As students, we are in a never ending battle with staying on task. Concentration can be broken by the simplest thing. How do we fix this and help our residents to fix this? If we eliminate the distractions that disturbed our concentration in the first place, we should be able to focus on one task, and complete it, without losing concentration. Here are some tools (from wikihow.com) that you can pass along to your residents, or you yourself use them, to better concentrate.
3 Main tips to help concentrate:
- Know what type of environment helps you to concentrate
Knowing yourself and what helps you stay focus is critical to remaining on task. I personally need noise surrounding me and a comfortable seat in order to focus (i.e. music or television). Some people prefer complete silence and those wooden chairs in the library. Regardless, knowing where will help you to stay concentrated on the task at hand. - Organize a To Do list
Writing a realistic list of things to do helps organize items, and it helps you to concentrate on one item at a time instead of all items at once. Also, ordering the list from hardest to easiest will ensure that you get those dreadful subjects, which take longer, done before the easier ones. Allotting time to each item will further your organization because you know exactly how long you can spend per item. All of these tips will help to focus you on a specific topic, at a specific time, and get you to the end result you desire. - Rewarding yourself (or residents)As human beings, we love being rewarded for an accomplishment. Treat yourself for completing that To Do list by getting ice cream, going out for dinner with friends, or whatever you would like your reward to be. Be careful not to reward yourself if you did not complete the task, or else treating yourself when you do complete a task will be pointless.