Improve Mind University

Good concentration is essential for efficient study. How you use your time when studying is as important as how much time you spend. Here are some strategies to help you improve your concentration and get the most out of your study time.

Increase concentration with active study strategies

• Set time limits when you study. Divide big assignments or tasks into smaller units and set time goals for each. q Plan breaks. Find out your optimal period of concentration and don't exceed it. Most people need a break after 45-55 minutes of study reading or after 2 hours of doing problems. But if your concentration span is not that long, plan to work within your comfort limits.
• Keep active mentally. Carry on an inner conversation with yourself or, better still, talk out loud! Summarize the main points in a section of the textbook that you just read, summarize the steps in the problem you just solved, test yourself on the notes that you just reviewed, etc.
• Be active physically. Use body movements to increase your concentration. Move your finger or pencil down the margin as you read, draw diagrams or sketches of key ideas in the margin or on a pad, walk around as you rehearse ideas, wave your arms to emphasize important points.
• Vary your study activity and subject focus. Read for a while, then go over some notes, and then brainstorm some ideas for a paper or assignment. When you feel your concentration is beginning to lag, take a break and then switch to another subject. Concentration is highest at the beginning of every new activity.
• Monitor your concentration. Record a checkmark every time you find your mind wandering. This will give you a way to check whether your attention span is improving.
• Set up a way to test what you have learned at the end of each study session. Try to summarize main ideas or do problems without looking at your notes. Make yourself accountable for learning and remembering.

Improve concentration by increasing commitment.

• Plan to concentrate. Set a specific goal to get a certain amount of work done within a specific time.
• Get interested in what you are studying. Concentrating is much easier when you genuinely want to know something. Increase your interest and motivation by previewing before you read, relating information to your own experience, making up your own examples, asking questions and looking for answers.
• Find a study partner or join a study group. Sharing ideas about the course will help you learn the material and at the same time motivate you to keep up with your work. You can also divide up heavy workloads so that each person does a part (solves several problems or reads several articles) and then teaches the others what he/she learned.

Eliminate external distractions

• Avoid external distractions by selecting a place to study where you will not be interrupted, where you are relatively free of distractions around you, and where the level of background noise enables you to work.
• Ignore distracting sights and sounds. Refuse to look up or give them any attention.
• Arrange uninterrupted time. Notify family or friends of the times that you will be free to devote to them and the times when you do not wish to be disturbed from your study.

Eliminate internal distractions

• Eat, sleep and exercise adequately.
• Deal with nagging worries. If you can solve the problem by taking a few minutes away from your studying, do it and then come back. If the problem cannot be dealt with easily and immediately, jot down the essence of the problem, even possible solutions, and set a time later on when you plan to deal with it, physically or mentally.
• Keep a notepad nearby. If you suddenly think of something important that is unrelated to your study, make a note of it, then put it out of your mind and come back to it later.