How to improve concentration and focus in studies:
Concentration is strategic for the student because it facilitates comprehension and memorization. On the contrary, the lack of concentration makes you waste time, is a source of fatigue and discouragement. Fortunately, you can strengthen your concentration!
How to improve concentration and focus:
"As soon as I'm in class, my mind wanders, I think of a thousand things and I lose the thread"... Morgane, in the first year of BTS, is no exception. Who has not been assailed by distractions while attending a course or been carried away by daydreams as soon as he sits down at his desk?
Difficulty is common, but too little care is taken to combat it. Yet concentration is the first, indispensable act of the work of the intelligence . Before you start driving a car, you have to switch on the ignition, right? And long before you attempt to read, listen and understand, you must begin by fixing your attention on your subject and sustaining it for some time.
Difficulty is common, but too little care is taken to combat it. Yet concentration is the first, indispensable act of the work of the intelligence . Before you start driving a car, you have to switch on the ignition, right? And long before you attempt to read, listen and understand, you must begin by fixing your attention on your subject and sustaining it for some time.
A voluntary act that can be muscled:
voluntary muscle
Attention is therefore not automatic. It is a voluntary mental act: you have to decide to give your full attention to a teacher, a book, an exercise... and to drive away everything else. Initially, it is therefore you who hold the keys to your concentration, a bit like the ignition keys of the car.
The good news is that you can practice "connecting your attention" and above all, keeping it on for as long as possible. It's a bit like when you voluntarily contract a muscle: you know how to tense and relax. Similarly, you can practice mobilizing your immediate attention through small exercises.
The good news is that you can practice "connecting your attention" and above all, keeping it on for as long as possible. It's a bit like when you voluntarily contract a muscle: you know how to tense and relax. Similarly, you can practice mobilizing your immediate attention through small exercises.
Exercises to mobilize immediate attention
- Observe an object for 30 seconds, then try to mentally represent it to yourself with your eyes closed as clearly as possible
- Do the same with the face of someone you know well: try to represent it to yourself mentally as precisely as possible.
- Gradually and very slowly lower the sound of the radio and try to listen to it until you no longer hear anything. You can also try doing it with background noise.
How to improve concentration and focus while studying:
Prolong immediate attention to concentration:
We can then extend this attention to achieve real concentration, and this in two situations: in class, and during personal work.
A certain number of conditions will indeed help to concentrate and to last in its concentration, or on the contrary certain elements will certainly make you lose your concentration.
A certain number of conditions will indeed help to concentrate and to last in its concentration, or on the contrary certain elements will certainly make you lose your concentration.
How to motivate yourself to study essay:
In progress: get motivated, prepare in advance:
You will be more easily attentive in class if you are motivated and interested in what is happening... This may come naturally, but more often than not, it is up to you to awaken this "motivation" and this interest by certain attitudes. :
- Arrive if possible a few minutes in advance, prepare your notes and try to remember what was seen the last time . Where we are ? In which chapter? Try to remember a few strong words from the teacher... The ideal is to have had time to learn or at least reread what was done in the previous lesson. Thus, when the teacher starts, you do not "land" in the subject, you have less difficulty following him.
- Think back to the, your exam, your training... You are motivated to succeed in your diploma, to advance in your studies, to practice such a profession: by following this course attentively, here and now, you are moving towards your objective.
- In the immediate future, follow this course thinking about what will be expected of you on the day of the control, the partial, the exam or the professional situation... Your attention is thus directed towards what will be important to memorize and restore. Imagine that you are a detective pursuing an investigation and gleaning very valuable clues to solve a riddle.
- Arrive if possible a few minutes in advance, prepare your notes and try to remember what was seen the last time . Where we are ? In which chapter? Try to remember a few strong words from the teacher... The ideal is to have had time to learn or at least reread what was done in the previous lesson. Thus, when the teacher starts, you do not "land" in the subject, you have less difficulty following him.
- Think back to the, your exam, your training... You are motivated to succeed in your diploma, to advance in your studies, to practice such a profession: by following this course attentively, here and now, you are moving towards your objective.
- In the immediate future, follow this course thinking about what will be expected of you on the day of the control, the partial, the exam or the professional situation... Your attention is thus directed towards what will be important to memorize and restore. Imagine that you are a detective pursuing an investigation and gleaning very valuable clues to solve a riddle.
These tips will be all the more useful if the material seems difficult and uninteresting to you. This is indeed where you need to mobilize your attention the most, because the less attentive and concentrated you are, the less you will follow, and the more difficult the course will seem to you...
How to stay focused in class and not get distracted:
How do you stay focused throughout the class?
Anything that makes you active and not passive helps you stay focused.
