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Focus and Studying for Adult Learners

By ACS Bookshop UK on March 22, 2016 in General | comments

Focusing on studying can be hard at times.  If you realise you have been sitting looking at your work for an hour and haven’t taken anything in or haven’t even looked at it, then you are wasting your time. Time is precious to adult learners and it is important that you make good use of the time you have available to study.

Here are some tips to help you to make sure you keep your focus –

  • If you realise you haven’t been concentrating, stand up and walk around. Go for a walk, make a cup of tea, stand outside and get some fresh air for a couple of minutes. We often lose focus when we are tired or distracted, so try and return your focus to your studies.
  • Go back to your studies after a break with fresh eyes.
  • Set yourself a time limit. You may find that you can only really concentrate for an hour or twenty minutes or forty minutes. Try and work out your own optimum study time. Then try and work only for that long. It is better to study well for thirty minutes than to study badly for 3 hours.  Set yourself an alarm clock and only study for 30 minutes. Then take a short break.
  • Study at a time that suits you best. If you find you are at your best in the early morning, study then. Get up an hour early and study while no one else is around.  If you study best late at night, study then. If you find you can study anywhere, then find the best place and focus.
  • Be prepared for your studies.  Try and have all your work together. If you are going to be one of those people who studies in a coffee shop or library, make sure all your work is together and ready to go. There is nothing worse than getting to the library and finding you have left something important at home.  
  • If you are going to always study in a set place, make sure it is set up ready with all your notes and work ready for you.

If you are really struggling with a question or something you are studying –

  • Put the work away for a few minutes. Then come back and try to reread it with clearer eyes.
  • Try and explain it to someone else. You probably understand more than you think.
  • Use mind maps to try and organise the important ideas in what you are studying.
  • Ask your tutor

As we said, good, focused studying is better than spending hours with books in front of you and paying no attention. Make good use of your precious time and study well.

 

  • For that extra help if you are already studying, try our Learning eBook.