For many people concentrating on something is quite hard, especially when what we are trying to concentrate on is boring or uninteresting. This leads to getting distracted and most likely zoning out. Zoning out is something that basically everyone has done, especially me. When we let our minds wander, the world around us goes quiet and we only pay attention to our own thoughts. This really doesn't help us though. Think of school. A student isn't concentrating on their work and zones out, they then get called on by the teacher to answer a question. It's so embarrassing fumbling around with your words to try and find an answer. That’s why I came up with some tricks to stay at least a little bit more concentrated. The first trick would be moving any and all distractions out of sight and reach. For example your phone, snacks, and anything that isn't related to what you should be doing. Now I’m not saying this as if it was an iron clad rule as I love breaking this rule. When I can't concentrate or I need a little break I take out my phone, and sometimes some candies to purposefully distract me. Now this is a very unhelpful habit I’ve developed, however it has gotten better! The reason for it getting better is that my phone is so old, that the battery has become absolute trash, and that has really put a limit on how much I use it during school. I’ve noticed that simply having a bad battery has basically given me a reason to stay off my phone and focus on my schoolwork. So I’ve talked about using this trick for school but school isn't the only place you can use it. Let it be while you're playing sports, are working, or even when you’re just talking to friends. You can use it. Because of all these different situations some tricks may work others may not, you have to try different combinations that work for you to stay concentrated. However you have to start somewhere and this is usually the thing that people first think of, so that's why I consider this the first trick. The second is what I call repeating. It may sound a little strange, but when I’m starting to lose focus I start repeating what was just said back to myself in my head. I’ve found this really works for me as I really concentrate on what they say, and as I’m repeating it back to myself I sometimes understand it better than if I was just listening normally. Repeating what someone says not only helped me understand it better it also helped me remember it. This may sound easy but there are times when it gets hard. The speaker may be talking too fast, the people around you are talking, or your friends are distracting you. I discovered this trick while watching a movie. The movie was set in a highschool, and there was a teacher who would always ask some student who looked like they weren’t paying attention to repeat what they just said. So in preparation for sneak attack questions, I would repeat it over and over in my head so it would look like I was paying attention. In the end it just made me concentrate on what I should have been concentrating on in the first place, so the plan failed successfully. There are many other tricks you have probably heard of and could use but these are the ones that work for me to help me concentrate and who knows they might work for you too. However if these don’t work or even make you unable to concentrate then stop, if it doesn’t help you then find another way. These may be good tricks but they won’t work right away. You'll have to work for them, and with that I wish you the best of luck!
Farryn L For more: https://jamesclear.com/focus
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I have a bad habit. Whenever I have to do an assignment or project which I can predict that I would have difficulty with, I easily get distracted. Then I procrastinate and end up choking myself at the last minute. I usually escape to my phone, visit Instagram or open other social media and come back to Instagram. This cycle over and over again even there is no notification. Or worse, start watching movies or go to Youtube until I realize it has been two hours and feel so terrible. I don’t want to spend time like this. Especially during this limited three years of high school here outside of my home country, I want to focus on what I am supposed to or explore more about things that actually will benefit me. Browsing on phone make time passes so fast, but I would never feel fulfilled. Some major causes lead to a lack of concentration; are stress and anxiety. The biggest one for me, are phone and my soft tofu-mental which farther myself from things I have to do. They are a huge distraction not only while studying but also my daily life. I wake up and check notifications. I sometimes eat and look at the screen at the same time. When I take a shower, I again bring my phone to listen to music. I hardly can spend any minute without my phone, and the one letting these happen is me. It is beyond the addiction, it is more becoming a lifestyle. I didn’t have my phone when I was young, even after I got my first smartphone, I still could spare my time for the priorities than my temporary interests unintentionally. Since when do I have to think not to let myself slide thoughts of resting than keep going? I needed to do something with this bad habit so I tried screen timer on iPhone or deleting social media app, Youtube or Netflix, yet I always come back to bad routine Finally, a great opportunity appeared. Since my phone screen cracked when I dropped it on May 1st, and it completely untouchable so I haven’t used my phone. It hurts looking at the broken phone, but this incident was what I needed. I did not have to conflict with self, because the solid object was simply not working. Also as I actually experienced phone-free school days, I found out that it is inconvenient obviously, but I could feel less suffocated and controlled. It could be the totally same thing for any other that leads to a lack of concentration. Just try to spend a day without whatever trapping you. Forcibly put yourself in a situation or space where you cannot reach them, other than cracking the screen. Not every time I have a broken phone. It would be great if I had strong mental and with perseverance, I could prioritize tasks and then don’t have to have a hard time struggling to concentrate. A similar trait one person could have is grit. Angela Lee Duckworth explained, “It is to have passion and perseverance for long-term goals, having the stamina, sticking with future for years and working really hard to make that future a reality”. She also said “Grit is usually unrelated to talent, or even inversely related to measures of talent”, which could mean it is a trait we can develop. I am sure grit is not something we gain overnight, coming over hard times and gradually acquire a strong mindset. Time is always passing equally to everyone, how to spend is all different. Let’s have one however you want to spend that makes you fulfilled.
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