Few things are as important in terms of learning skills as the ability to concentrate on your studies for extended periods of time. Here are a few pointers designed to help you improve your concentration:
- Make sure that your environment is conducive to study. Try to study in a place that is optimally suited to studying. It should be quiet, comfortable, have adequate lighting and have as few distractions as possible. If it is impossible for you to find such a place at home, it may be necessary for you to go and study somewhere else (e.g. a library)
- Get enough rest and exercise. Being rested and in good physical condition will greatly aid your concentration. You should therefore ensure that you get enough exercise and that you get a good nights’ sleep as often as possible.
- Watch your diet. A diet high in ‘junk foods’ can leave you ‘hyped up’ and lethargic in quick succession. Obviously not conditions that you associate with optimum concentration! Make sure that you eat a well balanced diet. You should also not attempt to study when you are very hungry or thirsty – go and get a sandwich or a drink first!
- Try to determine your own optimum time for study. All of our ‘body clocks’ operate slightly differently. Try to find out at what time of day that you concentrate the best
and then schedule your study times accordingly.
- Make sure you have everything you need. Nothing breaks concentration as easily as having to get up to go and fetch something in another room. Make sure that you have everything that you are likely to need (books, pens, paper etc.) with you before sitting down to study.
- Counteract wandering thoughts and daydreaming. Keep a notepad handy on which you can create a ‘to-do’ list or where you can write down things that you want to ‘think through’ later. Whenever a distracting thought pops into you head, write it down, and move on!
- Vary study activities. It may help your concentration not to focus on just one subject, or one study method, per study session. Variety is the spice of life and can indeed also add some ‘spice’ to your studies!
- Take regular breaks. While we should all strive to increase the time that we can actively concentrate, we should at the same time realise that there is a limit to what is humanly possible. Scheduling excessively long study sessions is counterproductive and should be avoided. Make sure that you allow sufficient breaks to help you ‘gear up’ for the next session.