Let’s be honest, some classes at Fresno City College are extremely boring. Students have been turning to a wide variety of sanity-saving distractions to ignore their professors’ dull lectures and to procrastinate on homework.

The phone in your pocket just vibrated, indicating a new text message. Do you continue taking notes or do you see what the message is? Most students choose to answer the text regardless of the professor’s rules and regulations.

One day, I was listening to a lecture and the professor noticed I was text messaging.  Furious, the professor asked me to leave the room until I was done talking to whoever was more important than this class.

The truth is, a student can never give their full attention to a cell phone and an instructor at the same time. They will miss valuable information that will likely be on an upcoming exam or quiz. And the cell phone becomes a distraction for everyone who sees or hears it.

In this age, more and more assignments and tests are using Blackboard or some other kind of web-based system of teaching.  If your homework is online, this presents many distractions in itself. With all the fun and exciting things to do on a computer, it can be hard to stay focused on what you’re doing.  For example, social networking has become extremely popular over the past few years.

According to TechCrunch, a website on reporting on new Internet products and companies, Facebook has recently become the world’s top social-networking site with 200 million registered users, doubling MySpace’s figure. It’s hard to choose the boring homework over talking to friends. But consider using these sites or games as a reward for finishing what really needs to be done.

Another common distraction is the instant messenger. AIM, Yahoo, Windows Live, Xfire, etc., are some of the worst distractions because they have the tendency to interrupt you in the middle of work. “Staying focused requires involvement and participation in the class,” said Debbie Ockey, an ESL/Linguistics instructor.

“Challenge yourself to study for more time. Take good notes in class and review them. It’s not magic, but it takes hard work and effort.”

Remember that we’re all at school for a reason. Check your texts when you get out. They will still be there when class is over.  Most cell phones have voice mail, and if someone is trying to reach you, they can leave a message.

When doing homework, it works best to have a quiet environment. If you are working on the computer, try to sign out of your instant messenger or make yourself invisible until you’re done. Being Generation Y college students, we have many electronic distractions that are quite easy to access, making it difficult to stay focused.