Techniques to Improve Concentration

[pearl]

Techniques to Improve Concentration

1. Jot down things that are on your mind before you study, then set this list to the side. Add to it anything that distracts you as you are studying. Take care of the list later.

2. Study at the same time each day. A regular schedule can help you frame this as “study time”.

3. Set a timer for an hour, don't allow yourself to stop studying until it goes off.

4. Take breaks. A three minute break for every 30 minutes of study is a good guideline. Take a longer break after 90 minutes.

5. Set goals for your session that are realistic (number of problems to solve, pages to read, etc.) When you have met one of your study goals, reward yourself with a short break. Then, return to your study area.

6. Study in an area away from distractions such as a library, study lounge, or an empty classroom.

7. Make sure you have everything that you need before you begin.

8. Make sure your environment is conducive to studying, no TV, no telephone, no roommate, no boyfriend/girlfriend.

9. Make studying an active process; take notes and make review sheets. Intersperse different kinds of study into one session, e.g. reading, writing, taking notes, memorizing, etc.

10. Identify how what you are studying is relevant to your life. Draw connections between things you already know.

11. Insure that you are sleeping enough, eating well, and getting regular exercise. Your mind will be more alert, and you will be less likely to fall asleep or daydream.

Regards,
PEARL.

[pagalguy]

10 Tips To Improve Concentration

1. Intend to Concentrate - Humans tend to do what they tell themselves to do. Therefore, it's easier to concentrate if you set a specific length of time to study and consciously tell yourself that "I will concentrate" for that length of time.

2. Prepare to Concentrate - Have everything you will need before you begin to study: pencils, pens, paper, notes, textbooks, reference books, etc.

3. Use concentration Promoting Activities - Study with a pen or pencil in hand and condense what you read into organized notes. Rewrite and better organize lecture notes. If you study by rereading and suffer from poor concentration and poor recall, you are normal.

4. Vary Your Study Activities - If your study style is not to focus on one subject for long periods of time, then vary what you do. Read and take notes for awhile, formulate questions and answers for a time, recite and review to break the monotony. Another example is to do math problems for awhile, then read another subject, review that subject, and then go back to math.

5. Find a Non-Distracting Study Environment - Study in the same place and use that place only for studying. Remove potential sources of visual and auditory distractions or remove yourself to a less distracting study environment.

6. Set Up a Specific System for Studying and Learning - An effective step-by-step plan for studying and learning makes concentration easier. For example, take main ideas and turn them into questions and place them on one side of a notecard. On the other side, use the details that clarify and explain each main idea as answers for your questions. Frequently and regularly look at the questions and practice reciting answers aloud from memory. Then, turn the notecard over to check your answer. If right, move on to the next notecard. If wrong, don't move on until you read the answer aloud and quiz yourself again until you get it right.

7. Eat Regular and Well-Balanced Meals - Research suggests those with healthy diets earn higher grades. Avoid quick uppers such as sugary snacks because quickly rising and falling blood sugar levels negatively affect concentration. High fat foods cause sluggishness and drowsiness. Snack on fresh fruits and vegetables.

8. Get Plenty of Night-Time Sleep - Fighting sleepiness lowers concentration

9. Set Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Semester Academic Goals - It is easier to concentrate and feel motivation when you have goals and can see yourself progressing toward those goals.

10. Take Regular Study Breaks - It is normal for concentration time to vary individually from 5 minutes on up. Take a short 5-minute break when concentration wanders.


PS: Locked the other one

[sunish]

hi all!!!!!

i hav attached software memtrain with this message..........its a gud s/w to improve ur memory............
try it n c 4 urself..........
it is totally free to use n u can send it to nebody u like but both the files hsould be included in the zipped one..............
so folks.........download n improve ur memory.

sunish

[Praveen]

Fantastic thread here! I guess it must be made a sticky one!

Well I have a questions folks...how do you manage to keep your concentration during tests...say like CAT or GMAT for the full duration? I mean do anyone practice any techniques for this?

regards,
Praveen

[sunish]

hello parveen!!!
though i hav given a few mock tests but one thing i hav noticed abt concentration in an exam like this that while attempting questions my mind wonders about the correctness of some previous question or it may think of clearing the cutoff etc. somethime some other thoughts enter my mind eg ohh yaar yeh topic agli baar acchhi tarah karoongaa , ohhhh is question ko to usne seconds mein nikaal liya hoga, is mock test mein first 100 mein rank nahin aayegi etc.....these stray thoughts affect concentration on other questions n accuracy drops........so now what i hav been doing is I recall all other thoughts which came in my mind in the test & i make a sort of bookmark in a diary abt these thoughts .........bfore the test i read these n while attempting the next test those previous thoughts donot come in my mind automatically ( i really dont know how , but it works for me)............
so the net result is i think (its my opinion only.other may think i m too duffer that stray thoughts like this come in my mind) we should limit these types of stray thoughts to enter our mind .....this has direct result on our conc too.......
hope u understand.......
sunish

