Back then in school, I faced one of the greatest challenges that really pulled me back as a new student; studying without distraction. Getting into school, I already had plans to improve myself spiritually and engage in some side hustle kinds of stuff that can give me extra cash.
However, having to balance all these with my studies was a little too much of a challenge to me because I couldn’t find a balance.
Although I still scaled through my first and second semester exams because I had to take stimulants piles just to be awake, I knew I was only getting the grades, not the skills. Of course, I simply skimmed through the books.
I love movies, games and most times hate it when I don’t reply to my social media messages. This behavior of enjoying my hobbies and trying to achieve my goals regarding my spiritual life made it so difficult to focus while studying.
I won’t tell you that I didn’t have fun or made relevant friends on social media, I did!
But my study timetable suffered it. I struggled to make good grades and I wasn’t happy about it at all. So, I had to do something about it. Since I already had a study timetable, I had to work on avoiding distractions by setting priorities.
You may ask, How?
This article will tell you the ‘How’ I employed focus in all my activities, especially my study. So, if you are finding it challenging to focus while studying either because of procrastination, inadequate optimization of time syndrome, or engagement in your hobbies like me, this article will help you.
In this article, you will learn 15 undoubtedly ways on how to focus while studying no matter what happens. The table of contents below will help navigate through the points made in this article.
15 Sure ways on How to Focus While Studying this 2024
#1. Have a Study Goal
This is the first step to take if you want to stay focused when studying. Discover why you are studying and what you actually want to achieve.
Do you want to just make grades and graduate or do you want to make good and outstanding grades and skills? Find the answer and pen them down boldly or keep them handy where you will always see it.
Keep your focus on process-oriented reasons rather than outcome-oriented reasons. This is because processes can be easily controlled, unlike outcomes.
Also, the process is something you engage in every day while the outcome comes to pass in the distant future.
#2. Get a Study Timetable
What actually helped me was that I had a study timetable. I was able to know when I faltered because I had a timetable.
Setting a study timetable will help you know what you are to do at every point in time.
You will know when you are supposed to eat, catch fun and read, though you can be flexible a bit.
#3. Prioritize your Activities
This is the best way to help yourself. The truth is, nobody will rebuke or stop you from anything you want to do, but when the implications show you, you might not be happy about it.
So the best time to do is prioritize your activities and be focused. If possible, have a diary where you write down your goals according to importance.
#4. Learn to say ‘No’
Learning to say ‘No’ is one of the best ways on how you can achieve a lot including staying focus while studying. You can work on reducing the time you give to your hobbies.
Remember, I didn’t say you shouldn’t give time to what you love doing. You can have fun but reduce it. This will not only help you focus, but it will also help you cut costs.
And when friends come to take you out either to play games or watch movies, be bold and disciplined effort to say ‘No’.
#5. Do Exercise
Exercise helps you to stay focus when studying. When you exercise your body, your brain also benefits.
Short or regular exercise can help improve your level of focus for up to two to three hours by increasing blood flow to the brain. Also, it helps to improve your mood and sleep which reduces stress and anxiety.
No matter how much you need to learn, it’s crucial that you schedule downtime for your study sessions. Self-control and emotional energy are scarce commodities that can eventually wear out as the day goes on.
#6. Schedule a Rest Time
It’s important to plan small breaks to check out Facebook, look up a question that was off-topic, or take some caffeine to avoid burnout and keep you focused for longer.
Often, having a little treat to look forward to at the end of each session will help you stay inspired.
#7. Go for Skills
One of the most important mistake students make is to go for the grades instead of the skills .
Yes, high grades are important, but at the end of the day, the aim of education is to provide students with skills and expertise to make a more successful contribution to the real world.
Remembering to concentrate on getting skill set rather than grade will help alleviate some of the distracting tension and pressure accompanying the research.
#8. Study in a Conducive Environment
Environment matters a lot. To be able to focus while studying, you need to find a suitable environment. Although some prefer to stay in a library, others prefer to stay in a coffee shop.
