Chapter 3Revving Up Your Concentration

“Concentration is the art of being focused,the ability to pay attention”

I. Concentration helps you…A. Function more productively in a fast paced

worldB. Imitate an important characteristic of

successful peopleC. Improve the quality of your life

1. Allow what you are reading to affect you now

D. Accomplish more in less timeE. Tap into a deep reserve of energy.

II. Dialing in to concentration- no race team goes into a race without a complete tune-up.

A. Choosing what to read

1. Why am I reading this?- PURPOSE

a. No good reason?- don’t read it!

1)Stay current with world affairs, technology, teaching methods

2. What might I need this information for?- RESPONSIBILITY

a. Test, teaching, a meeting

B. Where do I read?

1. Top Ten Distracters

a. Other people

b. Telephone

c. Email

d. Faxes

e. Music

f. Television

g. Location is too comfy

h. Not interested in the material

i. Being preoccupied

j. Wrong time of day

2. Commonsense solutions

a. Squirrel yourself away (hide)

b. Let technology do it’s job

c. Let others work for you

d. Listen to Mozart

e. Go to a different location

f. Turn off the T.V.

g. Read at your “alert” time

h. Brain dump- Write down what’s on your mind (pg 47)

i. Set a time goal

j. Take short breaks/ pit stops

C. Ten-minute trial

1. Read for ten minutes under your normal conditions

a. Record the # of pages you read

b. Write a brief summary of what you read

c. Write down anything your mind wandered to

2. Read for ten minutes using some of the suggestions in section B2

a. Record the # of pages read

b. Write a brief summary of what you read

c. Write what your mind wandered to

3. Which conditions worked better?

a. Don’t give up if you are distracted by the lack of distraction

1)Like when camping and it’s too quiet to fall asleep

b. Decide which will help more in the long run

Take 3rd T

ime

Trial

III. Focus with a pen in handA. Why use note making tools?

1. Refer to the information again2. Quickly locate a piece of information

B. Highlighter1. Only highlight key words or phrases

C. Margin notes1. Put a bracket on the side2. Reread the paragraph3. Write down key words4. Takes more time to create, but less time to

review5. Could use in conjunction with highlighting

D. Taking full notes

1. This is what I am doing for this class

E. Only take notes if your purpose and responsibility require it

This coloring activity is very distracting and a waste of time. This is because this type of highlighting postpones learning. If you need to learn the information in the paragraph for a test, then you would be using highlighting inefficiently. You will eventually have to reread the whole paragraph, trying to decide why you highlighted in the first place!

IV. New pacer- Right Side Pull

A. Same as the left side pull only on the right side

B. Might adapt by alternating the outside edge of the page

V. Tip of the day

A. When you eliminate distracters you may find others

1. While I was doing these notes I was using my iPod to keep focused. My son put a cup of lemon juice on the table and I was totally distracted by the smell.

How’s Y

our

Attitu

de?

I am

a(n

) ___

____

___ r

eader.