Picture the scene. It’s exam time. You’ve decided this time is gonna be different.

You’ve already bought a pack of post-its and rented out the recommended reading books for each subject. You’ve locked yourself in your room for the week to smash out all your study. You’re never leaving. You are the picture of motivation and cramming.

Ten minutes later, you’re so deep in Cassie from high school’s Instagram you’re considering if you’d be a more likeable person if you took up surfing.

The age of smart phone has ruined all of us. But never fear. We’ve bitten the bullet and found five (!) different techniques to help you actually remember what the powerhouse of the cell is.

#1 Meditate

It’s no secret that meditating is the physical manifestation of staying hydrated in 2017, but your bog standard lotus position is actually fabulous for brainpower.

As well as reaching your inner weekday Madonna, studies show that daily meditation helps tenfold with focus and absorbing information. Five to 10 minutes is recommended each day, which you can easily do while waiting for your morning coffee to cool down.

#2 Mindfulness Techniques

On the quest to become good and smart, I picked the brains of Thomas Reilly, a Monash Uni Masters grad, who suggested mindfulness techniques.

“This involves training your focus to stay in the ‘here and now’ and preventing your mind from wandering,” he says. “If you try to take three to five mins out every day to practice mindfulness techniques, research suggests that your ability to sustain attention is likely to significantly improve.” There. Stay inside.

#3 Take Frequent Breaks

Taking breaks is arguably the funnest part of studying, and according to Thomas Riley, super important to maintaining S-M-R-Tness.

“It’s best to try and take a short break every 40 minutes into a study sesh. Though if you’re finding you’re starting to lose it earlier than this, take a break anyway and regroup.” Bonus points if you do something wholesome and healthy in that break, like getting away from the computer or rearranging your vast new highlighter collection.

#4 Play Some Brain Games

Argo Theoharis, currently majoring in Psychology and Psychophysiology (phwoar) at Swinburne University of Technology pointed us in the direction of an attention training game called Dual N Back, which provides memory improving techniques.

While it’s arguably not the most exciting game in the world, after spending ten minutes goofing around on it, I felt motivated and superior. Psychology Today even raves about it, so you know it works. Also, it’s free.

#5 Actually Eat Breakfast

Since your attention span lives in your brain, which in turn resides inside your body, it makes sense that putting good stuff up in there makes a difference. The DAA reckons skipping brekky will fuck you up for the rest of the day, so a solid meal that’s high in fibre and protein is your brain’s bestie. Eat some cheese on toast at least.

So there ya go. You now have laser focus to enjoy the sponge your brain was always destined to be. Study hard, comrades.

Pasha is a Film and Television Animation student at Swinburne University of Technology. She spends most of her time playing with plasticine in the dark and can be found on Instagram at @pashrashy.

(Lead image: Community/NBC)