|
Concentrating
and Remembering
Concentrating
Many students complain that they are unable to
concentrate and cannot seem to focus. There are many reasons why
someone cannot concentrate so therefore you should look at all aspects of
your life before jumping to conclusions. Reasons why students have
difficulty concentrating can be disorganization, procrastination, work
environment, and neglecting your physiology or personal issues. It is
important to look at these areas in your life to see what is interfering
with your concentration.
Active involvement is important for improving concentration. It is
also important to look at your attitude about your work and realize that
while some subjects may be boring and seemingly pointless, you may need to change
your attitude in order to find relevance in the work you are doing. In this way, you will likely find it
less difficult to concentrate instead of feeling negative.
Tips for
improving concentration:
·
Study when you are most alert
·
Work on most challenging tasks first
·
Study short and often
·
Get up walk around, get some air
·
Manage your time and organize your work
space
·
Have goals for you what you hope to
accomplish
·
Make sure that you are in a quiet, well lit,
and comfortable area
·
Remove external distractions, such as cell
phones and computers
·
Change topics if you notice your
concentration is drifting
·
Use a word or mark a check mark on a piece
of paper every time you catch your mind wandering, this will help you focus
and get back on the topic at hand (you might do this a lot at first, but
being aware of when your mind wanders and bringing it back to focus is an
important step in concentrating
·
Break down tasks into manageable goals
Remembering
For some subjects in university direct memorization is important,
however it is important to understand the material that you are learning,
then you will be able to recall the information when you need it.
With all the information thrown at you in university, it is important to
distinguish what information is important and what you do not need to
remember.
Tips
for improving memory:
·
Understand the material, clarify with your
professor any information you do not understand
·
Short, frequent review is best for moving information
from your short term memory to your long term and you will then avoid
marathon study sessions
·
Explain the material to a friend, if you are
able to do this then you know the material
·
Make associations to real life situations
that are meaningful to you
·
Synthesize the information
·
Mnemonics, acronyms, rhymes, catch phrases,
associations and images are great tools, but use what works best for you;
you don’t want to use a tool that is only going to confuse you more.
·
Use it! Use the knowledge that you are
learning whenever you can
For more information please see
the following websites:
http://www.studygs.net/concen.htm
http://www.studygs.net/memory/
http://www.audiblox.com/human_memory.htm
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocs/study/learning.html
http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocs/study/concentration.html
|
