How to stop getting distracted by your phone while studying

To stop getting distracted by your phone while studying, take it out of the room or at least out of sight, silence its notifications before you start, and give yourself a short, fixed time to study before you may check it. A phone that is silent, out of reach and off your desk removes most of the pull, and a visible end time makes it easier to leave alone.

This guide covers what research says about phone distraction, which parts of that research are solid and which are still argued over, and six steps that put it into practice.

Roomie Cafe is a free focus timer you share with friends. We make it, and we mention it briefly near the end.

Why your phone is so hard to ignore

A phone does not have to buzz to distract you. Two things happen at once: the notifications that reach you, and the phone simply being there.

Notifications

In a 2015 experiment, Stothart, Mitchum and Yehnert had people do an attention demanding task while phone notifications arrived. Notifications alone significantly disrupted performance, even when participants never touched a phone during the task. The size of the disruption was comparable to what they saw when people actively used a phone for calls or texting [1]. The authors suggest that notifications prompt task irrelevant thoughts, or mind wandering [1].

The phone on your desk

Researchers have also asked whether a phone you leave alone still costs you something. The results are mixed, so here is how the main studies line up:

Read together, the honest summary is that a phone nearby may cost you a little, the evidence is not settled, and a phone that is buzzing costs you more [1][5]. You do not need the strongest version of the claim to act on it. Moving a phone away is cheap and free.

Six steps to keep your phone from taking over a study session

1. Decide what the session is for. Write one line before you start, such as "finish questions 1 to 10". A vague task is easy to abandon, and the phone is the easiest exit. Our guide to how to focus on studying covers how to pick a clear target.
2. Silence it before you begin. Turn on Do Not Disturb or a focus mode and allow only calls from the few people who really need to reach you. Notifications are the most reliably harmful part of the problem [1], and this removes them in ten seconds.
3. Put it out of reach, rather than only face down. Leave it in a bag, another room or a drawer. Distance adds effort to every check, and that small delay gives you a moment to notice what you are doing. This also covers the possible cost of presence found in some studies [2][3][4].
4. Study for a set time. Twenty five to fifty minutes, then a break in which the phone is allowed. Knowing the break is coming makes it easier to leave the phone alone. The Pomodoro method is one common way to do this.
5. Catch the urge and write it down. When you feel the pull, jot a word on paper, such as "reply to Sam", and return to the task. The urge often passes, and the note means you will not forget the message.
6. Study near other people. Working alongside others, in person or online, can make drifting off to a screen feel more noticeable, in our experience. We explain the idea in why focusing alone is harder. Two vignette studies with students found lower state procrastination in interdependent group work than in individual work, though that was about shared tasks, not quiet company [6].

If you catch yourself scrolling for a long stretch, the pattern is different and worth its own approach. Our post on doom scrolling covers it.

What if you need your phone to study?

Many students use the phone as a calculator, a flashcard app or a camera for notes. In that case you can keep the phone and remove the rest:

• Move study tools to a laptop or tablet where you can.
• Use a single app and turn off every other notification, so the screen shows only what you need.
• Log out of social apps for the session, so opening them takes effort.
• Keep the phone on a different surface from your notes and look at it only for the task.

None of this is tested as a bundle. These are sensible ways to cut down on cues while you use the phone for something useful.

Where Roomie Cafe fits

Roomie Cafe is a shared focus timer. You press start, pick what you are working on and a length, and see which friends are focusing right now. There is no webcam and no microphone, so people see only your name, what you are working on and your timer. When the timer ends you write one line about what you got done.

It gives you a fixed time to stay off your phone, with quiet company that makes drifting off a little more noticeable. It runs on the web and as an iPhone, iPad and Mac app, and it is free. If you would rather study with others, see our guide to studying with friends online.

FAQ

How do I stop picking up my phone while studying?

Silence it, put it in another room, and study for a set time such as 25 to 50 minutes. Allow yourself to check it during the break. Writing down the urge instead of acting on it helps too.

Does having my phone on the desk hurt focus?

Possibly, but the evidence is mixed. Some experiments found lower attention or cognitive capacity with a phone present [2][3][4]. A 2023 meta analysis of 56 studies found a significant effect only on working memory capacity [5]. Notifications have clearer evidence of harm [1].

Is face down enough?

It helps with the sight of the screen, but it is still within reach. Putting it in a bag or another room removes the option, which is easier than resisting it.

Should I use an app blocker?

Blockers can help if you already know which apps pull you away. We have not found strong research on blockers, so we make no claim about how well they work. Try one for a week and see whether you finish more.

References

1. Stothart, C., Mitchum, A., & Yehnert, C. (2015). The attentional cost of receiving a cell phone notification. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance.
2. Thornton, B., Faires, A., Robbins, M., & Rollins, E. (2014). The mere presence of a cell phone may be distracting. Social Psychology.
3. Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & 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.
4. Skowronek, J., Seifert, A., & Lindberg, S. (2023). The mere presence of a smartphone reduces basal attentional performance. Scientific Reports.
5. Parry, D. A. (2023). Does the mere presence of a smartphone impact cognitive performance? A meta-analysis of the "brain drain effect". Media Psychology.
6. Koppenborg, M., & Klingsieck, K. B. (2022). Social factors of procrastination: Group work can reduce procrastination among students. Social Psychology of Education.