How to concentrate on studying

What to do first

1. Find a suitable working environment

Your own personal room or your classroom is not an ideal workplace always. For example find a nice, quiet large room like your living room and a comfortable chair. Preferably, the television, computer or mobile phone should not be within reach. Try not to think about social media and try to stay away from them. Also because a library is quiet, it is often a good choice.

2. Gather the course materials before you start working

Don’t try to look for things like a ballpoint pen, a highlighter , a ruler in the middle of your study. This can be really distracting, so prepare everything you need before you start studying.

3. Find a study buddy

Find someone clear-headed and focused on the same work as you. This person doesn’t have to be your best friend all the time, because you can distract yourselves or other people while chatting and ruin your or others’ concentration. It is a great idea to have a study buddy because you can exchange ideas with your buddy and see things from different angles.

Pick someone smarter than you. You may say of course I will pick someone smarter than me but many people overlook this idea. If you really want to learn, pick a study buddy who is smart, determined, and will not mind teaching you. After that your working time will be much better.

4. Take with you something that you can eat while working

Don’t binge drink energy drinks or coffee because once their effect wears off, you will fall asleep. Cereal bars, fruit and water are good choices because they are both simple and effective sources of carbohydrates.

5. Take short breaks

After 45 minutes of work, take a break for 10 minutes and do something else. Return to your work after the break, the break should not exceed 20 minutes.

Set an alarm for your breaks. If you plan your breaks, first of all, your risk of missing them is reduced. More importantly by doing that  you don’t “accidentally” take more breaks than you should.

Why should you take a break? After processing a lot of information, your brain needs to be recharged. Some studies show that taking breaks and walking around improves subjects’ memory and test results.

6. Be motivated 

Take a good look at your notes and prepare for the exam and you will succeed. Repeat your notes by repeating them you will come to a point that taking the exam will give you pleasure. See the exam as something you can put to the test of what you have learned, not as something you can overestimate.

Set yourself a goal, even if it's a bit unrealistic. Force yourself to do more than you think you can do. Who knows, maybe you will be surprised by the results yourself.