How to study better from home
Most guides for studying at home advices you to have a separate study place away from your sleeping area and TV. But some people do not have that option. This guide is more focused on how you retain your focus at home where all the distractions of your leisure time is accessible, maybe in the room where you are studying or even on the same computer that you are using.
The most important thing to remain focused on your tasks is to be aware of your eyes and field of vision, and where you place your attention.
We all have troubles studying from home, its distractions like cleaning, our phones, the TV, family members, basically, whatever we can find that gets us out of the discomfort of doing things we are not that familiar with. The reason we feel discomfort is due to the chemicals our brain sends out when we are learning or doing something that is new to us. The brain does this so it can reshape itself (neuroplasticity) and store the new information.
Be aware of your eyes
It is just as simple as that your mental focus follows your visual focus. This means that when your mind wander, so does your eyes. Or, when your eyes wander, so does your mind. This is when we start to reason with ourselves about other important activities that we must do which are easier because we know them well, like scrolling Instagram. But instead of trying to force a mental motivation and convince yourself with your lifegoals, just re-focus your eyes on the task on the screen or book. Take a few breaths and keep your eyes on your work.
Actively use your cone of attention
The ”cone of attention” is on what we choose to focus our conscious mind on. Like a flashlight lighting on a specific object. When we focus our attention on something specific, we usually become unaware of most other things, like background noises or things around us. If we choose to place our attention on a specific noise in our environment, it stands out from the rest.
We can use this knowledge to actively choose to place our focus on what our eyes are looking at, as mentioned previously.
These two concepts are fundamental to how we can keep focus on the tasks we have. How about you give these tricks a quick practice for the rest of this article, by keeping your eyes and cone of attention on the text.
Leave your phone somewhere else
Make sure you have study sessions where you do not need to use your phone so that you can sit down without that buzzing and blinking time-sink within an arm’s length. A small sidestep to reiterate on the previous point; One of the reasons our phones are so easy to waste hours on is that the screen is quite small, and our eyes only have to deal with a small field of focus. It is the same principle we are using when studying, to make your study tasks as attractive to our eyes as watching Instagram stories by having them focus on one thing.
Use one screen and one tab
As your attention is limited, reduce the amount of multitasking and eye movement you do. This can easily be done by limiting your field of attention and vision by using one screen, and by using as few tabs in your web browser as you can. Whenever you switch focus, your brain and eyes must re-caliber. We can also be distracted by other things when you move your eyes around unnecessarily.
Use website, app, and program blockers
It is a classic but helpful tip. If you do the two first steps of this guide, this will not be as crucial. If, or when, our attention wanders we often go to “more interesting” websites or apps. By having a blocker software, you can immediately refocus your eyes and cone of attention to your studying.
There are several options out there and you will easily be able to find one.
Limit your focus sessions
As much as we would like to cram hour after hour of studying in, we are only human. And no matter our mastery of eye movement and attention focusing, we do get tired after a while. Taking a break is also known to greatly improve learning in the long run.
It is recommended to have a deep focus study session of about 90 minutes which is about for how long we can retain attention. After the 90 minutes study session with deep focus, allow yourself a 20-minute break. What you ideally want is an activity, or lack of an activity, that will let your mind wander and not having to focus on anything particular. This could be taking a short nap, meditating, going for a walk, or watching something easily digestible that does not require your brain to analyze the material. This could also include some easy drawing or painting, like doodling, or cooking and eating something.
A good idea would be to gradually increase your study session lengths as you get better and better at staying focused. And yes, you can get better when you consistently practice retaining focus.