Drop your studying tips!

Former Member

Honestly right now I'm struggling so bad to focus - I've got work deadlines all over the place and when I sit down to work all I can do is stare at my computer screen. 

I've got to content with screaming toddlers/young children as well as all the pets. 

It's so difficult to focus and as well as having suspected ADHD it's just not going well. 

I need everything you've got - tips, ideas, suggestions and support

Thanks guys 

Former Member

@Anch0r33 I can relate to this in a way - my flatmates can be sooo loud when I'm trying to work and all my work is online so all I do it sit and stare at a screen and it drives my crazy! 

I would love to hear everyone else's tips too! 

Sometimes I like to change rooms when I'm loosing focus, this seems to help a little bit. Other than that, I've got nothing  

Former Member

I've tried to separate out the space where I relax/have fun from the space I study/work in. At the start of lockdown it was so tempting to just sit in bed and do my lectures/study, but I found that having a routine and a separate space made me feel more productive/better about myself. Getting up, making a coffee/tea/water and sitting at a desk/going to the library/coffee shop helps me separate my chill space from my work space.

For those of us at Uni where we might have a lot less contact hours I've tried to keep my schedule like a 9-5 work day. I only have FOUR contact hours a week for my Uni course, the rest is independent learning. I set my day up so I start 9am or 10am, and I finish at 5 or 6pm. This lets me have a clear time to stop my work day and begin winding down!

Past User

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Former Member

When I used to have to revise with my loud flatmates, I used to put earplugs in and revise in 25 minute blocks, for every 25 mins of work I do I give myself a 5 minute break then every so often give myself a slightly longer break. I found just breaking it up a bit helped me to focus

Former Member

Ooh these are all great ideas guys - I had a rough patch mentally and got behind so I'm dealing with the catch up period. I haven't missed any deadlines (so to speak) but I've not watched all the lectures that I should have and that's gonna bite me in the ass. 

I've broken past this roadblock by looking at other groups answers that are more simpler than the girl in my group who is a literal genius lol. 

I'm going to try all these ideas. 

Anyone reading this - I'd love to hear more study tips... the more the better!

Maisy

I have wondered whether I may have undiagnosed ADHD but I wouldn't want to say for sure. I recently completed my dissertation for my Masters and I'm not too sure how that went because I did struggle with concentration. 

What helped me was:

Trying to find/alternating where I worked. I don't have an office or a study so I was pretty limited in where I could work. I started off on my bed but realised that this was bad as I couldn't sleep at night. So I then sat at the table downstairs, but I also alternated between the sofa, and also had thoughts of sitting in the garden to do work as well.

Sometimes I got distracted with the internet or I would just have a writers block and didn't know where to start. So I ditched the laptop entirely and went back to good ol' fashioned pen and paper (it actually helped!)

Try and set limits with how much work you'll do. I found that it was easy for me to take a break, but harder for me to restart the work after a break. So I tried to get a decent amount of work done before taking a break.

Pay attention to when you start feeling bored or unable to concentrate. It may help to go and do something else first and then come back to your work.

(If coronavirus wasn't around, I'd also advocate for going to a library to get work done as well, if you find it difficult concentrating at home).

Lastly, find what works for you. This is tricky because it involves knowing yourself but sometimes with all the help and advice, it's best to do whatever helps you. For example, my brother actually does is work standing up because he feels he cannot concentrate sitting down. Whatever helps, helps  

Durhamjaide

What helps me 

having a treat like chocolate or a fizzy drink while you revise apparently chocolate is good for your brain, listen to music and study in a quiet place 

Former Member

• I have a planner that splits my days into 30 minute chunks! It really helps me, as everything seems a lot more manageable  
• Same as Jordan, I like to separate my work space and living space where possible
• I have a big deadline approaching at the moment, so I've actually asked a friend to be my accountability haha! So I have told her when my deadline is, and have set lots of mini deadlines leading up to it saying that I will have xyz sections complete by this time. And when that mini deadline arrives, I have to send her what I've done just to show that I have done it Some people might find this intimidating, so it's totally personal preference of course, but for me I find it super motivating! 

Good luck!

