Focus

I've been thinking a lot about focus and concentration these past few weeks. It's been my hardest obstacle to overcome; my moods have been a wild roller coaster, but my concentration abilities have been on a steady, steep decline. At least they're consistent.

I've tried everything. (Or at least, every possible idea I could find on the subject.) Some things worked better than others. Some things only worked in combination with other things. Some things just did not work at all. Like most mental strategies, the effectiveness of these routines varies wildly from person to person. Whatever helps you with your concentration may be extremely different from what helps someone else.

So here is a (not really) scientific report of my findings. If you have any other suggestions, or know of something I left out, feel free to leave them in the comments! I'm always searching.

Most Effective

Ambient noise
How did I live without ambient noise programs? Seriously, though. I plug in my headphones and turn it up loud and get to work, and boom: I'm in the zone. Here are some ideas:
Coffitivity - my absolute favorite. Several different blends of cafe sounds; I personally love the Paris cafe!
Rainy Cafe - my second favorite. Combines the sounds of rain with the sound of a cafe, and you can personally tune the balance of each.
Showertime - a true ambient noise machine. Simulates being in a shower, with tunable "pressure" and "size of room" and even "temperature".
Soundrown - a combination of ambient noises. Choose between rain, coffee shop, ocean, fire, bird noises, or a combination of the five. (I never found a combination that worked for me; the blend of sounds always confused me. Why are there birds in my fire? Is my coffee shop on the beach?)

Task Book
I bought a small notebook specifically for this purpose. Here's how it works:
Write down everything you have to do, not necessarily in any particular order.
Give each task a time interval. You will only work on the task for that much time; then you move on.
Underneath the task, write the time intervals like 9-9:45, etc.
At the bottom, write tasks that don't take a lot of time to do, such as "email so-and-so" or "print bus ticket". These can just be checked off as you do them.
The idea is to maintain your focus by giving you a lot of structure. You have a set time in which to do things, and if you don't finish it in that time, you leave it and come back to it. And if you have a task that you're dreading or you know will take a really long time, it makes the task seem much less daunting and much easier to do. Quick example:

Isn't the notebook cute? Make sure you get a cute notebook. Very important. Absolutely essential.

Moderately Effective
Caffeine
I have mixed feelings about caffeine. It gives me energy, but that energy isn't always coupled with focus. I particularly recommend tea; the caffeine level is moderate, and more importantly, it makes me happy. :) Which brings me to my next point:

Comfort food/drink
Now, this can be dangerous. If you're going to have chips or pretzels or something else in a gigantic bag, put it in a bowl first. And you don't get to refill that bowl. I would say "eat healthy food, because that's brain food!" but personally I've found that to be untrue (or if it is true, the difference between healthy food and junk food in terms of motivation and focus is negligible). Part of this strategy is to fuel up, yes, and that might be better accomplished with granola; but what works better for me is something that will motivate me and that is often something with way too much sodium in it. Eat/drink what makes you happy. Happy people do better work.

Leave the house
I've found that I study much better when I'm not at home. Find study spots you like, and frequent them. Pack food and drink and a sweatshirt and hop on the bus. Just do it. Eventually, it will be easier to study in your more common study spots because you associate that place with getting stuff done.

Take a shower!
Whenever I start getting really crazily out-of-focus and frustrated because I literally cannot focus my eyes on the words in front of my face, I go take a shower. Weird? Maybe. But it's relaxing. All my wound-up frustration (which was really just making the problem worse) calms down. And when I get out, I'm clean, my hair smells like something pretty, and I get into comfy clothes and wrap myself in a blanket and get back to work. Works wonders.

Not Very Effective

Taking breaks to do something else
I can't do this. Some people can, but not me. If I go off to do something else I'm never coming back to work. (The exception being taking a shower, see above.) It works much better for me to sit down and devote a great chunk of time for doing the same thing. That said, I do support taking short walking breaks or trips to the water fountain or snack machine, or traveling to another study spot. Getting up and moving around is very helpful.

Music
Too distracting. I like zoning out and daydreaming while listening to music, which is not very conducive to getting stuff done. It can be effective sometimes, like when Bryce and I have the radio on quietly in the background, but that's more of an ambient noise thing.

Getting things done btw. other things
Some people just constantly return to things whenever they can. Extra hour after lunch? Start a problem set. Half hour before class starts? Write another paragraph of your essay while you're sitting outside class. I am completely incapable of this, and in fact, always have been. I need to sit down with the mindset of "I will be here for a while." If there's only a half hour or an hour, all I'll do is watch the clock.


Like I said at the beginning, different things work for different people; all of these results are my personal experiences. I know people who could not get anything done without music, and people who get most of their work done between classes (or even during lectures). The most important thing is to figure out what works for you. Try things! Make routines! And leave your personal tips and tricks in the comments. :)

Next week I'll be compiling a list of resources I've found for staying organized and motivated. Stay tuned!