Lack of concentration

eth0_ · 10-01-2003 3:49pm #1

Has anyone else had problems with being unable to concentrate on things, studying mainly! I've never had a long concentration span but it seems to be getting worse, for instance i'd be reading a college textbook and then realise i'd been staring at the white of the page rather than reading, for minutes and minutes.

I get a good 8 hours sleep so it's not that i'm falling asleep or anything...have pep up pills (guarana etc) worked for anyone here? Or has anyone any other suggestions?

^CwAzY^ · 10-01-2003 3:52pm

Do you dabble in any illegal substances? like most students

xx · 10-01-2003 3:54pm

sounds like she does - studying!

Gordon · 10-01-2003 3:56pm

heh

I think you are studying the wrong course, sounds like it's boring you witless.

eth0_ · 10-01-2003 3:56pm

Not in the past year or two, now i'd have a joint *very* rarely.

xx · 10-01-2003 3:58pm

Take a holiday, rediscover yourself, drink more coffee, that sort of thing maybe?

^CwAzY^ · 10-01-2003 3:58pm

How often are we talking about here? Some of the side effects of smoking hash are lack of concentration and short term memory loss.

xx · 10-01-2003 4:02pm

Wouldn't say its anything to do with the ol' mary-joanna (marijuana, in case I lost yiz all). Sounds like a mixture of boredom and fatigue....call it borigue, for arguments sake.

DapperGent · 10-01-2003 4:02pm

The best way I found to combat blanking out was to write a little synopsis of what I was studing as I went along. Just have a pad and scribble important bits as you go, it also helps to imprint on your memory. Plus if you write neatly it can be a summary to refer to and you never need read the book again.

If you're doing a sciency type course try and throw in as many problems as you can do a bit of study, do an exam question or example or whatever.

If you're a loser arts student your course is probably not worthy of your effort so you should go for a pint instead.

eth0_ · 10-01-2003 4:03pm

xx - it's not stress and I don't drink coffee, as I said, it's not tiredness or anything like that.

Cwazy - Oh REALLY rarely! Haven't had a joint in 3 months or more!

As I said, i've never had a good concentration span, and no I didn't turn to drugs early in life :-D

I did **** in college first time round because of this, like in lectures i'd just switch off, so i'm a part time student now and don't even have to go to lectures so that's a little help but concentrating on books is still a problem

xx · 10-01-2003 4:09pm

Not tiredness or stress. No drugs involved.....hmmmmm.......
Lets try a bit of logic (as unreliable as it can be sometimes) -
1. You're studying a course or a book or something.
2. You find yourself staring at the white of the page.
3. This usually happens when you're thinking of something else or something has diverted your attention.
4. Then you snap out of your reverie and realise you're just staring at a blank area of the page.

Sounds like you 'could' perhaps have something on your mind thats either more interesting or bothering you?

eth0_ · 10-01-2003 4:15pm

Gordon - I love my course, i'm doing a Bsc in Psychology and I love recreationally reading psych related books, it's just when it comes to getting the head down, ya know!

Dapper Gent - there's nothing 'loser' about studying arts, some people actually study a subject because the love it, not because of it's earning potential

blondi · 10-01-2003 4:16pm

something else, not at all relevant to college on ur mind ?
have been there, and have no answers am afraid, still there to a great extent..good luck, i guess

DapperGent · 10-01-2003 4:19pm

Originally posted by eth0_
Dapper Gent - there's nothing 'loser' about studying arts, some people actually study a subject because the love it, not because of it's earning potential

Only messin'. You'll always do better at something you like.

Try the scribbly thing it worked for my fragile little mind.:)

eth0_ · 10-01-2003 4:23pm

Originally posted by xx

Sounds like you 'could' perhaps have something on your mind thats either more interesting or bothering you?

Not really, if anything i'd say it's just a little neurological glitch, to be vague about it. Sometimes gurana supplements help with concentration but mostly they don't...

^CwAzY^ · 10-01-2003 4:24pm

Maybe try some meditation or something ?

eth0_ · 10-01-2003 5:01pm

Meditation? I aint no hippeh!