- Take notes , even if you have a course support, or annotate this support. At a minimum, write down the questions that come to you. This will start memorizing the lesson and save you time later.
- Ask questions when possible, write down the answers; participate when the teacher questions.
- Take notes , even if you have a course support, or annotate this support. At a minimum, write down the questions that come to you. This will start memorizing the lesson and save you time later.
- Ask questions when possible, write down the answers; participate when the teacher questions.
Finally, eliminate sources of distraction: if you take notes on a PC, you absolutely have to resist the temptation to surf the Internet at the same time. Ditto for messages that may appear on your phone: resist the urge to take a look. Keep your phone turned off during class.
Personal work: find the favorable framework:
Concentration is even more strategic during times when you have to work alone because it is necessary for understanding and memorization. But it is also the moment when you are the most delivered to yourself, and the most tempted by the various "distractions" that can arise.
You must therefore work in a favorable setting for this concentration: a quiet place, where you will be well settled, well lit, and where you will not be disturbed or tempted by other activities. In a word, a place that makes you want to work .
Some students find this favorable setting in a library where there is a studious atmosphere: "When I enter the library and see all the students bent over their lessons under their little lamps, it makes me want to work", explains Marion, law student.
You must therefore work in a favorable setting for this concentration: a quiet place, where you will be well settled, well lit, and where you will not be disturbed or tempted by other activities. In a word, a place that makes you want to work .
Some students find this favorable setting in a library where there is a studious atmosphere: "When I enter the library and see all the students bent over their lessons under their little lamps, it makes me want to work", explains Marion, law student.
Some students find this favorable setting in a library where there is a studious atmosphere: "When I enter the library and see all the students bent over their lessons under their little lamps, it makes me want to work", explains Marion, law student.
Others work better in their bedroom, where they are more comfortable and have all their equipment. Everyone can find the frame that suits them best. It is then strongly advised to stick to it, that is to say to work on a regular basis always within this same framework : this in fact allows conditioned reflexes to play: when you enter this place, your brain puts in "work mode", your concentration is easier
Others work better in their bedroom, where they are more comfortable and have all their equipment. Everyone can find the frame that suits them best. It is then strongly advised to stick to it, that is to say to work on a regular basis always within this same framework : this in fact allows conditioned reflexes to play: when you enter this place, your brain puts in "work mode", your concentration is easier
Isolate yourself from the outside world, turn off all screens:
You are now sitting at your work table , a position more favorable to concentration than if you are sprawled on your bed or on a sofa.
Before plunging into work , take the time to turn of your mobile phone and possibly your PC if you don't need it: all these screens are indeed sources of distraction: even the simple vibration of a phone can be enough. to distract yourself. In general you look at who calls you, and then you have to make an effort to refocus on your work: "Where was I? "... After 2-3 interruptions, it is increasingly difficult to reconnect your attention: time is passing and your work is not efficient.
If you must work on a computer, close all tabs and windows you don't need, especially Facebook or your email. Stay on the file that occupies you, put it in full screen to isolate yourself from the rest.
Before plunging into work , take the time to turn of your mobile phone and possibly your PC if you don't need it: all these screens are indeed sources of distraction: even the simple vibration of a phone can be enough. to distract yourself. In general you look at who calls you, and then you have to make an effort to refocus on your work: "Where was I? "... After 2-3 interruptions, it is increasingly difficult to reconnect your attention: time is passing and your work is not efficient.
If you must work on a computer, close all tabs and windows you don't need, especially Facebook or your email. Stay on the file that occupies you, put it in full screen to isolate yourself from the rest.
Take breaks, don't stay too long on a job:
How long can you stay focused while being efficient and without getting distracted? It depends a lot on people, but even an experienced student cannot sustain his attention on the same subject of study for more than 50 minutes.
Very often, we pick up before, after 40, 30 or even 15 minutes. At that moment, the reasoning slows down, we start to have distractions, we have to read the same sentence several times... the brain gets tired and the work produced is no longer good. It is useless then to persist in continuing: it is absolutely necessary to take a short break .
The break can be short: 5 to 10 minutes if you have worked 40 to 50 minutes. Just get up, move a little to relax your muscles, breathe at the window, go for a glass of water, have some tea, nibble on a candy. Simply avoid reading (to rest your eyes) or engage in an activity that you would find difficult to leave (Avoid Facebook or reading your messages!). The purpose of the break is to relax your mind to get back to work by regaining a good concentration .
So don't hesitate to take a break as soon as you feel your concentration flagging.: in the end, it is better to work three times 30 minutes while being well concentrated, than an hour and a half during which you daydream and in the end produce nothing good. Especially since the lack of concentration tires, because it lengthens the time of study and for a mediocre result; this can discourage you and compromise all your motivation.
