Making your firefighter promotional exam prep means that other things in your life have to be put on hold. One thing you do not want to stop doing though is cleaning, especially the space in which you study; studying in a cluttered space can have an adverse effect on you.
Overwhelm
So much to do, not enough time. As you sit studying and looking around, seeing a mess around you is going to make you feel overwhelmed. You have to study, but you need to clean and do a handful of other everyday necessary tasks. How can anyone possibly do it all? If your space is messy your mind will become messy too. As these feelings come up, this can have a major negative effect on your mental health as well, not just your promotional exam studies. This overwhelm can lead to anxiety and even depression which will make studying for your firefighter promotional exam much harder, as well as just everyday tasks.
Decreases Concentration, Increases Distractions
A big downside of studying in a messy space is because it can decrease your concentration and ability to stay focused on your studies. You may have a hard time focusing because of the pure amount of stuff around you that will end up distracting you. You will see things in the abyss you were missing or looking for. Something may look interesting and catch your attention and draw you away from your study session. The more stuff there is around you the more possibilities for distractions there are. As stated above it may just begin to make you feel overwhelmed so you can’t focus on studying on your firefighter promotional exam anymore because the mess is all you can think about.
Increase Procrastination
If you really don’t want to study, your messy space may just be the perfect procrastination tool. Instead of studying you may just decide to clean your home. While this may make your next study session more productive, it is not necessarily a good thing if you are in a time crunch as your promotional exam gets closer and closer.
Waste Time Searching
On the other hand, if you have a cluttered space, you will likely spend a lot of time looking for your stuff. Where are my keys, where are my notes, my textbooks, and so on. Things have a tendency to get lost in cluttered spaces which ultimately results in a waste of a lot of your time as you search for it. This time could be better spent studying or maybe even cleaning up.
Suggestions!
If you can’t keep up with the housework, study somewhere else.
There is nothing wrong with stepping out of your house or regular study space and going somewhere else if your study space is a mess and you don’t have time to clean. Obviously you will need to come back to that space eventually and take care of it, but sometimes stepping away from a mess and waiting to tackle it can increase your motivation.
Create a nightly cleaning routine.
A great way to keep your house from becoming an overwhelmingly messy place is to create a short ten to fifteen minute daily cleaning routine that you do everyday before bed. Clear and wipe counters, sweep, and do dishes. Then schedule a big cleaning day once a week or every two weeks, or so. This way there will be much less work when the big cleaning day comes around. As a bonus, waking up to a clean house will make you start the day on the best note. How bad do you feel when you wake up in the morning and your sink is full of dishes and stuff is just everywhere. Try this for a few days and see if you start your mornings feeling better and end up having better days because of it.
Get Help!
If you are truly overwhelmed with housework and studying, get help. Don’t be ashamed to pay someone to come and help you clean every now and then or ask a friend or family member if you are truly in a cleaning rut.
The Takeaway
You don’t need to study in a sterile environment but you do need one free of clutter and distractions if you actually want to accomplish your goals. Cleaning is just about as much fun as studying, but they both need to happen for you to do well, well, in life. Don’t let your messy home be the downfall of your firefighter promotional exam. Make a study plan, make a cleaning plan and ace that test.