How can you concentrate more?

To help you understand the broader perspectives about focus and concentration, I like to tackle your question from a comprehensive standpoint.

In my view, the only way you can focus and concentrate on your studying is to take a close look at the larger scheme of things in your life, by changing your perspectives at two levels:

A) At the macro-cosmic level:

Establish compelling, inspiring and overarching long-range goals and objectives, with short-term, medium-term, and long-term perspectives, and covering all the major life dimensions, with academic pursuit as your top priority, followed by a systematic game plan, in your life to drive.

This is primarily because your goals, priorities and a plan, set your direction and keep you inspired, motivated, and focused on the things that matter to you the most.

Using a military analogy, goals, priorities and a plan, are like precise commands preset into the flight plan of a Tomahawk cruise missile, homing on to a predefined, long-distance target.

I have already written extensively about setting goals and achieving goals, including how to set up a systematic game plan, on Quora. You can search their archives.

B) At the microcosmic level:

Learn, acquire and practice proven efficient and effective study tools, like SQ5R and Cornell Note, to help you navigate your academic journey with ease, expediency, and ace:

i) SQ5R reading/studying strategy:

It's a structured system [SQ5R is an acronym for SURVEY, QUESTIONS, READ, RECORD, RECITE, REVIEW, REFLECT], but it equips you with methodical and systematic ways to navigate academic materials, especially the intellectually-intense ones, with ease and expediency.

Cornell Notes Method of Note-Taking and Note-Making:

It's a far more superior system that the conventional outline method, known to most students in schools, college and universities.

It's latent power comes from its simple and yet elegant three-column spatial configuration for taking notes and making notes.

The "cue" column is the most powerful system I have ever known, as it facilitates - and expedites - your memory retention/recall via self-testing.

You may want to read this nice write-up on Cornell Notes method of note-taking and note-making, in conjunction with SQ5R reading strategy:

Guide to Effective Note Taking - SQ3R and Cornell - The Student Power

C) As an ancillary strategy to (B), also learn, acquire and practise proven productivity hacks, like:

The Eisenhower Method of time management;

Productivity 101: A Primer to The Pomodoro Technique;

Jerry Seinfeld's Productivity Secret;

D) You may also want to consider this acquisition and practice:

If something crosses your mind while your studying or working at home, and it continues to bug you, just make a quick note of that "something" and record it in a notebook, which you may want to designate as "Distractions Notebook."

This initiative helps to get that "something" out of your system.

To me, it's excellent way to do a brain dump, so that you have a de-cluttered mind to do the more important stuff.

As soon as you have done this, move on with what you have been focusing on.

When you are free, then only you can decide whether you want to address those "distractions" in your brain dump.

Oftentimes, most of them will die out on their own, without your intervention at all.

According to Dr Deepak Chopra, about 70,000 thoughts run through our mind in a given day. He even says about 95% of those thoughts are the same as yesterday's.

Godspeed to you

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Neelim Khan

Siim Land
Siim Land, Writer, Warrior by Nature, Lover by Heart - www.siimland.com
Answered Dec 18, 2015
Originally Answered: How do I get more concentrated?
I approach this from a different angle. Instead of deliberately practicing concentration per se I try to create a scenario that promotes the state of FLOW in which we are completely focused.

The key component of FLOW is attention. If we concentrate on something challenging for a certain period of time we become immersed by it. If however the task is too easy we will never be hooked.

If I need to work on something creative that requires a lot of concentration I deliberately create an environment that promotes FLOW. Instead of relying on myself to enter it I force myself to have no other way.

How to enter FLOW.This example will cover a task that requires creativity and is more mental than physical.

Know the purpose of your activity. Ask yourself: „What am I trying to accomplish?“ Keep in mind that because of the creative and unpredictable nature of FLOW it might not coincide with what is achieved in the end. Atleast have a vague direction.
Prepare yourself and the environment. Eliminate all type of distractions.
Switch your phone to airplane mode.
Plug yourself off the Internet.
Lock the door so that you won’t be interrupted by other people.
Close the curtains so that you won’t have the opportunity to look outside.
Go to the bathroom beforehand.
Play some sort of an audio file that promotes concentration. I tend to use regular alpha waves in my earphones so that I won’t hear my surroundings.
Clear your workspace of distractions. Remove things you tend to play with (pencils, pictures, food, toys, electronics) whatever your weakness might be – you know it.
Remove the presence of a clock. Cover it on your computer and in your room aswell. This way you won’t be tempted to look at it.
Create a work station that is as boring as possible. Mine is just facing a blank wall. This way what I’m focusing on becomes the most interesting thing and I want to concentrate just on that.
Begin to work at it. Don’t expect for things to happen quickly. Just do your thing and warm up so to say. Start slow and steady.
Don’t lose focus – don’t go to the bathroom, check the email or anything. Just keep working even if your life depends on it.Soon you will problably begin to feel pretty good. The task isn’t that hard as it used to be but it still requires effort. We are getting into the groove of things.The more time has passed the better we get. Things begin to flow...???????.. at one point you get zapped out of it. You look at the clock and time has passed without you even knowing it. You look at the work done and it’s quite amazing.
There is no way to make it happen deliberately – sometimes it works and at others it doesn’t.