How can I concentrate better?
Address 5 core psychological factors that affect concentration. Here is how.
Neglecting food, water, and exercise
Download an app if you need reminders to drink a glass of water and eat. These are not things that you should skip. Quality food, enough water, and moderate exercise will raise your baseline focus and concentration as well as…
Not enjoying, partying, gaming, dating, etc.
Don’t stop having fun. If you stop having fun altogether, you will probably face mental health issues associated with monotony, depressed moods, social withdrawal, etc. Being a student has its fun side, and it shouldn’t be taken away. Thoughts like…
Procrastinating till you have all the notes or planning too much
There are hidden ways in which people procrastinate such as spending too much time planning & preparing. Waiting for notes or spending hours planning or organizing material may be a way to justify procrastination. A student procrastinates and rationalizes that…
Fixating on the volume of study material
Thinking of studying a whole book at a time can be overwhelming and stressful. This will necessarily hamper your focus and concentration. Yet, that is a common habit – ‘I have to study 10 chapters in 2 days.’ This can…
Not knowing what to study
Worrying takes up a lot of time and drains you. Academic anxiety gets worse when a student has no clue about the contents which need to be studied. Uncertainty facilitates anxiety[8]. Imagine going for an exam and realizing that you’ve skipped…
Counting hours and massing
Don’t spend hours studying at a stretch (a habit called “massing”) over and above college learning hours and homework assignments. Breaks between study sessions are important for your brain to digest all that you’ve learned. Study hours are not proportional…
Staying up late and waking up early to study
Compromised sleep is always bad for your focus and concentration. And yet, the most popular study method is to study for long late/early hours before the exam. If it isn’t obvious, let us look at what the research says. Sleep…
How can I study and learn better?
Connect with nature and different life-forms
People have an innate tendency to connect with nature and natural life-forms – Biophilia. Research shows that playing with animals, smelling flowers, walking in a forest, hanging out near plants and trees, watching the sky, etc. can improve your mental health. Even…