By Raviraj Jegathesan
All of us have gone through a time where we sit at our desks for hours at a time, not knowing what to do and not knowing where to start. It is a fact that all students, and even professional people, go through this. This can be especially so for students, especially given the stress of dealing with growing up, studying, and having fun all at the same time.
Now, while it is important to have fun, it is more important to concentrate while studying. An absent mind while studying will bear no fruit. The results will be next to non-existent if you do not concentrate while studying. In order to concentrate better, you need to take care of everything that can intrude on your studies and focus on the matter in hand.
Regardless of what you are studying for, whether it is for your final exams, your entrance exam, applications, etc. these tips below can help you set yourself up to focus on studying your given reading materials and to enable your study to bear positive results.
Getting rid of distractions
Distractions come in two ways: the obvious ones and the not-so-obvious ones. The obvious ones should be the first to go. According to studies, studying with your cell phone beside you is not a good thing to do. It is best to put it away or put it in silent mode. This is because once your cell phone rings or you get a text message, you are bound to look at it.
The not-so-obvious distractions, well, they may come in the form of “study aids”. For example, your mp3 player may distract you. Yes, music can help you relax, but studying is not a time for relaxing. It’s a time to concentrate and put your mind to work, and music may do more harm than good.
As much as possible, filter your contacts and configure your phone to only notify you if someone important, like your mom, or a family member, sends you a text message or calls you.
Try to keep people away from you as well, such as by putting signs on your door asking them not to disturb you, or you could allot a time when you are free to study. If your mind is at peace, and you don’t have anything else to think about, your brain acts like a sponge that soaks up all of the information you read, essentially making it easier to study.
Get to know yourself
Never study at times that are not appropriate for you. You know yourself better than anyone else does. If you like to study in the morning, do so in the morning and take care of other things during the afternoon and evening. If you like to do so during the wee small hours of the night, then do so, as long as you get enough sleep.
Yes, although research may show that there are certain times of the day that are optimal for studying there is no solid proof yet and the only one you should trust is yourself.
Learn to rest in between
Studying for hours on end is tiring, more so if you’re studying book after book after book. This is why it is important to take a rest. A power nap in between the hours of studying is nice and standing up every once in a while helps get your blood flowing.
Learn to have fun
Rest isn’t always enough. Studying should not make you feel like you’re doing something boring. Playing with a rubber band while studying or with your pen is an effective way to assist you in your studies. This is the reason why plenty of professionals know about playing with everyday stuff; they went through the same pain you did while they were studying and looked for ways to have fun while doing so.
Discipline Yourself
Nothing works better than discipline. Yes, it is easy to say but it is very hard to do. Power naps, standing during breaks, knowing when to study, taking care of distractions, etc; all of these will fail if you have no discipline.
Remember, in studying, you need to learn when to study, how to rest in between, how to have fun, and, most important of all, how to pull all of these together.
Raviraj
