Whether you’re a worker, student, or stay-at-home mother, learning and studying are activities part of many people’s daily lives. Unfortunately, no one ever teaches you how to study effectively. And most people spend their study time struggling with distractions. This makes the learning process more stressful than it should be.
One of the keys to better studies is your ability to focus your attention on the material before you. Instead of trying to spend more time elsewhere, it’s advisable to sharpen your focus. With so many things competing for your time, attention, and focus, it’s no wonder you find studies difficult.
Brain has unlimited storage capacity. Yet, time is ever so scarce, which makes your attention and focus invaluable assets that should be managed accordingly. The desire to focus on what matters and study to achieve your goals and visions is one that can be derailed by information overload. Therefore, you should aim to use any means and means available to help overcome the struggle to concentrate, even if it means using some supplements.
Here are four easy ways to take full charge of your focus and boost your concentration for a more fruitful study time.
Identify And Eliminate Any Possible Distractions
All tasks and subjects you’ll study have their fair share of challenges. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t complete them quickly and efficiently with the right mindset and perseverance. The vital aspect of the attempt to improve focus does not only involve concentrating on your studies momentarily.
But you also need to figure out how to remain focused for as long as required. You can only stay focused if you can get rid of all distractions. Here, you need to be proactive because every second counts. Begin by figuring out those things that usually compete for your attention, like mobile notifications and social media.
Then you also have to remove things that could divert your attention from what you’re doing. If all else fails and you have to deal with roommates or passersby, you can use supplements by Sunday Scaries to relax, concentrate, and tune out the distractions. These usually work best for persons 18 years or above and need to be used responsibly.
Exercise Your Willpower
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You can liken your willpower to a muscle. It will only get stronger with exercise and repetitive use. Thus, what you need is self-discipline. Self-discipline gives you the resistance to keep at it till you achieve your primary objective for studying. In other words, you don’t quit when you’re tired; you quit when you’re done.
As you come to your inner resistance and challenge yourself each day, you’ll notice a gradual but steady improvement. Regularly exercising your willpower to study more and better focus will lead you down the path of complete transformation. This might include waking up earlier than usual, working out more, tidying up your surroundings, or avoiding junk food. After all, a healthy mind lives in a healthy body.
Meditate For a Change
One of the most effective ways of improving your focus is meditation. However, very few people ever enjoy the full benefits of regularly meditating. The best way to find out is to give it a try right away, whether this evening or early tomorrow morning. It doesn’t cost anything and usually requires no unique gadgets.
All you need is a quiet, clean place that’s free of any distractions. Once you clear your mind and take in a deep breath, you can ease your mind into a deep meditative state. This enables you to become present, something that’s useful when studying. It’s not going to be easy, but the right breathing exercises and practice will bring you success.
Avoid Multitasking
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It’s impossible to multitask. When you think you’re multitasking, what’s happening is context-switching. This means you’re rapidly switching between two or more different tasks instead of completing them all at once. Research shows that your error rate increases to 50 percent, and you will take twice the time you need to complete a given task when you multitask.
Simply put, it isn’t the best studying tactics, and you should avoid it if you want to improve your focus. And you’re genuinely focused when you can dedicate 100 percent of your time and attention to one task at a time.
Conclusion
A 2005 study published by the National Science Foundation showed that the brain generates random thoughts, between 12,000 to 60,000 each day. And approximately 80% of these thoughts are negative. Hence, productive activities like studying can be quite challenging without the right focus techniques. So if you find yourself struggling to recall basic facts and figures or important dates, just remember that it’s a common problem for most people. With the right learning techniques and practices, you can significantly improve your memory and sharpen your focus. The key is never to give up.