Very often, we pick up before, after 40, 30 or even 15 minutes. At that moment, the reasoning slows down, we start to have distractions, we have to read the same sentence several times... the brain gets tired and the work produced is no longer good. It is useless then to persist in continuing: it is absolutely necessary to take a short break .
The break can be short: 5 to 10 minutes if you have worked 40 to 50 minutes. Just get up, move a little to relax your muscles, breathe at the window, go for a glass of water, have some tea, nibble on a candy. Simply avoid reading (to rest your eyes) or engage in an activity that you would find difficult to leave (Avoid Facebook or reading your messages!). The purpose of the break is to relax your mind to get back to work by regaining a good concentration .
So don't hesitate to take a break as soon as you feel your concentration flagging.: in the end, it is better to work three times 30 minutes while being well concentrated, than an hour and a half during which you daydream and in the end produce nothing good. Especially since the lack of concentration tires, because it lengthens the time of study and for a mediocre result; this can discourage you and compromise all your motivation.
How to lengthen your concentration time?:
- Start by timing the time during which you manage to stay focused on a job without struggling: start the timer when you get to work, and stop it as soon as you feel your concentration weakening. It can only be after 40 minutes, or 30', or only 20'... Don't cheat: the goal is to start from your current concentration skills to improve them.
- Take this time into account to organize your work : never study longer than these 20 minutes (for example) in a row. After 20', take a short break of 3', then voluntarily return to work for 20' again.
- After several days, this work method should already bear fruit: you are more efficient because you are better concentrated, you waste less time, you are more toned because you learn to devote yourself 100% to studying during your working ranges. You know how to start hard, and stop, restart and stop.
- After at least a month, you can try to increase your "duration of concentration " by 5 minutes: from 20 to 25 minutes for example, or from 30 to 35 minutes. You have increased your concentration.
- Take this time into account to organize your work : never study longer than these 20 minutes (for example) in a row. After 20', take a short break of 3', then voluntarily return to work for 20' again.
- After several days, this work method should already bear fruit: you are more efficient because you are better concentrated, you waste less time, you are more toned because you learn to devote yourself 100% to studying during your working ranges. You know how to start hard, and stop, restart and stop.
- After at least a month, you can try to increase your "duration of concentration " by 5 minutes: from 20 to 25 minutes for example, or from 30 to 35 minutes. You have increased your concentration.
Headaches, fatigue: the enemies of concentration
If, despite everything, you quickly have a headache, you have to think of other purely physical causes:
- sleep : do you get enough sleep? Lack of sleep deteriorates concentration skills, as you observe after a shorter night.
- food: the brain consumes a lot of energy. To fuel well, it must be fed with sugar and eat in a very balanced way, during revisions but also throughout the year. Avoid systematic sandwiches at noon and dinners reduced to a bowl of pasta. A full meal at restaurant U is not necessarily a waste of time. Also remember to drink enough: we need 1.5 liters of water a day!
- The consumption of stimulants or drugs : coffee stimulates awakening but excessively, it also increases anxiety. Cannabis is notoriously known for its deleterious effects on the ability to concentrate and remember. Ditto for excess alcohol.
- fitness and health: you are not just a brain! Do you do enough sport, do you take the time to walk, to oxygenate yourself (and to ventilate your room)? Also think about glasses (vision
Work effectively to gain self-confidence:
Ultimately, improving your focus can make you much more efficient. You will not work more but better, and the results can only be felt.
In addition, all these little efforts of will can make you grow in self-esteem: you are no longer that student who passively submits to his lessons and yawns for hours at his desk. You get to know yourself and better use your intellectual abilities. You take back the reins of your student life... and you gain self-confidence.
In addition, all these little efforts of will can make you grow in self-esteem: you are no longer that student who passively submits to his lessons and yawns for hours at his desk. You get to know yourself and better use your intellectual abilities. You take back the reins of your student life... and you gain self-confidence.
A practical guide to download to go further:
This article interested you but you would like to be able to put these tips into practice and do small exercises to adopt better work habits?
Our new student methodology guide, "Learning to concentrate to succeed in your studies", offers you a real method to re-educate your attention: how to place yourself in the right conditions to create a "bubble effect" when working, how to define small targeted and precise objectives to achieve, how to cut out your working time to maintain good concentration and not waste time, how to gradually lengthen your concentration time...
Our new student methodology guide, "Learning to concentrate to succeed in your studies", offers you a real method to re-educate your attention: how to place yourself in the right conditions to create a "bubble effect" when working, how to define small targeted and precise objectives to achieve, how to cut out your working time to maintain good concentration and not waste time, how to gradually lengthen your concentration time...
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