Academics · Subject Resources

Find out what really
breaks your focus.

Most advice about distraction is general. This checklist makes it yours: log each study session with where the phone was, what was on and what interrupted you, and estimate the minutes you were really on task. After a few sessions the side panel shows your own focus by setup, and the flags say what to change before the next one.

Add a sessionWhat you get

Study sessions

The worked example is made up: a chemistry session with the phone in another room, a history session with it on the table and an essay night with it in hand. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Academics · Subject ResourcesFree

What you finish with
A record per study session: date, subject, minutes, minutes on task, breaks, where the phone was, notifications, setting, each interruption with a count and six setup checks. Works out the share on task and total interruptions; compares your average focus by phone location; flags phones within reach, notifications on, long sessions with no break, sessions under half on task, the most common interruption and working in bed.
Who it is for
Middle school, high school and college students, and parents helping a student find a study routine that works.
Format
Browser log with a saved record per session. Prints one session, all of them in a table or a blank session sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Subject Resources space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Set up as usual and note where the phone is.
  2. Tally each interruption as it happens.
  3. Estimate honestly how many minutes were on task.
  4. After a week, compare setups in the side panel.
  5. Change one thing for the next session.

Add a session

Setup

Setting up a focused session1Decide what done meansThree problems, one section,300 words.2Gather everythingBooks, files, charger, water.3Phone out of the roomNot face down; out of sight.4Close what is not neededTabs, apps, the TV.5Work in a blockAbout 25 to 50 minutes on atimer.6Take a real breakStand up, move, 5 to 10minutes.Setting up a focused session1Decide what done meansThree problems, one section, 300 words.2Gather everythingBooks, files, charger, water.3Phone out of the roomNot face down; out of sight.4Close what is not neededTabs, apps, the TV.5Work in a blockAbout 25 to 50 minutes on a timer.6Take a real breakStand up, move, 5 to 10 minutes.
The percentages in the side panel come from your own estimates, so compare them with each other, not with anyone else’s.

The phone in sight

In a study of about 800 people, those whose phones were in another room did better on tests of working memory and reasoning than those with the phone face down on the desk, even though nobody touched their phones. Out of sight works better than silent.

Getting back on task

An interruption costs more than its own length. After a message or a video, it takes time to rebuild where you were in a problem or a paragraph. Fewer, planned breaks protect the work between them.

Sources

  1. Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., and Bos, M. W. (2017). Brain drain: the mere presence of one’s own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2), 140 to 154.
  2. Mark, G., Gudith, D., and Klocke, U. (2008). The cost of interrupted work: more speed and stress. Proceedings of CHI 2008.
  3. Rosen, L. D., Carrier, L. M., and Cheever, N. A. (2013). Facebook and texting made me do it: media-induced task-switching while studying. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 948 to 958.
  4. Cirillo, F. The Pomodoro Technique, work blocks and breaks.

The worked example is made up. Focus figures come from your own estimates. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.