Hey guys,

So for the past year or so, I've found it difficult to remain focussed on any particular thing.

For example, perhaps because it's so easy to go on the Internet and check Facebook/MSN/MI/YouTube, I'll check it quite often.

I'm sure that's normal, but I'm not quite sure whether the difficulty I have focussing on something is.

Do any of you go on the internet, on average maybe every 45 seconds of studying? I probably check my email/Facebook 75x per session of studying (not exaggerating) - I don't do much on it, but even the act of opening it up and realizing nothing has been updated in the last 60 seconds wastes time for me.

It's also not just for emails, it takes me an entire day to watch a movie because I pause to do something else every 15 minutes - I can't seem to focus on a movie even if I'm interested in it.

I also have trouble sleeping - my eyes will be burning and I'll be sleep deprived, but as soon as I lie down in bed my mind doesn't shut off, sometimes up to hours after I go to bed.

Anyone have any remedies or advice? Thanks

Also wondering why my thread doesn't show up on the main page v_v

I find myself in your situation during the beginning of my school work session. Researching is the worse since I'll stop researching every 30 minutes or so because I hate it so much. I find it hard for me to get into the mind frame of doing school work when I'm on the computer, especially when the due date is so far away. But I eventually end up getting into a "zone" where I'm thinking constantly about the arguments for my reports and essays.

For me, I believe it's time that's the greatest problem. When there's a lot of time, or seems like a lot of time, I end up taking a lot of breaks. But when the due date approaches, I start really concentrating on the task at hand. I guess it's just a matter of getting your priorities straight or even setting a goal. For me it's to get into optometry school and it really pushes me to do work. It's usually the same every term, I do alright in the first month-ish but it's not good enough for optometry admission (I compare to the average GPA acceptance) and I really kick it into gear in middle to the end of the term.

I also NEVER study at the computer (mostly because I study out of books), but when I review the slides (which I never print off) I make sure to disable my internet. I'm not just talking about the little switch on the computer, I disable the wireless network through the network settings. That requires me to have to navigate through the network settings in order to reconnect to the internet. If you want to take a break, I HIGHLY suggest NOT to do so via the internet. I always say I'll take a 5-10 minute break but it ends up turning into an hour. Instead, listen to some music (away from your computer) or just sit down in a comfy chair and relax for a bit, let the information sink in.

Sometimes I can't sleep either. In that case it's best not to just stay in bed. I know it's incredible hard being a student, but you should try to only go to bed when you feel sleepy. Also, don't do things in bed like read, be on your computer or other things that you have to be awake for. Once in a while wouldn't be harmful but if you constantly perform these actions then you program your mind to think that you must be awake in this setting. I'm not sure what the burning sensation could be attributed to. The only thing I can think of is dry eyes. Are they also itchy and watery?

Anyways, to summarize:
Find what the problem is. Is it time? Is it games? Is it friends?
Then try and fix the problem: Motivate yourself by setting goals, disconnect from the internet, put your phone away/turn it off, etc...
Try to use your bed only for sleeping.

Also, I think it would be in your best interest to visit CSD (Center for Student Development). They deal with students and any problems they face in their university life. http://csd.mcmaster.ca/personal.html

And also perhaps seeing the doctor for the burning sensation in your eyes, because you can never be too careful.

Originally Posted by jhan523

I find myself in your situation during the beginning of my school work session. Researching is the worse since I'll stop researching every 30 minutes or so because I hate it so much. I find it hard for me to get into the mind frame of doing school work when I'm on the computer, especially when the due date is so far away. But I eventually end up getting into a "zone" where I'm thinking constantly about the arguments for my reports and essays.

For me, I believe it's time that's the greatest problem. When there's a lot of time, or seems like a lot of time, I end up taking a lot of breaks. But when the due date approaches, I start really concentrating on the task at hand. I guess it's just a matter of getting your priorities straight or even setting a goal. For me it's to get into optometry school and it really pushes me to do work. It's usually the same every term, I do alright in the first month-ish but it's not good enough for optometry admission (I compare to the average GPA acceptance) and I really kick it into gear in middle to the end of the term.

