Course Finder
Blog
Login

How To Concentrate On Studies

Written by  Rachit Agrawal, MBA

Published on Sat, February 29, 2020 9:55 AM   Updated on Fri, October 16, 2020 7:43 AM   9 mins read
source: ChetChat

Do you have trouble when you try to Concentrate On Studies? Is it becoming really difficult to concentrate on your studies? Even if you were the present-day Einstein unless you are very interested in the subject you are reading, chances are – you’d get bored. Don’t worry – you just need to change the way you study, find a place quiet, and have an effective study plan.

In between the study hours, you could award yourself with the free time for sitting for studies with full concentration. This might not be the ideal plan because an ideal plan will be talked about in detail in this blog. So what are you waiting for? With the following set of rules and plans, concentrating on studies would become easier!

Part 1 – The part where we find ways to ‘staying focussed.’

Making a timetable

First of all, important things, make a perfect timetable. While if this is your first attempt at making a timetable and things may not be perfect in the beginning, some points, if considered, could help you make the perfect timetable.

  • Don’t be over-optimistic. The very first time you make a timetable, don’t take it on your ego and make a timetable with the first thing in the morning being a 4-hour plan of studying one subject.
  • Keep it simple – don’t add too many details in the timetable.
  • Try to macro-manage the timetable; later on, you can micro-manage.
  • Be confident and not lazy!

Keep track of the time you THINK about ‘other’ things. 

It becomes really difficult to study because of that one song that keeps playing in your head. It is really difficult to concentrate if you have been thinking about your crush at school while you have just sat down to study. So what can be done? 

The solution can be to set aside time for all the ‘imagining’ stuff that keeps you occupied. You could add this free time as a part of the award that you deserve after you’ve completed your target of the day. 

  • If your mind starts to wander, take some time and shake that off and continue studying. Don’t think that you cannot stop what you’ve started. Your mind is controlled by you alone.
  • Write down everything which keeps popping in your head while you are studying and think about them while you’ve taken the short pause between your studies. 

Change the way you learn things.

For example, if you have read the first ten pages of a textbook. Now, you don’t switch books and start studying the first ten pages from a different book. Instead, complete the first source. Please note that you need not switch to different books to study the same subject. Instead, you should read one book as a first reading, and keep re-revising the books. You’d realize that you have got everything inscribed in your mind, and are remembering each detail you’ve read with precision.

  • In the first reading of, let’s say, reading History, you just have to go through the book as if you are reading a story.
  • In the next reading, underline the important things, but be a bit casual in your approach.
  • In the last reading, make short notes from the things that you’ve underlined.

You’d see a drastic change in how you’ve been studying. This is an effective way of studying and helps you increase concentration in other subjects as well.

Rewarding your achievements

Everyone needs one moment of glory. Complete the first cycle of 45 mins, and take 10 mins to break to watch your favorite Spongebob episode.

  • While many people try this method, the rewards keep increasing while the study hours keep decreasing. So what goes wrong in their method?

It’s about being truthful to yourself.

It is very easy to trick the brain. Your brain keeps telling you not to leave the comfort zone. This is the reason why sitting on the chair, and studying feels boring while lying on the bed, and watching YouTube feels fascinating.

But when you are truthful to yourself, you concise would hit when you start rewarding yourself more than you should. This would come to you with practice. Practice this feeling every day, and you’d see how your brain tells you to leave YouTube and start studying!


Check Out: How to Choose the Right College for Yourself?


Part 2 – Creating the environment which suites your “studying with concentration” needs

Find the right spot

Be it a room, a library, or a garden. It doesn’t matter which place is it until it is silent and lets you concentrate well. Choose an environment which is free from the chirping birds, if that makes you lose concentration. So maybe the garden isn’t an ideal place for some, but for some who like to concentrate while birds are chirping, it’s the best! 

  • If it’s a study room, get a comfortable chair, and good lighting. Keep water on your table and keep taking sips while you’ve completed the next target. This keeps you hydrated and helps you with your concentration.
  • Making sure no one is getting entertained by watching T.V while you are studying in the same room.

Keep everything you read in a proper pattern on a bookshelf. Keep the things that you’ve to read as the next target on your table.