[pearl]

Mental Power
We can only expend energy and perform work up to a certain fixed maximum rate. If we are to attempt to lift twenty rocks each weighing 25-kg. and remove them to another spot fifty meters away, we could do so. We would have to move slowly and to rest between rocks so that the body could renew its energy supply at a rate equal to that at which it was expended.
If however the twenty 25 kg. rocks were united into one 500 kg. boulder, we would not be able to lift it. We do not have enough energy and can't expend it quickly enough to lift the rock at a stroke. The rate at which energy is expended is called "power." And although we have enough energy (given enough time) to lift a 500 kg. boulder, we do not possess sufficient power for the purpose.

The same principle applies to the mind. If we were to focus our eyes on a specific dot on a white wall for one hour, we could do so. We would have to focus in short increments of maybe 5 to 20 seconds and rest between focusing efforts so that the mind could renew its energy supply at a rate equal to that which it was expended.

Increased Energy Supply
It is possible to increase the bodies energy supply and power through exercise and training. A well-trained fit body can expend more energy over a shorter period of time. It has more power. The increased physical energy would enable us to lift heavier weights, run faster and longer, sleep less, work harder be healthier and so on. It is also possible to increase the minds energy supply and power through mental training and exercise. This would increase our mental powers enabling us to expend more energy over a shorter period of time. The mental energy would enable us to focus and concentrate better, be more creative, improve our memory, improve our imagination, intuition and reasoning and problem solving abilities, in fact, it would enhance and improve all our inherent mental abilities.

The Foundation of Mental Performance
Mental trainings come in all sizes and colors, shapes and forms. The most widespread training is through school where special emphasis is put on acquiring knowledge and reasoning abilities. Then there are courses that teach memory techniques, speed-reading, creativity, intuition and focus and concentration. It seems that the basic foundation of all successful mental performance is the ability to focus and concentrate. Whatever you do with the mind you always have to use focus. The more you can focus the easier it is to finish the task. Oriental yogis put great emphasis on teaching focus and concentration. Business people often say that the ability to sustain focus is one of the keys to success in business. Athletes and coaches often talk about the importance of good focus and concentration.

Busy 24 hours a day
In its normal state a healthy human brain is constantly active. Its constantly busy monitoring, adjusting and repairing the body in order to make it function with optimum efficiency. Out of all that activity arises the mind which is also perpetually busy and active in associating, sensing, perceiving, retrieving and storing data in order to keep you alive and well in a competitive and challenging society.

This constant activity is one of the biggest obstacles to good focus and concentration. Its can be very difficult to focus and concentrate when thoughts and emotions are always interfering with our attention. If this is the normal way in which the brain and mind work, then how do we focus and concentrate when all this activity is going on? One well-known method is to focus on a simple image like a red triangle and persist in seeing it clearly in our minds eye. And if it becomes fuzzy or unclear to recall it again and again to fight off the constant interference of the mind. Gradually the mind gives in and calms down and we gain more and more control over our thoughts. Usually this takes months of head crunching daily practice, which is a pain in the neck. But why is it so difficult and time consuming to tame and control the mind?

The Frog and the Scientist
A scientist put a frog into hot water to see how it would react, and sure enough the frog immediately jumped out of the water. But when he put the same frog into lukewarm water which it liked, and heated the water very, very slowly, surprisingly enough the frog didn't jump out and got cooked. The frog didn't notice the gradually rising heat because it happened so slowly, and before it realized it, it was to late.

Mental Morphing
A close examination of the process of thought and emotion and this constant shifting from one thought to the other reveals a well known phenomenon called morphing. A popular computer and video image trick today is to morph one face into another different face. Morphing is how one thought or emotion changes into another one. It morphs one image into another image and even morphs images into dialogs or emotions or any combination of these.

When you try to concentrate on a specific image the morphing happens so quickly and subtly that, much like the frog, we don't notice it until its to late. In a manner of speaking, we're cooked. When is the image the same and when has it morphed just a little bit? We are deceived into thinking we are looking at the same image when it has actually morphed halfway into something else, and then some more. If the change happened suddenly we'd notice it immediately, in the same way as the frog that detected hot water. To prevent itself from ending up on the scientists dinner plate the frog would have to watch carefully any change in the water temperature and jump out if it got to hot. To prevent ourselves from ending up in the dungeons of our mind we have to watch very carefully any changes in the morphing and stop it before it enslaves our focus.

