College students- how do you stay focused while you're studing?

Question

I have a very hard time reading a textbook for more then 10 or 15 minutes at a time before I just zone out. How do other people stay focused?

Answer 1

I could never study with music on, so I had to be a little more creative with my 10-15 minute attention span. Here's what I'd suggest:
1. Try not to study with a lot of distractions around.

2. Try not read the whole chapter in one sitting. Too difficult.

3. Skim through the chapter before you read it, get an idea of what you're reading about before you read. That can help you stay focused. That also includes looking at the chapter title, look at chapter headings throughout the chapter, etc.

4. Here's my favorite: Set small goals in your chapter and then reward yourself at the end of each section with a break. Look through the chapter and see if there are any natural breaks, like the end of a section. If there are, set that as your goal. If there aren't, then just divide your chapter into manageable page numbers. Then, once you reach that goal, reward yourself with a break. As crazy as it sounds, I used to say, "ok, when I get to the end of this section, I'm going to take the trash out and get a pop to drink." "ok at the end of this section, I'm going to vacuum" "at the end of this section, I'm going to pay a bill." That way, I could actually get some school work AND errands done at the same time. And no one likes to clean or do errands, so that was motivation for me to get back to reading again. I know it sounds crazy, but it worked for me.

Answer 2

I never studied much in high school, so once I got to college I had to think of ways to study more effectively. Though for different subjects, I study in various ways, the constant is simply classical music. It's calm and peaceful. I'm literaly sucked into a world of studying with that. For some reason it helps me concentrate a lot better and I tend not to fall asleep.

Answer 3

Put Mozart on in the background. Not loud, just as soft background music. It'll help you stay more focused on the material, and it will help you retain more of what you study! It's been scientifically proven!

Answer 4

Try studying at a quiet library with limited distractions like the tv and the internet, or study in groups where you can discuss the information with each other to help each other remember. Also, try writing down something over and over too.

Answer 5

I turn mozart on and take my adderall..