How
do I concentrate better in my studies?
Try one or all five
of the following strategies to boost your concentration during studying:
·
Commit to reaching one study goal a day.
·
Study smarter, not longer or harder.
·
Become a pro at eliminating distractions.
·
Build the habit of studying the hardest material early.
·
Create a mental model to ace your concentration.
Strategy #1.
Commit to reaching one study goal a day.
The best way to
get your mind on board to concentrate on studying is to start the day with a
question: “What is the one thing I am committed to completing today?”
·
Why this is important: It will
encourage you to think strategically about the day, keep you focused on your
top study goal, and force you to prioritize the one goal that you want to reach
by the end of the day. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have many study goals,
but it does means that you can finish one today (read a
certain number of chapters or practice exam questions, for example), so that
you can concentrate better on your other goals in the days that follow.
·
How you can practice it: Write the
question in big bold letters on a sheet of paper and hang it on your bedroom or
bathroom wall. Pick a location where you can easily see the question as soon as
you wake up (next to your bed or the bathroom mirror, for example). Then, read
it out loud as you start your day. Take a few moments to think what you want to
prioritize, and then come up with an answer and say it out loud too. Later, as
you go through the day, make sure you’re working on completing what you’ve
identified as your study goal for that day.
Strategy #2.
Study smarter, not longer or harder.
How can you
possibly focus if you believe it will take you hours to study all day? That
certainly won’t give you motivation to study for longer periods of time or days
at a stretch. Instead, try a different approach. When you're ready to begin
studying, use a timer to divide up your time so that you allow your brain to
focus in a more targeted and effective way. These three techniques can help you
concentrate better:
·
When you’re reading or reviewing study material: Set the timer
to 30 or 60 minute increments to maximize concentration; or, you can also try
the Pomodoro
technique which consists of 25 minute blocks of time, followed by 5 minute
breaks.
·
When you’re preparing for exams: Use your timer
to simulate an exam. First, start with the review questions provided in your
textbook or by your professor. If you have neither, create your own questions
based on the most important concepts from each chapter. Then, write the
questions down on a sheet of paper in a list format. Set your timer to the
Pomodoro technique (in 25 minute increments) to give yourself only a short time
to answer the questions, and go down the list until you’ve covered them all.
·
Bonus tip: Talk it through. As you’re going
over new material and complex sections for the first time, write an outline of
the basic points and then talk it through out loud. Take it a step further:
tell a friend or family member (if not just imagine so) what you’ve just learned and why
you thought it was interesting and important. The benefit? You review, recall,
and retain what you’ve learned in a much better way than just silently looking
over the material and writing it out.
Strategy #3.
Become a pro at eliminating distractions.
There are
infinite sources of distractions that can slow you down and make you postpone
your studies on any given day, from checking your Twitter or Instagram to
browsing through emails. There are a few things that can help to reduce the
noise around you:
·
Set the phone to Airplane mode when you need
to focus without a single interruption. If it’s not possible for you to do
that, then turn off the volume in your phone settings and put your phone away
so that you can’t see it in front of you.
·
Set expectations with people by letting
them know you won't be available in the next few hours. It sounds obvious but
it isn’t; nobody will know you need to have your quiet time so you do need to
tell them. Then, let them know when you’ll reach out (for example, at
lunchtime) to catch up on whatever is going on.
·
Check emails and social media apps up to 3 times a
day. If you catch yourself spending your early morning hours
reading through emails, you aren’t really using your best hours to your
advantage. Leave checking emails for after you’ve finished your
first block of deep work. A good schedule to follow is to check around
lunchtime, later in the afternoon, and in the evening. For social media apps,
use your short breaks between work sessions to catch up on what is interesting
to you.
Strategy #4.
Build the habit of studying the hardest material early.
To maximize
your concentration, you should understand how your circadian rhythm works.
For most people, mornings are optimal for doing deep work, i.e. work that
requires a lot of your concentration and analytical thinking. In the case of
studying, this work might include reading, writing, doing exercises, analyzing,
critical thinking, or problem solving. Here’s a tip to make the most of your
circadian rhythm:
·
Plan to study the hardest material in the morning,
around 2-4 hours after you wake up. For example, if you wake up
at 7, your peak times are between 9 and 11 a.m. You can extend this time until
lunch in order to maximize your peak performing hours.
·
Leave afternoons for collaborating and socializing. This
covers the 12-4 p.m. time range, after you eat lunch and several hours after.
It's a good time of day to schedule group meetings, brainstorm ideas with
classmates, and work together on group projects where you can provide feedback
and get recommendations on your work.
Strategy #5.
Create a mental model to ace your concentration.
This is a
technique we can use to tell ourselves a story of what we expect to happen in
the near future. Specifically, we imagine in detail how we expect things will
go in a specific, real-life situation. For studying, it’s mentally preparing
ourselves for our studying day. Use these 5 steps to guide you through the
process of building a mental model for studying:
·
Start your day by visualizing your success with
studying. Do this before you begin your study session. Set aside about
5–10 minutes either before you get up in the morning, while you’re having
breakfast, or right after breakfast as you’re sitting with your eyes closed.
·
Be detailed in thinking about all the steps you will
take. This can include covering the chapters and exercises planned for
that day, to taking the time to review the material, to writing out an outline
of important concepts, to practicing exam questions and knowing the answers.
·
Anticipate and identify which parts you will find
challenging to understand and remember. This helps you prepare for
problems so you don’t end up being surprised because you don’t understand a
part of the lecture. Then, come up with ways to resolve the problem (for
example, you will make a plan to ask a classmate, reach out to the professor,
or set aside a little extra time for review).
·
Imagine a positive outcome of covering all material
you’ve planned and understanding the important stuff. It’s not all
about just what happens on the day of the exam that can contribute to your
feeling of success. Celebrating small wins every day will boost your motivation
and help you feel more positive about moving ahead.
·
Make plans to treat yourself in the evening for all
your hard work.Maybe you’ll want to go for a long walk by yourself or with a
friend, go on a long bike ride, run, prepare a nice dinner or eat out, watch a
fun movie, or spend some quality time with a close friend.
-Nela Canovic
FROM QUORA
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