We tend to face many distractions while studying. The way we learn has become more diverse. From the previous reading on paper, to convenient online learning now. This allows us to study anytime, anywhere. However, it also makes us easily distracted even though we really want to study. Therefore, staying focused becomes a very important skill for us. In this article, we will explore some practical tips to help you stay focused while studying.
Cisdem Focus
Improve memory: If you focus on the study task without distractions, it will be easier to remember the information.
Improve comprehension: Staying focused can help us understand the content more deeply. Reduce omissions and misunderstandings.
Reduce mistakes: When we stay focused, we are more able to avoid mistakes and ensure the quality of learning.
Improve efficiency: Staying focused can help us grasp the learning content faster and improve our learning efficiency.
Many factors will affect our focus and concentration while studying. What you need to do is to find out the factors that affect you the most and create a perfect study environment for you. Below I’ll list some factors that may influence your learning.
Why am I not able to focus on studying? It may be caused by your mental stress. You may feel too stressed about taking exams, coursework deadlines and more. When you are experiencing stress overload for a long time without rest, the brain will slow down, which will lead to the loss of focus and forgetfulness. If you found yourself being more emotional than usual, feeling overwhelmed, depressed, etc. It’s time to relieve your stress. Listening music, keeping a journal, talking with friends and families can help you reduce stress.
Fatigue is usually caused by factors such as prolonged physical or mental activity, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, etc. When we are fatigued, our brains release a chemical called adenosine, which will suppresses the activity of neurons, causing us to feel tired and unable to focus. That is also why drinking coffee can improve concentration, since caffeine counters the effects of adenosine. Do not study when fatigued. Sometimes take a nap before studying will make you stay focused.
Emotion has a particular strong influence on the focus while studying. Negative emotion narrows our focus while positive emotions increase our attention, memory and awareness. Try to control your emotion and stay calm, develop a positive mental attitude will improve your study efficiency.
Some health issues can affect your focus while studying. Lack of sleep will cause you hard to concentrate. Chronic sleep deprivation also leads to cognitive decline. Malnutrition or unhealthy diet can affect your body and brain function. Certain medicines may also affect your concentration and cognitive abilities such as antidepressants, sedatives, allergy medications, etc.
We often cannot study in a complete quiet environment. Too many noises are around us. Friends and families may disturb us while studying, the whistle noise of the car outside the room, incoming calls, etc. All these will make us difficult to focus on learning, especially those loud or unpredictable noises. If there’s too much noise in your study room, you can use earplugs or headphones for noise isolation.
Light can also affect the focus while learning. According to study, too dimly or too bright light may disperse the attention of learners. Too dimly light may make us feel sleepy or unpredictable, and too bright light may make us feel uncomfortable or fatigue. In addition, the blue light can improve the attention of learners and promote positive moods.
Human Relations is important for us. It will cause our emotional fluctuations, such as anxiety, anger, anxiety, frustration, etc. These emotions may make us difficult to concentrate on study tasks.
Study device is also one of the factors that affect our focus and concentration while studying. For example, if some notifications pop up frequently when you are using the computer to learn, or there are interesting websites always attract you, you’d better to stop the pop-ups and block distracting websites on your study device.
We get distracted easily. Many of us are concerned about how to focus on studying. Above are common factors that affect the focus. You can find out the one that distract you the most and create a better study environment for yourself. What’s more, I want to share 3 tools to help you better focus while studying.
Cisdem Focus is a productivity application for Mac users. It can help you reduce irrelevant distractions while studying or working. While computer use during studying always make students more motivated, it also create more distractions, such as distracting social media and inappropriate websites.
Cisdem Focus can help you easily solve this problem. It allows you to add specific websites/webpages to the blocklist. Also supports blocking categories of sites, such as social media, games sites, etc. If you found that there’re some distracting apps on your computer, you are able to lock it with password too.
This tool offers 4 ways to help you stay focused while studying. You can select one that suits you best.
Pomodoro: plan focus sessions and breaks based on Pomodoro technique. The Pomodoro technique is a simple and effective time management method, which can help us focus on study better and improve productivity. It is to divide the study time into fixed time periods (usually 25 minutes). Each time period is called "Pomodoro". There is a 5-minute break at the end of each Pomodoro. You can take a longer break after 4 Pomodoros.
Block as Scheduled: this type allows you to block the websites and apps that you put into the blocklist during scheduled time. Such as 8:00 am to 18:00 pm on working days.
Launch limit: set daily usage time limit or launch limit. When you launches/uses the apps/websites exceeds the maximum value, this tool will automatically block them.
Quick Start: start a focus plan immediately. It let you quickly start a focus plan and enter the focus mode with 1-click.
Brain.fm’s focus music is designed to help you study better. The music is made after neuroscience research to help you focus better on your study tasks. Unlike other music, brain.fm's music will not distract you. It uses specific frequencies and tones to make you more focused and concentrated. If you’d like to listen music while studying, brain.fm is definitely a tool worth checking out.
Cognifit is an app dedicated to studying and brain training. You can train your brain through various cognitive and memory trainings, helping you to focus more on study. Before training, it will ask you to take the initial assessment and then customizing the training plan through your performance. It also allows you to choose training sessions, such as concentration.
Sometime you’ll realize that your mind is wandering only 5 or 10 minutes after sitting down to study. Or feeling you wasted the whole day without learning anything. Learn how to stay focused while studying so you can save much time and improve productivity. After reading this article, you should know why you can’t focus and how to improve concentration.
Norah Hayes likes to share her tips on how to improve focus and stay motivated at work. She believes it is essential to eliminate all online distractions during work hours.
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