Do you often find your mind wandering when you need to focus on your school work? You know you’ve got a deadline to hand in an assignment, but there are more exciting things to do? Don’t worry; it’s a common situation that many students face. The key is to harness the power of focus to get your work done quickly and effectively so you can spend your free time doing all the things you enjoy the most.
It sounds like a mountain to climb, but some good news is coming your way: we’re going to give you all the top tips to become a focus master. Before you know it, you’ll have a study space and routine that ticks all the boxes. We’ll also use some key insights from top bestsellers, such as 'Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence' by Daniel Goleman. You’ll quickly see that learning how to focus on school work isn’t as complicated as it initially seems.
Are you ready? Let’s jump in!
What is focus, and why is it difficult?
First things first, let’s talk about what focus actually is, and understand why it can be so hard to master.
To break it down, focus is the ability to concentrate your attention or mental effort on a specific task while ignoring other distractions. Achieving focus is often more demanding than it appears due to the many distractions of daily life — from technological interruptions, such as notifications from social media platforms and video games, to environmental factors like noise or activity around you.
Additionally, stress and anxiety about school work and endless to-do lists can significantly affect your ability to focus. Physical factors such as lack of sleep or not eating properly also play critical roles in reducing the mental stamina needed for concentration.
It’s time to take action
So, what can you do about this? Understanding your learning style is a beneficial first step. Your learning style is how you absorb, process, understand, and retain information. Everyone has a slightly different style, but some of the most common ones include visual (learning through seeing), auditory (learning through hearing), and kinesthetic (learning through doing).
When you know which of these groups you fit into best, you can tailor your study methods accordingly. For instance, if you’re a visual learner, you might find it helpful to use color-coded notes or diagrams. If you’re more of an auditory learner, you might benefit from listening to recordings or discussing material with peers. Perhaps you fit into the kinesthetic learner group, and in that case, you could incorporate more hands-on activities or experiments into your study routines.
By aligning your study habits with your personal learning preferences, you can not only boost your concentration but also make learning more enjoyable.
We should also mention that some conditions make focus even harder. For example, ADHD. If you feel that you may be affected, it’s a good idea to speak to a professional for an assessment. There are many treatment and management methods available, and you don’t need to struggle alone.
Creating the optimal study room
A key step in learning how to focus on school work is to create the right environment and stick to healthy habits. Together, the two of these can significantly boost your focus and cognitive function.
Let's delve into some helpful strategies to enhance your study sessions, starting with your health first of all.
The importance of sleep
Quality sleep is crucial for brain health. It helps consolidate memory and clear out brain toxins. While everyone's a little different, you should aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night to ensure your brain is rested and ready to absorb new information.
It’s helpful to go to bed at the same time every night and set your alarm for the same time every morning. Avoid anything too stimulating before bed, such as loud music, games, screen time, and adrenaline-pumping movies. It’s also important to avoid heavy meals before bed. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself awake for several extra hours.
In his bestseller, 'The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep is Broken and How to Fix it,' W. Chris Winter gives some useful tips to follow. You can read a summary in the Headway library.
"Sleep is not the absence of wakefulness. In other words, sleep is not a light switch in your brain that is either on or off. Your body is doing amazing things at night while you sleep."
Let’s talk nutrition
Your brain needs the right fuel to perform at its best. Foods and healthy snacks rich in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and fiber have been shown to boost brain health and concentration. Here are some brain-boosting foods to add to your diet:
Fish: Rich in omega-3 fatty acids that are vital for brain function and development. Examples include salmon, trout, and sardines.
Nuts and seeds: These are good sources of the antioxidant vitamin E, which protects cells from oxidative stress caused by free radicals.
Blueberries: Known for their anti-inflammatory properties and ability to increase synaptic plasticity, which helps your brain cells form new connections.
Dark chocolate: Contains flavonoids, caffeine, and antioxidants. It promotes brain plasticity and is helpful for learning and memory.
Does this mean you can’t have a takeaway occasionally? Of course not. It just means that you should eat everything in moderation, ensuring that you get plenty of healthy fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. Additionally, make sure you drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Keeping a refillable water bottle beside you is a great way to remind yourself to keep drinking.
In 'How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease,' Michael Greger gives fascinating insights into nutrition and how it can help prevent certain illnesses, many of which affect focus.
"The best way to minimize your exposure to industrial toxins may be to eat as low as possible on the food chain, a plant-based diet."
Move your body more
Regular physical activity increases blood flow to the brain, which aids in maintaining focus and sharpens alertness during your homework assignments. Even a short walk or a few stretching exercises during study breaks can make a substantial difference in your concentration levels. It’s very easy to sit on the sofa and use electronic devices, assuming that they’re useful in other ways, but there’s no replacement for exercise.
In particular, cardiovascular exercise helps increase oxygen flow to the brain, which reduces brain fog and fatigue. Exercise also stimulates the production of neurotransmitters such as endorphins, which help prioritize brain function and mood improvement.
Setting up your study space
The place you choose to do your studying and hard work is very important. A cluttered, stressful workspace, full of distractions, will slow you down and cause you to procrastinate. However, a well-designed, organized spot will have the opposite effect.
Here are a few tips to optimize your study space:
Choose a quiet spot: To minimize distractions and enhance focus, choose a quiet area dedicated solely to studying.
Proper lighting: Ensure your study area is well-lit, preferably with natural light, to reduce eye strain and keep you alert.
