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| Tips to improve concentration and study more efficiently |
Many of us deal with the all too common problem of reading several paragraphs in a textbook and then realizing we weren't paying attention. Inattentiveness increases study time, leaving less time for the things we want to do. Things are even worse nowadays than in the past. We all carry connected devices. It's easy to put down a boring textbook, pick up our phone, and scroll through social media, cat videos, or news feeds instead.
When I started college, I bought a book on how to study. I had often struggled at school, but I couldn't afford to struggle in college. And not just because I had to pay for it. I was attending full-time while working thirty hours a week. To succeed, I knew I needed better study techniques. I had to make the limited time I had available for study count.
Thanks to this study skills book I bought when I started college, I learned a quick and easy way to lessen this kind of inattentiveness. And I've continued to use this method as I increasingly learn from videos.
This method I'm covering here is just one of many potentially helpful study techniques. Every high school and college student should invest in a study skills book. The Study Skills Handbook: How to Ace Tests, Get Straight A’s, and Succeed in School is one good option.
Here's the Problem
Being exposed to too many unfamiliar words and ideas can cause our minds to wander. Our brains become overwhelmed by too much new information and we begin to lose focus. Familiarizing ourselves with new words and ideas may improve concentration and it isn't a time-consuming process. It may not completely eliminate inattentiveness, but in my experience, it significantly reduces it.
Here's an example. Imagine you're reading an assigned textbook chapter and you come across the word capybara. Imagine that you have never heard this word before and you have no idea what it means. It's a completely new word that means nothing to you. You continue reading but everything relates to knowing what a capybara is, so your confused mind starts to wander.
Looking up this one word seems easy enough. But what if that text is introducing multiple new words and ideas. Looking up multiple new terms and trying to make sense of them can become overwhelming. It's no wonder our brains want to give up and return to doing something familiar.
You can prevent your mind from wandering by tricking your brain into thinking the unfamiliar is familiar.
Making the Unfamiliar Familiar
Skim the assigned chapter or section, and pick out words and ideas that are unfamiliar. Don't worry about understanding at this point. Just making these words and ideas known to your brain can help you focus when you come across them in your reading. For example, you take note of the unfamiliar word capybara but at this point, you aren't concerned with its meaning
Find videos related to the topic and watch them at 1.5x or 1.75x speed. Your goal right now isn't understanding. It's taking unfamiliar terminology and making it familiar to your brain. There are videos on YouTube covering all kinds of topics in all kinds of subject areas. Look for trustworthy sources. Again, understanding the concepts at this point isn't important. Your textbook will take care of that. What you are trying to do is expose your brain to unfamiliar words and ideas even if at this point you aren't trying to make sense of them.
Now when you actually sit down to read the chapter, these words and ideas are no longer brand new. This is the point at which you will work on understanding. Everything you've done previously is prepping your brain.
Learning From Videos
I often use Udemy for continuing education and to prepare for certifications. When I start learning something new, I go video by video, first watching at 1.75x speed to make the unfamiliar familiar and then watching again at a lower speed and working on understanding. On the first watch, I focus solely on picking out vocabulary words and gaining some high-level familiarity with the concepts. The second time through, I watch at 1.25x to 1.5x speed and focus on actually learning the concepts.
Improve Concentration in Classes and Lectures
If you have a syllabus and know what chapter or chapters will be covered in each class, prepare by going through the material, and familiarizing yourself with unfamiliar words and ideas. This should only take a few minutes. Also, watch a couple of videos at high speed. Again, the point is to create familiarity, not understanding. High school teachers don't always provide a syllabus. If you don't know what will be covered, ask them. This preparation should give you enough familiarity that your mind either won't wander or will wander less during the lecture.
Making the unfamiliar familiar has worked wonders for me. I hope it works for you as well.
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