Former Member

These ideas are all great. I've made it past two essays. I'm struggling to keep up with lectures and course material however I'm hitting my deadlines. It's like I'm doing the bare minimum to survive. 

I've got an essay worth 60% of my grade due on the 30th. Working on that now. It's tough, it really is. 

With it being online it's harder to force myself in. If I'm actually on campus I'm more likely to attend a class. It's brutal honestly. 

I've had a lot going on mentally and physically and just need a break tbh. Not sure what to do, but I'm determined to get through it all. 

Former Member

Your determination is wonderful, especially with other things going on for you, you are doing really well Best of luck with your essay! I'm doing my masters at the minute so, although we may not be studying the same topics, I have definitely done a fair few uni essays haha so if you have any questions please feel free to ask and I will try my best to share some advice! 

Former Member

So far what's worked for me is sitting in a different room to where I sleep - having headphones on at full blast to block out the other distractions, putting my phone out of reach and turning notifications off. 

I think the music stops me getting caught up in thoughts because I guess memories is the one thing that really distracts me when I concentrate. 

Keep dropping your tips and tricks, I think this is really useful!

Former Member

Brain breaks are super important! If you find yourself struggling to focus or losing track of what you are doing, stop and step away, go and do something else for 10 minutes. Give yourself a break and Allow yourself to just breathe and then go back to your studying. At university I always found a walk around the block was a helpful brain break for me!

Healthy snacks! Keep you going for longer, not as fun as chocolate and energy drinks, but the slow release and natural sugars will keep you going for longer! Get some berries of grapes to pick at as you study!

Keep Hydrated!!!

Use colour, sometimes just Changing up notes and writing them in colours can just help you stay focused, I don't know what it is! 

Kesh260807

Anch0r33 said:

Honestly right now I'm struggling so bad to focus - I've got work deadlines all over the place and when I sit down to work all I can do is stare at my computer screen. 

I've got to content with screaming toddlers/young children as well as all the pets. 

It's so difficult to focus and as well as having suspected ADHD it's just not going well. 

I need everything you've got - tips, ideas, suggestions and support

Thanks guys 

sorry this is late but with screaming wear headphone i think you can get some specific headphones that block out noise. with focusing i am alsohaving trouble with that at the moment as everything just mixes up or just seems a bunch of letters and mumber when it is reading try and overlat if you dont have on get a ruler and read from line to lone it really helps to focus on work that includes heavy masses or reading or just reading with other work such on a laptop try listening to calm and focusing music search up on youtube best music for studying hope this helps xx

Former Member

@Kesh260807 thank you so much, I never thought about the ruler tip. You know, I think you literally could've just saved my uni career lol I'm studying English literature but the reading overwhelms me - if I get distracted I'll have to start the page again. I didn't even think to use a ruler to help keep track. You're literally a genius. 

All the ideas in here have been so, so helpful and I honestly couldn't appreciate it more

Kesh260807

Anch0r33 said:

@Kesh260807 thank you so much, I never thought about the ruler tip. You know, I think you literally could've just saved my uni career lol I'm studying English literature but the reading overwhelms me - if I get distracted I'll have to start the page again. I didn't even think to use a ruler to help keep track. You're literally a genius. 

All the ideas in here have been so, so helpful and I honestly couldn't appreciate it more

it fine anchor my englsih teacher said it was a good tip aswell hopefully this helps you alot xx

Former Member

When I'm studying I like to find a comfy , quiet place. I work for 20 minutes then take a 5 minute break. I also find fidget / stress toys good for focusing

Former Member

Okay so I was looking through some of my discussions to try and find some tips for myself and I remembered about this thread - I think this could come in handy just now, especially as we have a lot of new users!

It's exam period for nearly everyone I think so please feel free to read through and add your own studying tips!

Ones that I've found especially helpful are the 5 mins on 5 mins off and building it up!

Making my notes colourful

Putting my phone out of reach

What about you guys? Has anything changed? What works best for you? What other ideas do you have for everyone else?

JustV

Mine would probably be studying/working in a space you use just for that, as others have said. I started working in the garden recently with the warmer weather, and it's insane what a difference it's made.

Also not being afraid to dedicate time to planning and prep. Putting a bit of time into that can help make the overall process of studying or working less stressful and less time consuming.