Ergonomics: You won’t be able to concentrate if you’re uncomfortable. Use comfortable, supportive seating and keep your setup ergonomic to prevent discomfort during long study sessions.
8 techniques to stay focused on your school work
Now that you know how optimal focus can help you hit deadlines and avoid procrastination, let’s talk about some useful techniques for staying focused no matter what work you need to do.
Use the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a popular and very easy time management technique. The unique thing about this method is that it forces you to take regular breaks. You might think that taking breaks is a counterproductive thing to do, but taking time away from your studies actually helps you focus better than trying to push your brain too far all at once.
To perform the Pomodoro Technique, you simply break your work into intervals, usually a set time of 25 minutes, separated by a five-minute break. Each interval, known as a Pomodoro, keeps your brain fresh and focused. After four Pomodoros, take a longer break of about 15-30 minutes to recharge.
In his bestselling book, 'Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again,' Johann Hari talks about the reasons why we can’t focus, and one of the main issues is tiredness. If you don’t take regular breaks, your brain will be overloaded with fatigue. He talks about the vital importance of rest and short breaks. By doing so, you’ll notice a world of difference in your ability to take on board new information.
"We live in a culture that is constantly amping us up with stress and stimulation."
Time blocking
Schedule specific blocks of time for different tasks or subjects, allowing you to work in manageable steps. This method helps you manage your day more effectively, dedicating set periods for studying, breaks, and other activities. It prevents task overrun and keeps you from feeling overwhelmed.
In his bestselling book, 'Free to Focus,' Michael Hyatt talks about taking a moment to consider which tasks you really need to do and which don’t contribute toward your academic goals. Cutting out unnecessary tasks and time blocking the ones that matter keeps you focused and allows for more meaningful study sessions.
Additionally, time blocks should be treated as non-negotiable and should never be canceled unless it’s a dire emergency. In this case, your math homework is vital!
"Productivity is not about getting more things done; it's about getting the right things done."
Set clear goals
Before you start each study session, set specific, achievable goals related directly to the things you want to achieve. For example, instead of a vague "I want to study chemistry," opt for "I will complete ten chemistry practice questions."
This clarity can increase your motivation and sense of achievement. It can also help avoid distraction because you’re not focusing on a huge task. A smaller task is much easier to complete, and it stops you from wandering into the unproductive land of multitasking.
Active learning
Rather than simply reading and trying to absorb information, try connecting with it in a more active way in your study spot.
To do this, you can ask questions, complete practice problems, and teach the content to another person. Active participation helps retain information more effectively than passive reading or listening. Plus, it’s more fun, and learning should certainly be fun.
You can also use tools such as flashcards, note taking, mind maps, or summary apps to enhance your revision sessions. These tools can simplify complex information and make your study time more productive and interactive.
Prioritization
Use techniques like the Eisenhower Box to prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance. It’s also a good idea to tackle high-priority assignments first to ensure you meet deadlines and keep stress levels at a minimum.
In 'Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day,' Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky explain how prioritizing sets the tone for your day. It should be the center of your attention and something you focus on with total concentration. Everything else can wait. After all, if this is your priority, everything else is second in line. They also mention that you should reflect at the end of every day and consider what went well and what could have been done better. That way, you always make tomorrow even better.
"You only waste time if you’re not intentional about how you spend it."
Implement book summaries in time blocks
If you don't have the time to read a full book, book summaries are an ideal option. At Headway, we have summaries of thousands of non-fiction books, including many on how to focus and study tips. The big advantage here is that you can absorb a large amount of information quickly, so you can dig deeper into subjects that you need to learn more about.
As you use the time blocking technique, make one of those blocks your time to read a summary of a book. Our summaries take just 15 minutes to read or listen to, giving you key insights on the most important points. In fact, in our library, you can read summaries of all the books mentioned in this article, giving you plenty of armory against distraction.
Mindfulness and meditation
Finally, it’s very useful to begin or end your day with mindfulness exercises or meditation to improve concentration, reduce stress, and enhance overall mental health. Even short periods of meditation can improve your focus and attention span. You could also create a relaxation playlist as background noise during your activities.
In 'Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence,' Daniel Goleman talks about how there are three different types of focus, and meditation and mindfulness can help them all. They are inner, outer, and other focus. Inner focus is about self-awareness and regulating your emotions; outer focus is about seeing the bigger picture around you. Finally, the other focus is about being aware of others’ thoughts and feelings.
All of these can be improved by cognitive control or the ability to prioritize your long-term goals over the impulse to act in the moment. Mindfulness and meditation are excellent tools for exactly that.
"Mindfulness helps especially for those of us for whom every setback, hurt or disappointment creates endless cascades of rumination."
Learn to hit your homework deadlines with Headway book summaries
Sometimes, it can be very hard to keep your mind where it needs to be, especially when the allure of social media or a fun day out is calling. But, without focus and concentration, you won’t finish your assignments, whether for high school or college, and your grades will suffer. Of course, focus is something that will help you throughout life, not only in your studies. Learning how to focus your attention now will serve you well no matter what you turn your hand to.
Yet, sometimes we need to do something quickly without wasting unnecessary time. In that case, Headway’s top book summaries are for you. Absorb a large amount of knowledge in just 15 minutes, either by reading or listening on the go. You’ll boost your learning process, and you could even encourage your family members to give it a try, too!
With the techniques mentioned in this article and Headway’s powerful library, you’ll master the art of focus in no time and grab the grades you deserve.
