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Motivation
Get Motivated
Stay Motivated
Monitoring Input
Listening
Note Taking
Reading
Class Participation
Managing Process
Self Management
Time Management
Concentration
Managing Your Learning
Managing Your Memory
Test Preparation
Mastering Output
Test Taking
Dealing with Test Anxiety
Learning from Tests
Preparing Written Reports
Preparing Oral Reports
Class Participation
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Concentration
Most students are only able to
concentrate for very short periods. It is not uncommon for students
to be able to concentrate for just 90 to 120 seconds. You can learn
to concentrate much longer, and possibly even much more deeply.
Improving your concentration allows you to perform at a much higher level
with less effort. It's a little like improving the mileage on your
car.
Improving your
concentration
All of us have much greater
mental ability than we use. With practice, you can concentrate for
up to 10 to 20 minutes or longer. Use the following tips for
improving your concentration.
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find an appropriate study
place
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consider listening to
quiet music or tapes of "white noise" on headphones
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buy a clock with a second
hand or digital seconds display
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set definite times for how
long you plan to work (work in short stretches--20 to 30 minutes
max)
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between 20 minute
segments, be sure to take a real break
As you prepare to
concentrate, try to empty your mental foreground. Identify thoughts
that are likely to distract you, and make a conscious note that for 20
minutes of concentration, you will postpone these thoughts. Use an
old trick from meditation--when you feel yourself beginning to get
distracted, resist by repeating the word "no!" and pull yourself back to
the material. If you are completely distracted, check the clock to
see how much time has lapsed. Don't be surprised if you can only
concentrate for a minute or two. Your time will slowly begin to
build and once it does, it tends to build rather quickly.
There are two basic kinds of
distractions that interfere with concentration: internal and
external.
External distractions include any
noise, sight, or other stimulus outside your immediate vicinity. The
best way to deal with these distractions is to structure your learning
environment so that very few stimuli are present. By sharply
limiting your visual and auditory fields, you will minimize your
susceptibility to these distractions.
Internal distractions can be even
more powerful than external ones. Just as you settle down to
concentrate, you remember a phone call you forgot to return, or some
recent emotional experience--like an argument with a friend. The
best way to deal with these distractions is to use the mediation technique
described above. Visualize your concentration as a screen that you
can control (as in that favorite play station game) and move all the would
be distractions off your screen. |