Lack of concentration while studying significantly affects academic performance.
“The problem is that I don’t concentrate”. This excuse is common among many primary or secondary school students who, after several hours of study or work, find that their performance has been null or very poor. Many of the students use additional services to make learning easier, such as https://www.paperhelp.org/homework/. Specialists affirm that all students can concentrate, but it is necessary to train and practice from an early age for it to be effective. The acquisition of different techniques and work habits can correct to a great extent the lack of concentration.
He forgets everything he studies, is unable to memorize, spends hours in front of the book, and does not learn. If any problem or learning deficit is ruled out, all these signs show a significant lack of concentration in children and young people of school age. This inability to concentrate is one of the risk factors that affect a student’s academic performance.
For this reason, it is important to act from the first moments in which it is detected to prevent the problem from continuing in later educational stages. Parents can help their children if they instill certain work and study habits in them from a very early age and if they practice with them certain mental techniques that favor the development of the ability to concentrate.
Seven habits to concentrate
Work environment: to avoid distractions that affect the student’s concentration, it is essential to have an isolated study place, free of noise and without elements that may favor inattention.
Choosing the best time: when choosing the study schedule, the student should pay attention to his or her preferences according to the time when he or she concentrates best (in the morning or at night), but also according to the time of day when he or she can obtain greater tranquility in the workspace and the hours when he or she is more rested.
Study schedule: to avoid the lack of concentration caused by fatigue, it is advisable to establish a structured timetable that combines rest and study. Some specialists recommend studying in 40-45 minutes intervals with a break of 10-15 minutes between them. This break helps to clear the mind and prepares it for the next period of concentration.
Organize the material: getting up to get a ruler, having to look for the pencil sharpener, or leaving the room to get the dictionary are some of the distractions that affect the student’s concentration. They can be avoided if the study space is organized effectively before starting to study.
Alone or with others: For many students, the mere presence of a partner in the same study space distracts them from their homework. However, it motivates and encourages them to concentrate on their studies, provided that the companion has the same attitude.
Interspersing study techniques: memorizing for two hours at a time or devoting a full day’s study to summaries and outlines can tire students and cause them to lose focus on their work. To avoid this, it is advisable to combine different study techniques during the same work session to make it more interesting for the student.
Change of subject: if the lack of concentration is unavoidable, a good alternative is to change the subject of study. This change will give the student a new interest and increase his concentration again. It is likely that when he/she changes again, he/she will again be able to concentrate properly on the previous subject.
Techniques that promote concentration
Lack of concentration is often caused by anxiety, tension, or worries. In this case, the student can resort to different techniques and mental exercises that will help him to relax and to prepare and exercise his mind to obtain a greater concentration in his studies.
Crossing out letters: a good concentration exercise consists of taking a page from a newspaper or magazine that is no longer useful and crossing out a certain letter as fast as possible. As practice is acquired in this exercise, two or more letters can be crossed out to increase the level of concentration.
Visualizing an image: using this technique, the student should mentally visualize a simple geometric figure (a circle, triangle, or square) and try to fix the attention on it for as long as possible. When the figure disappears, the time achieved should be noted, after counting it with a stopwatch. The exercise should be repeated periodically to try to beat the previous time each time.
Attention games: some simple games are designed in such a way that those who play them must train their attention without realizing it. Some suggestions are tangram, word search, search for differences, chess, or sudoku.
Music and sounds: listening to music can also become an excellent concentration exercise. Students can listen to their favorite music and try to concentrate on distinguishing when a certain instrument sounds. Also in an environment in which different sounds are interspersed can “play” to try to attend exclusively to only one of them.