I also NEVER study at the computer (mostly because I study out of books), but when I review the slides (which I never print off) I make sure to disable my internet. I'm not just talking about the little switch on the computer, I disable the wireless network through the network settings. That requires me to have to navigate through the network settings in order to reconnect to the internet. If you want to take a break, I HIGHLY suggest NOT to do so via the internet. I always say I'll take a 5-10 minute break but it ends up turning into an hour. Instead, listen to some music (away from your computer) or just sit down in a comfy chair and relax for a bit, let the information sink in.

Sometimes I can't sleep either. In that case it's best not to just stay in bed. I know it's incredible hard being a student, but you should try to only go to bed when you feel sleepy. Also, don't do things in bed like read, be on your computer or other things that you have to be awake for. Once in a while wouldn't be harmful but if you constantly perform these actions then you program your mind to think that you must be awake in this setting. I'm not sure what the burning sensation could be attributed to. The only thing I can think of is dry eyes. Are they also itchy and watery?

Anyways, to summarize:
Find what the problem is. Is it time? Is it games? Is it friends?
Then try and fix the problem: Motivate yourself by setting goals, disconnect from the internet, put your phone away/turn it off, etc...
Try to use your bed only for sleeping.

Also, I think it would be in your best interest to visit CSD (Center for Student Development). They deal with students and any problems they face in their university life. http://csd.mcmaster.ca/personal.html

And also perhaps seeing the doctor for the burning sensation in your eyes, because you can never be too careful.

I also have trouble studying in the library, annoyingly enough. When my friends are there it's hard for me to focus, but I've noticed even when I'm alone trying to study every few minutes I'll get distracted by the people around me in the library and continue to use the internet on my laptop (though it isn't as frequently as it is at home).

What you said about time makes a lot of sense I suppose, I usually try to make sure I'm not doing anything at the last minute, which is probably why it's hard for me to really "get down to work" - I try to make sure I never have to cram. It's just a waste of time in my opinion spending a lot of time studying inefficiently compared to studying for a lesser amount of time but more actively and studying better.

3/5 of my subjects I take notes on OneNote, so like you, I don't have a lot of my notes printed and I sort of have to study on the computer. For my other two notes, I either have my laptop in front of me at school or my desktop beside me at home, but I can't bring myself to keep it totally turned off (let's say I want to listen to music or I have a question about content I can ask a friend on MSN).

Yeah my eyes I think are naturally dry, and it's exacerbated by lack of sleep so my eyes will usually be dry and burning most of the time.

I try not to use my bed for anything except sleep, I think it's just hard for my brain to shut off when I go to bed - I think I should try not doing anything stimulating (like TV, games, homework) 30 minutes before bed or something like that.

Thanks for the help so far, I'd appreciate if anyone had any other ideas or things they do to help themselves remain focussed.

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

I also have trouble studying in the library, annoyingly enough. When my friends are there it's hard for me to focus, but I've noticed even when I'm alone trying to study every few minutes I'll get distracted by the people around me in the library and continue to use the internet on my laptop (though it isn't as frequently as it is at home).

What you said about time makes a lot of sense I suppose, I usually try to make sure I'm not doing anything at the last minute, which is probably why it's hard for me to really "get down to work" - I try to make sure I never have to cram. It's just a waste of time in my opinion spending a lot of time studying inefficiently compared to studying for a lesser amount of time but more actively and studying better.

3/5 of my subjects I take notes on OneNote, so like you, I don't have a lot of my notes printed and I sort of have to study on the computer. For my other two notes, I either have my laptop in front of me at school or my desktop beside me at home, but I can't bring myself to keep it totally turned off (let's say I want to listen to music or I have a question about content I can ask a friend on MSN).

Yeah my eyes I think are naturally dry, and it's exacerbated by lack of sleep so my eyes will usually be dry and burning most of the time.

I try not to use my bed for anything except sleep, I think it's just hard for my brain to shut off when I go to bed - I think I should try not doing anything stimulating (like TV, games, homework) 30 minutes before bed or something like that.

