Published on 12, July, 2020
Morning everyone!
I'm currently studying for a Masters degree at university and I'm finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on my work and find myself easily distracted or on edge (especially when studying in a communal space).
Has anyone else noticed they struggle to concentrate on studying or work-related tasks and if so, do you have any ideas on how to help or coping mechanisms?
Thank you!
studies have shown that for the average person they can effectively concentrate for only 25 min at a time. so working back from there can be helpful. don't bite off more can chew. target say 10 or 15 min and tell yourself you can do whatever you want for a few min after that. bite sized chunks.
Thank you! I've tried a lot of these ideas and they work at times and at others they don't. It tends to be my focus in general, I can be quite frantic at times.
I'll pop that book into my reading list!
Yes, this is my major issue too!
A couple of things that have worked well for me (a mixture of work and study, so may not all be relevant) is turn notifications off of everything - no sounds, banners, pop-ups of vibrates. If possible go full airplane mode. Depending on the task I also do 25 minute of focus and then 5 minute break. If I get to the end of my focus time and I'm still in the zone I keep going. My noise cancelling headphones are amazing too, wish I had got some years earlier.
Is it specifically the distractions around you eg the noise that's the issue or your focus in general? I've jsut read a book called Stolen Focus that talks about general attention issues. Whilst there are a number of individual actions it recommends, the gist is that there are a number of much wider societal changes that massively affect our focus. An interesting read though.
Cool. It's well worth it, if you can maintain focus, haha.
Hi Exist,
Thank you so much! I'll make sure I give it a watch
Hi Liam
I often struggle to maintain focus in many situations. My attention can wane within minutes.
Although this is a constant battle for me I did find the following video quite useful. Ironically, it's about 2hrs long, but it is time stamped.
Hopefully there's something of use in it for you. It's not just about ADHD.
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ADHD & how anyone can improve their focus / Huberman Lab Podcast
https://youtu.be/hFL6qRIJZ_Y