Nah i'll have a look into that. Don't think it'll help tho.

10-01-2003 7:02pm

Stop posting about it.

It's just a matter of self discipline.

Just decide if you want to stay in the course or not.
Don't do this lightly. Write down what you need to do in order to stay in the course. X number of hours per day/week, X books to buy etc...

Currently you don't sound all that focused, so going through those things and decide why you're doing the course what you want to get out of it will help you gain focus.

If you do then decide to stay then you have a plan what you have to do.

There's plenty of books out there that give you tips on studying. Most people read them and then ignore them. If you want to do this then you have to make a serious decision rather than just keeping at it. Read the books and actually decide you're going to use X number of techniques.

It's hard to become diciplined when you're not by default, but if you have dedication and a little bit of luck then you'll slowly get better.

When I was younger I used to be exceptionally shy. After one summer camp type thing I decided I didn't want to be like that anymore. I wasn't really sure what to do about it but I knew when that little voice in my head urged caution and to stay quiet.

Every time I heard that voice, whether it'd be because I didn't want to bring something back to the shop, or talk to person X, I'd just do it before I had a chance to not.

So basically(and it's not basic at all) you need to properly commit to it. Look at why you want to do it. Look at how you'll fee if you don't. Many people don't commit because they're afraid of failure and if they don't commit fully then they can always use that as an excuse.

Good luck,

- Kevin

eth0_ · 10-01-2003 8:32pm

Originally posted by p
Stop posting about it.

It's just a matter of self discipline.

Currently you don't sound all that focused, so going through those things and decide why you're doing the course what you want to get out of it will help you gain focus.

"I love my course, i'm doing a Bsc in Psychology and I love recreationally reading psych related books..."

That sounds unfocused? Wow.
I am very focused on my course, I did plenty of studying last year (20 hours a week) on top of assignments but came out with mostly C's all year. A lot of that could be attributed to the fact I was doing social science and didn't really like that part of my degree. This year I need REALLY good marks as the course i'm doing this year counts towards my final degree mark.

If you read this thread properly you'd see I said I had concentration span problems in GENERAL and my main concern was with studying. I've always had a problem with concentration, are you saying i'm unfocussed on everything i've ever done?

Nevyn · 10-01-2003 11:35pm

there are a few things you can try.
first off make sure the room is not too hot/cold/breezy
there there is enough light but not so much that it will give you a headache.
The chair should be comfy enough to sit in but not so comfy that you get too relaxed. Comfy clothes.

when you try to get dow to studing may be it is your other senses that mess with you. So background music no singalongs or
hyperstuff, maybe piano stuff.
The smell of mint is ment to sharpen your focus so an oil burner or candle or evern a mint sweet.
The sweet also covers you gob

that way ur mouth wont dry up so you wont drink as much and there for trips to the loo are cut down on.

taking no more then 20min on any topic, making notes and rewarding urself for every 3 topics you do , so after an hour take a break like a walk cup of hot whatever or a mini break read a none study book.

all of the above can help but dont get too hung up on creating the perfect study enviroment it wont happen and you'll waste time.

You will get over this sounds like a bit of a mental block ur pressurising ur self as it is your last year .

Good luck

Terminator · 10-01-2003 11:51pm

Lots of good advice here. Also you could try cutting down on sugary foods. I get massive brain fog when I eat anything sugary.

the Guru · 11-01-2003 12:01pm

Dont worry about It I get it all the time and I dont do drugs I drink some on the weekends

I would be reading a book and go through 3 pages and not take anything in even speaking to people i would be completly oblivious to what they are saying. even driving the car and thats bad //// walking down the street walk for ages and all of a sudden jesus I would be where I wanted to go

I do know that since I have started taking regular exercise that its not happening as much anymore

Yavvy · 13-01-2003 1:38pm

I started reading this post because of MY low attention span but I got bored and couldnt finish reading the replys, would someone mind summing everything up into one amusing sentance ...or word !

nice

Lack of concentration

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