Im Having problems concentrating

hattie-f

Ive been havin allot of problems concentration during study, homework and even in class.
Im getting enough sleep and im normally realy good but as i have entered third year this has changed has anyone got any advise for me???

ordinary_girl

Hi
It just sounds like you're a bit stressed and/or nervous. This is completely normal for someone who'll be sitting their first state exam in a few months. My best advice for you would be to have a healthy diet, break-up your time between socialising and study and not to worry too much. The first part of 3rd year can be terrifying but you'll easily get used to it.

X-Ecuti0ner

well, how smart are u? to be honest you shouldnt really be studying until christmas. I studied after my mocks and I did really well but thats just me. You have to be comfortable when you study and you have to be motivated. Your doing this Juniour Cert for yourself, not anybody else, u want to prove to yourself that you can do well. that should be enough to get you started.

As for actually studying, what I did was get a hardback copy for each subject I was studying, and pretty much just write down everything I read summarised and in bullet point, and when I went to bed that night I would try to remember the things i learned that day. That really helped.

Do not get stressed about this, no matter what anyone says, 3rd year is actually a doss, the juniour cert won't effect your life at all as long as you get c's in everything, enjoy the year and have some fun, i did more work in 4th year than i did in 3rd year but thats not to say you should do that. I didn't really need to study that much because I did my homework every night properly so it stayed in my head.

Eternaldream

I had the exact same problem in third year.. i'm in fifth year now and i've learnt how to combat it...

When you get up in the morning, have a good breakfast. i know it sounds silly, but that'll really help you in classes..

When its lunchtime, make sure you go outside WHENEVER possible. Even if its cold and yucky out, your brain NEEDS oxygen to keep you concentrating... even if its only for a few minutes..

I know it might be the hardest thing, but try your hardest to cut back on sugary things you'll get an energy buzz for a while but then you'll just drop after an hour...

Make sure you keep eating little things throughout the day... no point eating a good breakfast and trying to tide yourself over with a cracker till dinner. Eat at breakfast, break, lunch, after school and then at dinner. The energy consumption will be steady throughout the day and keep you going..

TAKE BREAKS! When you're at home doing homework/study, you have to keep yourself motivated. Keep steady breaks throughout, and KEEP TO THE TIMETABLE!! no point in making a timetable of breaks and you dont actually take them.

If you feel yourself falling asleep at your books at home, open a window and see if that helps. If it doesnt then just curl up on the couch, set an alarm for 15 mins later and take a nap.. you'll be really suprised by the amount of energy you'll get by that small rest..

Last, but not least, dont work yourself to death. JC is important, but not life - changing important... its better to keep a LITTLE study up throughout the year rather than cram, crash and burn towards the end.

Good luck!! Xx:p

Eternaldream

no no quite normal, you're far from lazy!:) you're in 3rd year?

Its a big jump in terms of workload going from 2nd year to 3rd.. same with going from JC to LC... you'll find yourself adapting in time..

Dont be too worried this early in the year, the most important thing to do is to do your homework WELL.. that way you wont have to go back over and over it when studying.. make sure to read over whatever chapter you did from the past week over the weekend, just to keep it in your mind.. i think its something like 20% of what we learn leaves our head the day after we do it, and then 80% after a week.... thats IF we dont read over it..

You're doing well with your class tests and papers right now, your teachers seem to know what they're doing! Dont worry!

XXX

PS. sounds like a sugar rush let-down... do you think you may have sugar about half an hour before this happens?

Piste

It could very well be a sugar crash that leads you to lose yor concentation. Try to eat low-GI foods- foods which release sugar slowly. So for breakfast have something like wholemeal bread, porridge, oata, museli- most cerals like coco pops and rice crispies are crap and will give you a sugar rush and crash.

At break time have something to keep you going until lunch, like a piece of fruit.

For Lunch again have something low-GI, like wholemeal bread in your sandwich, wholegrain rice and pasta. Try not to have sugary drinks, snacks or too much fruit as these will just make you crash again.

brepper

I had this problem big time during my Junior cert.