Establishing an Higher Order
Actually seeing the image clearly or not in our minds eye is just half the story. Its not our main concern; a secondary objective. The primary objective is to increase the ability to focus and concentrate. So how is it possible to increase focus and concentration without actually seeing an image? The answer is Intent. Intent establishes a higher order beyond the mind and enables us to focus on the image whether we see it clearly or not. The intention to see the image keeps the focus active. Whether you actually see the image clearly or not in your mind is not important as long as you stay in control of the focus. Its fine if you actually see the image, but you don't have to worry if you don't see it because you can focus on the intention of seeing the image.

[ankursanghi]

Gud one guys!! Keep up the good trend!

[puneet]

here is a link which might help for many other things also

http://www.studygs.net/

[sunish]

CONCENTRATION EXERCISES

hi all...........posting here some concentration exercises.........these r gud.....do these n see the results urself:
Exercise 1

Sit in a comfortable chair and see how still you can keep. This is not as easy as it seems. You will have to center your attention on sitting still. Watch and see that you are not making any involuntary muscular movements. By a little practice you will find you are able to sit still without a movement of the muscles for fifteen minutes. At first I advise sitting in a relaxed position for five minutes. After you are able to keep perfectly still, increase the time to ten minutes and then to fifteen. This is as long as it is necessary. But never strain yourself to keep still. You must be relaxed completely. You will find this habit of relaxing is very good.

Exercise 2

Sit in a chair with your head up and your chin out, shoulders back. Raise your right arm until it is on the level with your shoulder, pointing to your right. Look around, with head only, and fix your gaze on your fingers, and keep the arm perfectly still for one minute. Do the same exercise with left arm. When you are able to keep the arm perfectly steady, increase the time until you are able to do this five minutes with each arm. Turn the palm of the hand downward when it is outstretched, as this is the easiest position. If you will keep your eyes fixed on the tips of the fingers you will be able to tell if you are keeping your arm perfectly still.

Exercise 3

Fill a small glass full of water, and grasp it by the fingers; put the arm directly in front of you. Now fix the eyes upon the glass and try to keep the arm so steady that no movement will be noticeable. Do this first for one moment and then increase it to five. Do the exercise with first one arm and then the other.

Exercise 4

Watch yourself during the day and see that your muscles do not become tense or strained. See how easy and relaxed you can keep yourself. See how poised you can be at all times. Cultivate a self-poised manner, instead of a nervous, strained appearance. This mental feeling will improve your carriage and demeanor. Stop all useless gestures and movements of the body. These mean that you have not proper control over your body. After you have acquired this control, notice how "ill-at-ease" people are that have not gained this control. I have just been sizing up a salesman that has just left me. Part of his body kept moving all the time. I just felt like saying to him, "Do you know how much better appearance you would make if you would just learn to speak with your voice instead of trying to express what you say with your whole body?" Just watch those that interview you and see how they lack poise.

Get rid of any habit you have of twitching or jerking any part of your body. You will find you make many involuntary movements. You can quickly stop any of these by merely centering your attention on the thought, "I will not."

If you are in the habit of letting noises upset you, just exercise control; when the door slams, or something falls, etc., just think of these as exercises in self-control. You will find many exercises like this in your daily routine.

The purpose of the above exercises is to gain control over the involuntary muscular movement, making your actions entirely voluntary. The following exercises are arranged to bring your voluntary muscles under the control of the will, so that your mental forces may control your muscular movements.

Exercise 5

Move your chair up to a table, placing your hands upon it, clenching the fists, keeping the back of the hand on the table, the thumb doubled over the fingers. Now fix your gaze upon the fist for a while, then gradually extend the thumb, keeping your whole attention fixed upon the act, just as if it was a matter of great importance. Then gradually extend your first finger, then your second and so on until you open the rest. Then reverse the process, closing first the last one opened and then the rest, and finally you will have the fist again in the original position with the thumb closed over the finger. Do this exercise with the left hand. Keep up this exercise first with one hand and then the other until you have done it five times with each hand. In a few days you can increase it to ten times.

The chances are that the above exercises will at first make you "tired," but it is important for you to practice these monotonous exercises so you can train your attention. It also gives you control over your muscular movement. The attention, of course, must be kept closely on each movement of the hand; if it is not, you of course lose the value of the exercise.

[pearl]

See the attachment...