You've hit the study wall and, no matter how hard you try, you can't focus on your History revision – anything is more interesting than King John and the Magna Carta right now… that bird in the tree, your nan's old knitting magazines, you'd even consider volunteering to do the ironing…
Fortunately, learning scientist Dr Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel knows a thing or two about staying focused whilst studying and she's shared her pearls of wisdom in the short video below. Give it a watch and then read the main takeaways below. We know you've got studying to get on with, so we've kept it brief!
Josh: Hi, I'm Josh and I find it hard to stay focused knowing I have a long day studying ahead. It's so demotivating. Today I'll be talking to learning scientist, Dr Carolina to ask her about the best way to stay motivated when studying. Hey Carolina.
Carolina: Hello Josh, I’m here to help.
Josh: I actually had a question, how do I stop my mind from wandering, so I can do everything that I need to and get it finished when I'm studying?
Carolina: We as humans are not good at staying focused for a very long time. Right? So we distract ourselves all the time by looking at our phones and our mind wanders and so on. So, we are not multitaskers, we can't really engage in multitasking. Instead what we do, we switch very rapidly between one task and the next and this really is distracting and inefficient.
Josh: So, how do I keep my focus in the long term?
Carolina: So the best thing to do is to set concrete goals and to break down bigger tasks into smaller tasks and to work through those tasks one at a time.
Josh: Okay, so now I know how to set my goals, but how can I keep myself on track so, I can achieve them?
Carolina: One way is to plan for shorter concentrated study time. So let's say you could take 25 minutes and then do 5 minutes or 10 minutes of a break. Now, the focus time of 25 minutes is just a ballpark number. You can study longer than that, if you feel that, you know, you're taking in all the information and your mind is not wandering. Or you can also study for just 15 minutes, if that's what works better for you, for example. Important is that you take those breaks then, move around a bit and do other things so that you can come back and focus.
Josh: Thanks so much for speaking with me today.
Micro-distractions
Keeping focused while studying can be difficult – with the urge to constantly check your phone, use social media or watch funny cat videos. These little distractions are called 'micro-distractions' and they can make your study sessions longer, less effective, and feel like more of a chore. But we have a solution…
Break it up
Try breaking your studying up into manageable chunks. One way to get started and to stay focused is to plan shorter, more focused study sessions – concentrated studying for 20-25 minutes – and then 5-10 minutes to do whatever you want: check your phone, message your friends, stand up and stretch. After your distraction time, knuckle back down and re-focus your attention with another round of focused studying. You'll be surprised at how much you get done when you create those more manageable study sessions that allow you to stay focused. Don’t worry if you feel that you can't focus on a specific task for 20 or 25 minutes – or if you need a longer session – for example, if you're writing an essay – you can feel free to adjust the time and find a duration that works better for you to keep focused. The main takeaway is: keep your attention on studying during your study time and allow for breaks to do all the other stuff.
Set goals… be realistic
- A good way to make sure you keep on track is to plan study sessions in your calendar and make sure you consider how long your focused studying will be.
- Also think about how long you want your breaks to be and what you will use those breaks for.
- Setting a goal for the session will give you the motivation to succeed, so consider what your goal for the study session will be. Just make sure that you set realistic goals.
- One great idea is to set up a group chat with your friends and do your studying as a group, then when it is time for a break, you can chat with each other about how your focused studying went.
So now you've mastered a couple of effective study techniques to help with your schoolwork, you can combine these with other techniques from the pages below to help you on your way to becoming a study-superstar!
If you need support
You should always tell someone about the things you’re worried about. You can tell a friend, parent, guardian, teacher, or another trusted adult. If you're struggling with your mental health, going to your GP can be a good place to start to find help. Your GP can let you know what support is available to you, suggest different types of treatment and offer regular check-ups to see how you’re doing.
If you’re in need of in-the-moment support you can contact Childline, where you can speak to a counsellor. Their lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There are more links to helpful organisations on BBC Action Line.
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