Counselling
Having trouble studying?
Are you finding that you are being distracted from your studies by thoughts and feelings? Having trouble getting started? Lacking motivation? Having trouble staying focused?
These tips may help you get back on track.
1. Expect thoughts and feelings to intrude
If you are worried about something, or experiencing strong emotions such as grief, anger, sadness, you are likely to find that you become more aware of the associated thoughts and feelings when you sit down at your desk to study. You will be alone with your thoughts and feelings at that time, less distracted by tasks or being with other people.
So, you should expect those thoughts and feelings to intrude when you sit down to study. Don't be deterred by them. Read on.
2. Be aware
As you are studying, ask yourself "Where is my attention now?" You may find that your attention has drifted away from the study task you set out to do and onto other thoughts and feelings without you being aware that this has happened. You may be particularly susceptible to this trap when reading - a page of text is often far less engaging than the feelings and thoughts you are experiencing. When reading, make sure you read actively.
You may find it helpful to "park" your distracting thoughts and feelings (compartmentalizing). You can do this by saying to yourself "I will come back to that thought later" or by setting aside half an hour in your day specifically to worry or to feel sad, angry, etc.. It may help to have a journal of some sort on your desk so you can "park" your thoughts and feelings by writing them down (briefly) when they intrude, then returning to your study.
Remember, you must be vigilant about where your attention is at all times while you are studying. The effectiveness of your study can be greatly diminished if you are distracted - more on this later.
3. Return to the job at hand
Once you have become aware that your attention has drifted, return it to the job you are supposed to be doing (study). Do this as many times as you need to. You may need to do this a hundred times during the course of an hour to start with. If so, that's what you should do - if you persist, it should gradually become easier to stay focused on the job. The key is to minimize the time spent off the task and to maximize productive study time.
4. Work in short bursts to start with
If you are having trouble maintaining your concentration, acknowledge that by working in short blocks of study. Half an hour will be enough to start off with. (Within that half hour you may have your work cut out for you just to keep your attention focused!). Take a short break and then do another half hour. As you become comfortable with this, stretch it out to longer study sessions (up to an hour is usually enough).
5. Stop and start, don't drift
Pay conscious attention when you are moving from one task to the next. "Mark" those changes by saying to yourself "Now I am finishing the dishes. Now I am starting to study" (for example). It seems simple, but this can help if you tend to drift and slide from one thing to another without being really conscious of it.
6. Don't negotiate with yourself
If you have made a commitment with yourself to study at a certain time, as that time draws near, you may find that you start to bargain with yourself "I'm too tired now, I'll just watch this show and do it later". If you find yourself doing this, stop immediately. You can stop yourself by saying "STOP" in your mind, or out loud if you need to. Just get up and go to your desk to study, if that's what you said you were going to do next.
7. Do you have structure?
Does your week have a structure to it? You may have regular commitments like work, attending lectures, picking children up from school and so on. Have you structured your study time sufficiently? Make your study times a regular commitment just like those other commitments. A weekly planner can be useful for this. You can build your study times around those activities that are already built into your week.
The second step in this is to have study goals for yourself. You can set goals according to the amount of time you want to spend studying and/or specific tasks you want to achieve in your study eg. catch up on the last two weeks' readings for your DE subject. You may find that it is most helpful to do both of these ie. To have time goals and specific study task goals.
The keys to success are:
- Catch yourself quickly and return to the job. What makes the difference in the end is: how much time did you spend engaged in productive activity (time on task)? If we could get into a time machine and travel forward to the end of the session and look back we would see this quite clearly. It is hard work. There is no getting away from this - it may uncomfortable, but there is no "magic bullet". If you persist, it usually becomes easier.
- You may need to tolerate uncomfortable or painful feelings while you are pushing ahead with your study. Recognize that the feelings may have nothing at all to do with the study as such - you just experience them more fully when sitting at your desk. Do not fall into the trap of avoiding sitting at your desk just to avoid your feelings. If there is something that's troubling you or worrying you, work at trying to solve the problem by making changes if you need to. Talk it over with friends. Seek help from a counselor if you need to.