Often while you study, you realize that you don’t have the pen that you need to write notes. Again, you leave your chair and move to the drawing-room where you remember to have kept one pencil. While on your way from the study room to the drawing-room, you see your pet and start playing with him. You realize you have wasted more time than you should, and go back to study. When you start studying, you realize – you kept the pencil you’d brought from the drawing-room in the hall while you were playing with your pet! Well, now you’re bored and have wasted time successfully.

  • So, see your timetable and make sure that you take everything that you need to study a particular subject on the table you are studying.
  • Make sure things are well-organized.
  • Just because you have to paint as a part of the next session of concentrating, doesn’t mean you’d keep paintbrushes on the table while you are doing Maths sums.

Keep your technologically advanced devices on a ‘Switch off’ Mode.

You’ve just started studying, and the most trending WhatsApp group has your friends sending memes. You immediately open WhatsApp and laugh, thinking how funny and creative your friends are!

  • While it’s important to be creative and appreciate creativity, everything of that sort can be kept for leisure time.
  • Rewarding yourself with free time to make memes not only freshen up your mind but helps you concentrate more on studies.
  • Before you do that, make sure that while you study, you’ve switched off everything.

Check Out: How to decide the best university for you?


Part 3 – Focussing on Mind and Body

According to the great philosopher Descartes, Mind-Body is the two most important parts of human beings, and their interaction brings the best in us. So, to concentrate more on studies, you need to keep your mind and body fresh and active. Following are some ways –

Give your body enough; rest!

It is really important to give your mind and body the much-needed sleep that it deserves.

  • Studies have shown that a minimum sleep of eight hours helps in increasing concentration levels while studying.
  • Mind releases certain chemicals that freshen you up.
  • But this doesn’t mean you keep sleeping the whole day.
  • Instead, a minimum hour of sleep would be a more effective way to increase concentration on studies.

Meditate

Yoga and Meditation are becoming buzzwords. Everyone is into Yoga. But are all the Yoga Instructors or followers of Yoga good at studying?

  • It is because most of them find Yoga classes as a way to network.
  • Instead, you’d leverage technology for the same.
  • There are many applications on the IOS or Android Play Store which have free courses on Yoga, which would help you meditate in the comfort of your home.
  • So, a 20 mins session each morning concentrating on Yoga could do the trick for you.
  • Make sure that you practice it five days a week, and you’d realize how calm you’ve become since you took up Meditation.
  • Not only that, chances are high that your concentration capabilities would increase when you meditate.

Eat well

Most of the students eat unhealthy food, which is not only junk for your body but junk for your brain too.

  • It is because you’re not eating healthy, that your mind isn’t getting the essential energy to concentrate on studies.
  • So, you need to start eating healthy food.
  • Avoid eating junk food more than once per week.
  • When you eat well, your mind and body respond well.
  • So, you’d then be able to sit for more hours on the study table and concentrate more on studies.

FAQ

How can I concentrate on studying for long hours?

Ans. Tips for studying for long hours without getting tired:
1. Schedule your work according to priority
2. Eat healthy food to keep up with the energy
3. Save your mental energy
4. Take small breaks regularly
5. If possible, study/ work in daylight

Why I can’t concentrate on my studies?

Ans. The main problem when you can’t concentrate on studies because it comes up when you don’t have sufficient material. If you have complete study materials then you can concentrate more. So before studying you should keep all the study material with yourself to avoid any distraction.

How can I focus on study and avoid distractions?

Ans. Ways to avoid distraction and focus on the study:
1. Make a To-do list
2. Break big tasks into small pieces.
3. Put on your headphones to cut down noise.
4. Find a place where you can study without any disturbance
5. Keep your workspace organized.

How can I memorize faster?

Ans. Ways to memorize things faster:
1. Exercise daily to keep up your head clear.
2. Write down things that are trying to memorize.
3. Relate things to what you know.
4. Do yoga daily
5. Stay away from multitasking.

What are the 4 study skills?

Ans. The 4 study skills that you need to remember:
1. Time Management
2. Learning style
3. Note-taking
4. Vocabulary & listening are among others.

About the Author & Expert

Avatar

Rachit Agrawal

Author • MBA • 20 Years

Rachit believes in the power of education and has studied from the top institutes of IIIT Allahabad, IIM Calcutta, and Francois Rabelias in France. He has worked as Software Developer with Microsoft and Adobe. Post his MBA, he worked with the world's # 1 consulting firm, The Boston Consulting Group across multiple geographies US, South-East Asia and Europe.

Related Posts

Comments (0)