Focus is the most difficult part of being a student or taking care of any other obligation for that matter. It has a direct influence on all skills in life.
Which is why there is a need to develop a mindset that will remove your inhibitions, help you focus better at school and improve your studying efforts.
Why is focus important?
Many people believe “focusing in school” means listening better during the class. However, that depends on many factors that are outside of one’s control.
Some teachers may have trouble presenting the lecture in a way to keep students engaged, or a student simply isn’t that interested in that subject. Our online school EduWW does not have these issues, however children in any school can have their own problems with focus and concentration.
Being focused does not only mean you will study more efficiently and listen better during class. A focused mindset is aware of many problems that appear outside of the classroom and sometimes outside of school entirely.
Focus on school also means recognizing all the obstacles that prevent you from being an efficient student and removing them from your life.
Hence, it is important to improve your discipline and organization in all aspects of your life.
So, if you are a parent that wants to help their child or a student who wants to improve their own grades, this guide is for you.
Tips on How to Focus Better in School
These tips will improve your overall performance as a student. That will also induce your concentration during lessons as the better you perform as a student outside of the classroom, the better you will perform in it.
Create a Dedicated Study Space
Having a designated study environment at home that is clean and organized can help you improve concentration while studying. It is also important to keep the space minimalistic so that it doesn’t distract you.
Personalize that space in the way it suits you the most.
Take smaller steps at a time
Studying for hours by trying to grasp 5 lectures a day sometimes may be as bad as not studying at all. The efficiency of solving problems in all aspects of life hides in taking care of them in smaller amounts at a time.
Let’s say you study for an exam that will cover 50 textbook pages that are divided into 3 lectures. Instead of studying all of them in one day, and repeating it the next day, it is always better to divide the material into smaller parts. Determine your own way of dividing the materials. Sometimes it can be sublectures or even pages. The goal is to divide it in a way that makes sense to you, and to make it small enough for it to be an easy task.
Next, allocate these divisions to each day. Make a schedule of what you are going to study each day in a week.
Do that all over again for all the other subjects you need to study. Make sure you study multiple subjects per day, but in smaller amounts. That way, you can keep the consistency while not being discouraged by the amount of work that needs to be done.
Students at our school do not have textbooks and use online platform materials instead. Even though these materials help students study more efficiently than textbooks, anyone can fall into this trap.
Minimize Distractions
Mobile phones, laptops or desktop computers are the most common distractions. Make sure these devices are not near your studying space while you are studying.
Studying without distractions helps you prevent yourself from breaking the consistency you have set by following the previous tip.
Take Regular Breaks
Depending on your learning styles or study techniques, the duration of each break may vary. However, it is always advisable to study no longer than 50 minutes without breaks. This is a point in which your concentration drops significantly.
The purpose of breaks is to reset your concentration and refresh your mind. They can also pose as a reward after a job well done.
Use learning techniques
Learning techniques represent following systems that make your studying more efficient. The most popular one is the Pomodoro technique, but you can choose which one fits you the most.
Foster a Healthy Lifestyle
Health is the greatest wealth. Healthy lifestyle helps in developing good studying habits. The healthier you are, the better your organism functions, which influences your focus and concentration.
A balanced diet, regular exercise, and sufficient sleep are fundamental to cognitive function and concentration.
Make studying more fun with tools and videos
Studying can sometimes be made less boring. YouTube videos, or even the materials on your school’s online platform if it has one, are much more efficient ways of studying than reading and repeating lectures from textbooks.
Quizzes and other gamified materials are also great, as they urge you to complete practical tasks which helps you learn better.
Conclusion
Helping students and teenagers focus in school boils down to taking smaller steps at the time, and improving their discipline that will help them fight bad habits of procrastination.
Remember, each student is unique, so it may take time to discover which strategies work best for them. If you are a student, then your most important assets are patience and discipline. If you are a parent, encouragement and a positive attitude towards your child’s efforts are much needed support as the path your child takes is no easy task.