Thanks for the help so far, I'd appreciate if anyone had any other ideas or things they do to help themselves remain focussed.

I never study in the library. I always study at home on my desk. But when I'm not using my laptop I'll put it away or move it elsewhere if I'm downloading tv shows.

In class I always have my wireless turned off. I never ask questions in class, if I have any questions I would contact my professor during office hours. I have two reasons for this: (1) I HATE when people ask questions in class. I find it disrupts the flow of information, especially when I already understand the material. (2) I get more interaction when talking face-to-face with my professor. Conversations allow for you to understand the material better than just listening to someone talk.

Do you have an optometrist? They will be able to help you with your dry eyes. I would recommend you go see an optometrist about your dry eye problems. If you are still under 20, then it's covered under OHIP. They should have trial versions of artificial tears (eye drops), ask for different ones (although they should give them to you anyway). It's better to try out multiple brands in order to find one that you like best before going out and spending money at pharmacies.

That's a good idea. Maybe listen to some relaxing music? Maybe go see a doctor about your sleeping problems. They would be able to help far more in terms of your options.

there's a self control application on the mac that i used during exams.

http://visitsteve.com/made/selfcontrol/

1. One of the study methods that has helped me the most is one I came across on Mac's website called wedging. The video is on this page, it's called Winning Through Wedging: http://maclife.mcmaster.ca/academics..._resources.cfm

It's about breaking your time up into small bits to start with. This works a lot for me, since I get easily distracted. I can barely even watch movies either, I've been told I have the attention span of a gnat. Plus, this technique works really well for holding yourself accountable because you're timing yourself instead of thinking 'I'll just go on Facebook, then do something else, etc. until I feel like studying again." I used to use my computers alarm function first but it sometimes doesn't work properly, so I started using a kitchen timer- which helps because I would actually have to physically set the time I was going to study for. It somehow made me more conscious of how I'm spending my time. I noticed my iPod has a decent alarm though too, it makes a quiet beeping noise even with no headphones in.

So, an ideal study session for me is something like- 5 min studying, 5 min break, 5 min studying, 5 min. break, 10 min studying, 10 min. break, 30-40 min studying.... until about 1 or 2 hours or I feel like I've done enough. The idea is that you eventually gain momentum so you can study for longer periods of time.

Although that's only for more intense studying- for readings and smaller assignments or even larger assignments I break them down into small portions. For each class I limit myself to about 30 min for readings per class, even if there's like 50+ pages to read. Maybe 1 hour max. But spending too much time on readings or assignments or studying is unnecessary- I find I can do well even if I limit my time but spending more time makes me feel less motivated.

2. Also, find what kind of breaks work for you the most. I figure if I'm going to take a break I might as well do something interesting/enjoyable rather than just mindlessly surfing the net or going on FB. I try to at least find a few interesting articles, or read a book, watch TV, etc.

Also I use a Google Reader which I feel kinda helps my distractedness. I used to constantly check back to websites to see if they've been updated- I don't know why, just because it would distract me. I actually have 100+ subscriptions, which is kind of ridiculous, but I only log in about once or twice a day and don't read all of them. I even subscribed to MI. I quickly skim the posts, then if I post in one, I 'star' it and go back to it to check back if I want to. Plus there's no ads(on most of them- some RSS' have embedded ads in them) and it's really simple & clean- I literally cannot stand going on most websites anymore because there's links everywhere- it's so distracting.

3. As for sleeping, I used to have the same problem- not so much anymore. If your mind won't shut off at night, you need to think about maybe what it is that's causing that- maybe certain things that you're thinking about? If I'm stressed, it's negative things. Having perfectionist and procrastination tendencies definitely don't go together well and don't help. But that's just me.. obviously getting rid of those tendencies helps reduce stress and helps me sleep. And then there's other times when I'm not stressed but cannot stop thinking- I find it helps to write down things if there's too much on my mind- whatever it is- a to-do list, etc.

And what the above poster said about going to bed only when you're tired is really important, even if it is hard. If you force yourself to stay up too late, your body will start to generate more energy, and you'll have a harder time going to bed. It messes with your bodys internal clock.