Study Skills Improving Your Concentration Skills Hospira March 22nd

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Study SkillsImproving Your Concentration
SkillsHospiraMarch 22nd
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Concentration Skills

• Todays class with involve
• Explaining what concentration is and what it
  involves
• Exploring what distractions are, where they come
  from and how to cope with them
• Some practical techniques for improving your
  concentration skills

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Concentration Skills

• Concentration refers to a persons ability to
  focus on what is most important in any situation
  while ignoring distractions. For example, trying
  to look over notes while someone is watching the
  T.V. in the same room requires this kind of
  selective attention
• However, research suggests that students can
  listen to music concentrate effectively as long
  as they believe they have the power to change the
  volume in the background
• The implication of this is that the more control
  you believe you can exert over any situation, the
  less it will distract you

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Concentration Skills

• In order to concentrate properly, make sure what
  ever you decide to think about is specific,
  relevant under your control
• Generally effective concentration involves at
  least 3 skills
• You must have a clear objective in mind (study
  question)
• You have to break up that objective in action
  steps (task which move you nearer to your goal)
• You must remind yourself to re-focus periodically
  or else you will think to far ahead

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Concentration Skills

• An example of these skills in action can be taken
  from sport. See Handout
• Distractions are events (e.g. an unexpected
  visitor) experiences (e.g. feeling anxious)
  which divert us from our intended thoughts or
  actions make it difficult to focus on the job
  at hand
• There are two types of distractions external
  internal

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Concentration Skills

• External distractions consist of environmental
  factors which upset our concentration, e.g.
  interrupted by noise or by other people.
• Internal distractions are self-generated concerns
  which arise from our own thoughts feelings.
  E.g. worrying about what other people might say
  or do, worrying about tests before we even sit
  them, etc.
• A good place to start in improving your
  concentrating is to identify the things that
  distract you easily

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Concentration Skills

• Common distractions affecting students
• Having so many things that you dont know where
  to start
• Not having a specific goal or question when
  studying
• Not working to a plan or a timetable
• Feeling too tired to concentrate

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Concentration Skills

• Being interrupted constantly by other people
• Thinking too far ahead
• Regretting what happened in the past
• Thinking of unrelated matters while working on a
  job
• Not being able to put personal matters out of
  your mind

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Concentration Skills

• Dealing with distractions
• The best way to deal with distraction is to
  ensure that it does not arise in the first place.
  Here are some tips
• Keep your desk as a work-place not a storage
  place
• Making a start gets you into the moods for
  studying- dont wait for inspiration to strike
• To avoid fatigue, always set a starting time a
  finishing time for your study sessions

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Concentration Skills

• Turn your worries into action-steps (jobs which
  you can do right now to improve your situation)
• Take regular exercise
• Find a quiet place where you know you will be
  able to study without being disturbed
• Give yourself visible reminders to re-focus on
  what is more important right now.

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Concentration Skills

• Reference
• Moran, A (1997) Managing your own learning at
  university