to check in with themselves about if they are paying attention or not. 

Adding structure can be a really helpful behavior to implement that can help with learning.  Structure is why so many students do better in their school age years because they are very structured.  On the contrary, one specific structure does not work for every person, so even though a certain structure might be forced on you it will be important to pick up on what works for you and what does not.  For example, if there is music playing in the room you are studying and you find that distracting, you can take control of that by using some ear plugs to block the sound.