Christian Youth & Young Adults
"Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.'
Many students are under the impression that successful studying must be done in absolute silence, with not a hint of noise or sound anywhere in the nearby vicinity. While silence is definitely a necessary factor for some students, others can surprisingly benefit from having their favorite music playing in the background. Instead of distracting them, these students find that:
- Music can make it easier to focus
The rhythms and melodies found in music can encourage your brain to get in the zone and shut itself off from all other distractions. It can induce an almost hypnotic-like trance with will help you become fully absorbed in the work in front of you. Music is also handy because it can drown out other distracting background noises such as the sounds of other people's chatter. True silence is hard to come by, especially if you live with other people. Even the stillness of a library can sometimes be punctuated by other noises. All you have to do is pop in your ear buds and never worry about unwanted noise again.
- Music can help you use your time well
Organizing your study time effectively can be a pretty tall task. What if you end up spending too much time on one topic and not enough on another? A good solution is to create playlists of varying length that you can use to segment your studying. This way, you will not have to be glancing up at the clock all the time. You will know that as one playlist draws to a close, then it is time to move on to something else or to take a break. Making short playlists for break time is also a good idea.
- Music can put you in a better mood
"Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky." (Philippians 2:14-15)
These Biblical words of encouragement provide fantastic advice for college students. Studying is hard, but it can be even harder and even less enjoyable if you grumble about having to do it. You should instead approach studying with a positive and uplifted mood, and one of the best ways to improve your mood is by listening to your favorite music. If you are having a great time while studying because your music is playing in the background, then you will be less likely to take breaks, procrastinate, or skip over difficult material. A happy brain is also probably better at storing and remembering information than one that hates what it is doing.
It might take you some time to find out what music works best for you when you are studying. Perhaps songs with words are too distracting and you have an easier time focusing when listening to classical, trance, or ambient songs instead. Try out a few different artists or albums and see what allows you to get in the zone and breeze through your study materials best.
Spiritual Prayer
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.