Cocaine and speed are the answer.

Don't beat around the bush.

PurpleFistMixer

Hilarious stuff, brepper, truly hilarious.

DanOB

brepper wrote: »

I had this problem big time during my Junior cert.

Cocaine and speed are the answer.

Don't beat around the bush.

+1

Fad

Now this may seem like odd advice but for when you study, find WHEN best suits you, for example and this is especially true at the weekend, when i find im most productive on Sunday night, like right now, im just about to write the conclusion to my Macbeth essay. You dont HAVE to stick to "Conventional" study hours.

Obviously this also holds true to Where you study too, preferably in a room with few distractions, like at the moment im trying to get my desk moved up to the attic cos i never get anything done down here (in my room), again whatever suits you best, little things like time and location help in a big way

spurious

Don't try to do too much.
Break what you want to go over into small manageable chunks. Decide beforehand what you want to do and do it. If you have a huge amount in front of you it's far easier to be overwhelmed and get distracted.

Depending on your learning style, it may not be too early at all to be studying. Do what works for you OP - other people's experiences are neither here nor there, they are not you.

Fad

spurious wrote: »

Don't try to do too much.

This is also sound advice, you're in 3rd year, and its October, dont kill yourself just do a little revision on top of your study for the moment, and increase it as time goes on.

chloe15JC

I'm also in 3rd year i'm dreading the JC:mad: but my friends in 5th year have told me its not as bad as the teachers have made out!:) i had planned during the summer to start studying in september but didnt realise how much homework was going to get dumped on me!:eek: I spend three hours in after school study doing homework and studying for class tests,:mad: I have all my exam papers and revision books ready to use:P but can never find the time! has anyone got any suggestions? I also plan on making this a good year by going out every second weekend;):rolleyes: which doesn't affect my study because i only do an hour and a half after school study on a friday:D Is my method so far ok??

civic_4_sale

yea.... im in 5th did the jc last year, got 6 A`s 3 b`s and a c. im not mega smart! It was something i wanted to do well in. i would get pissed off and bored too but i kept telling myself to keep going. listen, the questions are repetative. i got an A in maths because i kept going over the exam papers. there not cruel, they will only ask you a certain amount of things. now one of my b`s was in PASS irish. dont keep on all honors because it sounds good, be honest an you will do alright.:D:)

Fad

chloe15JC wrote: »

i had planned during the summer to start studying in september but didnt realise how much homework was going to get dumped on me!:eek: I spend three hours in after school study doing homework and studying for class tests,:mad:

But if you do all of that homework and study properly for the class tests, you wont need to go over this topics again, as bizarrely study kinda counts as study.

Use the revision books in conjunction with homework and study, and if you have a bit of spare time go to the past papers.

Go out a good bit, it'll keep you sane, but start cutting back as you get closer to the exams.

Aerb

Two things I do to help that are less common than that fruity "breakfast lunch and dinner! ^_^" crap are pacing and drinking water (lots and lots). Maybe you get anxious sitting down doing nothing? Maybe pacing is for you? BECOME A PACER. JOIN ME IN MY PACINGNESS

kingbob387

X-Ecuti0ner wrote: »

well, how smart are u? to be honest you shouldnt really be studying until christmas. I studied after my mocks and I did really well but thats just me. You have to be comfortable when you study and you have to be motivated. Your doing this Juniour Cert for yourself, not anybody else, u want to prove to yourself that you can do well. that should be enough to get you started.

As for actually studying, what I did was get a hardback copy for each subject I was studying, and pretty much just write down everything I read summarised and in bullet point, and when I went to bed that night I would try to remember the things i learned that day. That really helped.

Do not get stressed about this, no matter what anyone says, 3rd year is actually a doss, the juniour cert won't effect your life at all as long as you get c's in everything, enjoy the year and have some fun, i did more work in 4th year than i did in 3rd year but thats not to say you should do that. I didn't really need to study that much because I did my homework every night properly so it stayed in my head.

Thanks dude I'll take your advice!!