You can choose a conducive corner in your home with a comfortable sitting position, enough space, free from neighborhood distraction and noise.
#9. Avoid Distracting Websites/Apps
If you’re like most of us, intrusive websites and applications might be the end of any fruitful, concentrated study session.
You sit down to read, and before you can even start, you’ll get a notification or the headline will catch your attention.
Apparently minor distractions like this easily rob minutes, and then hours. On average, it takes 23 minutes to refocus on the job after it has been interrupted.
#10. Avoid your Bed when studying
Don’t try to do anything productive while lying or sitting in bed.
It’s important that the place where you study is not the same as the place where you sleep.
You won’t be able to study effectively in a place that you associate with relaxing or sleeping.
Also, if you study in bed you will either be lying down or sitting cross-legged.
Neither of these positions is conducive for maximal focus. These positions may even result in neckaches and backaches.
What’s more, you may end up taking unintended naps!
So do your work at a proper study desk, every single time – this is a good habit that every student should cultivate!
#11. Remove some Materials that are not Needed
Putting aside materials you don’t need while studying can help you stay focus while studying. Try to put only materials you need for your studies on your reading table.
So, all you have to do is to make a list of the items and things you need and make sure you have only those items on your table. Also, clean your table and make sure the table is tidy.
Doing this will help you be organized. And if for any reason you are disorganized, take some minutes off to tidy yourself and get set.
#12. Have a Record of your Tasks
Another way on how to focus while studying is to have the attitude of keeping records of your completed tasks. Doing this helps you monitor whether you’re on point with meeting your goals.
Also, it helps you know if you are making progress or not. If you are not making progress, you may have to underestimate the time you a lot on your study time and if you’re making progress, you may want to set a higher target.
#13. Keep away your digital devices
This might not seem easy or make any sense, but it helps. When I was trying to focus, I found this very difficult because being a social media type, I was always tempted to reply to chats and messages.
So, to help myself out, I had to first turn off my notifications and put my phone in another room. If am ready and get tempted to check my phone, remembering the effort required to walk to the other room, you wouldn’t want to do it.
#14. Set a Stop Time
This might sound funny but it works. Studying round the clock won’t help you at all. Instead, it would stress the life out of you.
Though you need to study hard, striking a balance is the wisest thing to do.
So set a strict deadline, such as 9:30 pm, and make sure that you don’t do any work after that time.
This will give you time to wind down before going to bed. This means that you’ll be able to get those 8 hours of sleep that you need to optimize your academic performance.
There’s another advantage to setting a specific end time for when you’ll stop studying each day.
Clearly defined limits help you to concentrate on what you’re doing right now.
You won’t get distracted as often, because you know that you won’t stay up late to catch up on the time you’ve wasted because of procrastination.
The result?
You’ll learn more in less time, and you’ll get better grades too.
#15. Use Studying Tools
There are different tools that can help you organize, prioritize or focus while studying.
To organize yourself, tools like Todolist, ClickUp, HubSpot CRM, ProjectManager.com, Asana, or Dropbox. These tools will help you make your daily to-do list with its intelligent scheduling. They can also help you to sort, organize and plan your work.
To focus, tools like SelfControl, Time Out, Think, FocusWriter, Concentrate, RescueTime, Flowstate, and Forest can help you focus effectively.
Finally, to build cultivate reading or studying habit, tools like streaks, Coach.me, Habitica, and insight for Freedom can help you achieve that perfectly well.
Bottom Line
Focusing while studying has always being a big challenge most students face. Just like I have elaborated in the article, there are many things that can be done to help these students. All you have to do is to apply one or two of the tips or hacks listed above and work them into your routine. If you do this, you’ll find that your study sessions will become more productive and enjoyable!
Reference
- https://freedom.to/blog/how-to-stay-focused-studying/
- https://www.daniel-wong.com/2020/05/02/how-to-focus-when-studying/
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