To delve deep into your subject matter and to gain a good understanding requires concentration. To ensure you are able to do this, there are a few conditions, which if fulfilled, will enable an optimal study experience.
A Quiet Space
You first requirement is a good space without distraction. You need to be sure that you will be uninterrupted for a couple of hours. If your accommodation does not offer this possibility then go to the library and find a spot free of too much traffic.
Inner Space
In order to focus sufficiently on your work, you need to leave other concerns behind for a while. Tensions, stress, emotion, will all have an adverse effect. Deal with these issues and make sure you get a good night’s sleep and eat well. Exercise regularly to keep fit.
Work Schedule
It is difficult to work well if you are behind time with your work schedule. Try and keep ahead and you will be less worried and more focused. Take a short break at approximately every half hour to forty-five minutes. Five minutes is long enough to go outside and breathe some fresh air and stretch your legs. Stop working when you become tired and your attention begins to wander.
Be well organized with your filing system. You really do not want to waste time searching for that little piece of paper that you jotted some notes on.
Concentration Techniques
Now that the scene is set to begin work it is time to look at concentration itself. The above preparation will help you to create a working atmosphere but it does not guarantee your ability to concentrate. It helps to note down your aims for the study period and to keep to them.
If ideas keep coming into your mind that are not related to your work you are doing, then keep an extra piece of paper ready and jot them down. That way you will not worry about forgetting them and for the moment they are out of the way.
Do not feel intimidated by anything you do not understand immediately. Persist and re-read, noting down any questions that arise. Return to the problem later after completing your work and place it at top of your list of goals for the next study period.
It is difficult to concentrate on one area of work for too long so apportion a length of time to each subject. This adds variety and freshness but make sure you have spent enough time on each lot of work. If you find it more difficult to concentrate on a specific subject then break down the time you have decided to spend on this subject into shorter portions of twenty to twenty-five minutes.
As a general rule, work for as long as you feel alert and absorbed in you work. When you are finished do something enjoyable. You will find it very satisfying after a successful study period.
