I’m in college, so I understand. I have alot of study time and it’s really boring. Like medical terminology and stuff. So here’s the deal. I study for awhile until I get so bored and so unfocused. Then instead of fighting it, I go to the bathroom, or get a drink, brush my teeth, pluck my eyebrows, anything. As soon as I’m done with that, I go back to the books. I try to keep plugging away for at least 20 minutes. If I pull it off, then I let myself have a treat. Like listen to a song, or have a light healthy snack, or something like that. (Don’t listen to music, have snacks, watch tv or anything WHILE you are studying. If your easily distracted, bored, they will distract you easier and you won’t be able to focus.)The main key is to take frequent breaks and make sure they are SHORT breaks. Otherwise it’ll be really hard to get yourself back to the books where you don’t really want to be.

Also, set aside “study time”. Make it clear to everyone, your family, friends, whoever, that between this time and that time you will be busy studying and will not answer the phone, door, whatever. They should respect that. That also goes for you. Don’t allow yourself to use the phone or go to a neighbors or in another room where there is someone else to distract you.

Believe it or not, I used to tape the lectures. Then listen to them while I did housework or whatever.

I would also play the tape while I was sleeping. This works! In these classes I got A’s.

If that’s not for you then I suggest when you’re in class, make your notes as simple as possible.

Use red ink and print in capital letters, your brain can read that easier than the conventional. Write out a quick schedule, nothing too complicated, just decide how long each block of study will be and add in a 15 minute break between each. Try to start studying in the morning. For most people, not all, this is the best time to study.

Have a high protein breakfast like eggs and bacon and a couple slices of toast. Great for the brain!

You could study in the library with a class mate and bounce answers off of each other.

You could write out answers of previous years tests.

Don’t play music while you study.

Don’t have the TV on.

Make sure the phone is off.

Tell dorm roomates, or if you live at home, your family, not to bother you.

Lock your door.

Each block of studying that you finish you should check off to give you a sense of accomplishment.

I hope this helps and good luck!

20 hours, and I am not exaggerating. I was preparing for the oral examination for my Master’s in English. I came home at noon, opened the books and began reading and studying class notes in every subject (as all Master’s classes are fair game for the oral exam). I passed out around 8:30-ish a.m. the next morning, woke up two and a half hours later, showered, and did last minute cramming. I arrived at the exam 3:00 sharp, well caffeinated. By 5:30 p.m. I aced the two hour exam, then celebrated with a beer, almost fell asleep after drinking half of it. I was home by 7:00, and slept nearly 14 hours. During the 20 hours, I only stopped for coffee, bathroom breaks, and stretching. Believe it or not, I worked nearly 30 hours on a 40 page paper, but I don’t know if you consider writing studying. That is just a lot of typing, reading, retyping, reading some more (It was the final paper for a historiography class I took). I LOVED studying, and I loved doing it in a major all-nighter kind of way. Now that I am much older, I read 5-10 pages of a book and pass out with it on my forehead in bed by 11. Even the coffee does not work anymore.

If you have ADD heres a trick my science Teacher showed everyone. take out a sheet of paper, any kind as long as you can write on it with whatever you have, and whenever you get distracted from your studying or home work, make a tally on the sheet of paper.

check every 10 minutes to see how many tallies were made, you try to keep focused on keeping the number of tallies decreasing, but this requires you to be honest with yourself, thats another thing this teaches you.

as the number of tallies decreases the less amounts of time you wasted. and about ever half hour I suggest taking a break from studying, for about 10 minutes.

but since you will probably take a break and want to watch TV, heres what you do, perpously take break periods 15 minutes before the end of the hour, that way you see 10 minutes of a show and it ends, thus you’ll end up being able to resist staying watching TV because you wont know what else is coming on after or spend whole half hours watching TV.

I hope these strategies help 😀

When I was in paramedic class last year, we had to study a lot too…I have a short attention span myself. All I did to keep going was to take frequent breaks. I would study for about a half hour and then go eat a sandwich or check my email. You could also check up on grandma, watch a tv show, or pick up your room. I find that if I study for awhile and then do something else for maybe 15 minutes, I am able to completely concentrate when I am studying. This method also helps keep it in your memory! Another thing that may help is if you can find someone to study with! Have him or her ask you questions and make it kind of like a game. The main thing is to try to keep it interesting so it keeps your attention. No one can just sit there and memorize things for hours! Well, I hope this helps. Take care and good luck!!!

Take breaks every half hour or so, work with a study partner, make study aids like flash cards if they’ll help, quiz yourself. Analyze what you are studying & write down your insights, don’t just memorize because that is boring and passive.

If you get bored fast it would be a lot easier to study every day for shorter periods than to wait until you have to do all your studying in one sitting.

study in smaller portions. as soon as you feel distracted take a little break…nothing too long. Then get right back at it. This will not only improve your studying habits it will give you a point of reference for your attention span. Further down the road you will notice that you will be paying attention for longer periods of time regardless of how boring it is. Good luck!

Man, that is a great question. Break it up with rewards, Classical Music , and over do it. But that’s just a guess.

Plus, if the stuff really sucks re- think why u are doing it.

Finnish always regardless wether you like it or not.

go to a library or a bookstore where everybody is focused. You’ll eventually get in the mood to study. Plus, you’ll have nothing else to distract you. Works like a charm.

Work somewhere quiet and free from distractions, take breaks every fifteen minutes and…… the thing that really really works……….. keep a bag of skittles or maltesers next to you while you study.