I am certain that I have the entire teenage population supporting me when I say we would all do anything to distract us from a long awaited essay or putting off revision that we know we should be doing for the all important upcoming exams. Why is it then that we distract ourselves from things that we know we need to do, and in the long run, that will benefit us?

Distractions can be seen as good or bad things, depending upon how they are applied to a situation. People may distract themselves from thinking about things they should not be or as a method of putting things in the past. Hobbies in particular can be used as useful distractions when wanting to replace something else, examples of these include joining a gym or gardening as a replacement for smoking or spending too much time shopping.

However, these may work much better if you are of an older generation, whilst many teenagers sit at home every night watching the minutes tick to midnight, still having ‘that essay’ hanging over their heads. Perhaps we will never get it into our heads that distractions will never get us anywhere, or will they? A recent friend of mine built an entire family of origami cranes as a method of distraction from an important assignment, where she delivered them to friends throughout the week as a method of cheering them up, thus resulting in a positive attitude of students throughout the week, making it easier to complete their work! The discovery of new skills is always exciting, particularly when it comes as a surprise. Whether you think it is good or bad to be distracted, it happens to all of us and why not let it help you learn?