How to Focus

Article

The ability to focus is an essential skill for all students and professionals. It is paramount to academic/work related success.

EditSteps

1. 1
   Decide that you are going to study and get down to business immediately. Do not think about anything else that is not study-related. If you are working on a computer, do not surf the Internet to play computer games or watch videos on YouTube. Avoid Facebook and other social networks at all costs.
   
   
2. 2
   Plan ahead. A plan helps you get back on track. Having a ready planned schedule helps you to stay focused instead of wondering what are you going to do next. Also, do a survey to get an overview of what you need to do. Identify:
   • Which books to read from cover to cover?
   • Which materials to study in detail?
   • Which materials to cover only selected sections or portions?
   • Amongst so many subjects to study, which are priorities and urgent?
   • How much time you have to allocate?
3. 3
   Identify the reason why you cannot focus. Often it will be things that are simple to remove, for example Facebook, your cell phone, TV, music, the mess on your desktop, etc. But there may as well be psychological reasons for your lack of focus, which can be harder to identify and harder to remove. You can tell your school teacher or your parents about your problem. They will find ways to help you. Common reasons are:
   • Not being prepared to read and study
   • A lack of interest in the material
   • The material is too difficult
   • A lack of motivation
   • A lack of suitable goal
4. 4
   Get rid of these elements that prevent you from focusing.
5. 5
   Set dateline and focus on tackling one tasks at a time. This helps you to focus better.
6. 6
   Eat, drink, or use the bathroom BEFORE you start with work.
7. 7
   Restrict internet use to relevant topics only (Wikipedia, wikiHow, Ask.com, online journals, etc. - no Facebook, MySpace, blogs or surfing) or better yet get yourself another browser. If you are using Google Chrome you might want to try the Stay Focused app, which restricts the time you can use on any webpage per day. Also delete all the easy access shortcuts, leaving only the one in the start menu --> all programs.
8. 8
   Study in a well lit area. Trying to read in the dark is not good for you.
9. 9
   Don't expect that the feeling of being focused will come automatically, just because you've done the above mentioned steps. One key to become focused is to like what you are doing, a feeling of wanting to know more about the subject. So if it's not your favourite subject that you're going to study, you will have to convince yourself that the subject is interesting. You may find it hard at first, but once you learn the value of investing interest in your studies the less you will have to force yourself to focus.
10. 10
    Studies show that the average person focuses best when holding at 15 minutes after each 45 minutes of studying. So relax and don't press yourself way too hard in the beginning.
11. 11
    Allocate time to reflect on what is being learnt.
    
    

EditVideo

EditTips

• Exercise often helps improve focus. A 20 minute jog doesn't take very long and can work wonders.

EditWarnings

• The inability to focus is not always a matter lack of motivation or laziness. Certain medical conditions can physically prevent someone from focusing (e.g. ADHD).
• Even though medical conditions do exist that prevent people from focusing, don't be too quick to diagnose yourself with ADHD just because you always seem to end up on Facebook before an exam, because in fact more people than you might think have problems focusing, for various other reasons.