Techniques to Improve Your Concentration

8/14/2019 Techniques to Improve Your Concentration

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Techniques toimprove yourconcentration

Concentration isthe ability to keepone's mindsteadily on a givensubject for astated interval. Itcan bedeveloped--if youpractice thefollowing

suggestions longenough.

Emotionalworries orproblems:First, attendto all crisesor seriousproblems.Either dosomethingabout themor decidewhat to doabout it--later. Havefaith that theworld willstill be therewith its

problemsand joyswhile youtake timeout to study.Instead,enlist youremotions in


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your studyas you mustbe totallyinvolved.

Studyconditions:A regulartime andregular place(well-lightedand quiet)will suggeststudy. If youfind itcompatibleandprofitable tostudy withothers, fine.Use astraight backchair toencouragealertness.

The roomshould bewellventilatedand notabove 70.Only softmusic, if youmust.

Eyes: Resteyesfrequently aseye staringcan quicklycausefatigue. Lookaway from


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your book,blink hardseveraltimes, orpalm your

eyes to restthem. Avoidglaringreadinglights orreading inthe sun.

Purpose:Place a value(purpose) onyourreading--grades,units, orinformationto be gained.A morespecificpurpose canbe developed

by firstsurveyingthe readingmaterial andformingquestionsfrom the titleandheadings.Then youwould readto answeryourquestions.

Interest:Somesubjects will


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be moreinterestingto you thanothers. Theabove

survey-questionmethod tosoften up thematerialbefore theseriousreading willcreateinterest as

well aspurpose.Interest willsurge andsubside.Expect this!Whatever,theresponsibilityfordevelopinginterest isyours.

Backgroundinformation: Recall whatyou alreadyknow aboutthe subject.This willgenerateinterestwhich servesconcentration. If you findthe materialnew anddifficult, go


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to simplersources foryour initialreading.

Questions,Questions:Askquestions asyour surveythe chapter.This will helpdevelop yourcuriosity,interest,concentration andmotivation.As you diginto thereading, askmore specificquestions of concepts,statementsand

beyond--of your ownanalyses,inferences,synthesis orevaluation.Ask: Why?How? Whatif? How doesthis relate...?

Organizethematerial:Chaptershave anorder orstructure for


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the thoughtflow anddevelopment. Utilize thisorder as a

hanger fordetails,relating andassociatingthe details tothe mainideas whichmake up thestructure.You can

concentrateandrememberbetter if youhave a clearsense of where youare andwhere youare goingwithideas.Thiscan beachieved if you "tie in"details to themajor ideas(largerframework)as you read.

Visualize:Createpictures inyour mind asyou read.The visualsense ismost helpful


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instimulatinginterest,concentration and

memory aswell asunderstanding.

Readfaster: Thefaster youread, themore youhave toattend to thematerial,leaving lesstime fordistractionsor yourthoughts towander.Speed alsobinds the

materialcloser as youareperceivingmore and,the moreyou perceiveof the whole,the moreyou will findit meaningfulandinteresting.

Self-recitation:Engage in asplit-second


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recitation-reflectionafter readingeachparagraph or

manageableportion totest yourunderstanding beforerecordingthisunderstanding briefly.This self-

recitationnot onlyrefreshesinterest butkeeps youactivelyinvolvedwhich servesconcentration.

Makenotes: Makebrief notes inyour ownwordsfollowingself-recitation.Copyingpassively notonly is anabsolutewaster of time, but itactuallydecreasesconcentration.


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Underliningdoes notserveconcentration as well as

your ownparaphrasednotes.

Review:Review yournotesoccasionallywhilereading achapter.After youhavecompletedyourreading,review itagain to besure youhave really"got it."

Warm-up:the first 10-20 minutesis often areadinessperiod--awarm-upperiod todevelopinterest andmood forstudying.Don't bedisappointedif you fail toconcentrate100% at the


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beginning. If often takessome time toget into it.Hang in

there! This iswhen moststudentsclose thebook, feelingthey justcan't studytonight. Notso!

Lapses andfatigue: If yourconcentration flagsduring thestudy period,take shortbreaks.Stretch,stand, restyour eyes,walk about,get a drinkand thenresume yourstudying.Later, whenyou feelyou've had itwith the

subject, takea mentalbreakchanging toanothersubject. Areview of your notes is


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encouragingand thisrefreshesinterest and

concentration. Change toan easierassignment.If you aresure you'vehad it forthat studysession, quitfor the timebeing.

Some odds andendsSet goals forstudying--so manypages or a setamount of time.Work to achievethese goals. Atsome point youmay feel you aremaking noprogress at all.This may well bethe learningplateau which ispart of anylearningdevelopment. Ithelps fix andstabilize the

learning. However,as you continue tostudy, there will beanother leapforward--thenfollowed by thelearning plateau.

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Techniques to Improve Your Concentration