how to stay focused on an assignment

How to Focus on Homework and Actually Get Things Done: 12 Hacks for Busy Students

• September 15, 2022

Chances are, you’ve had some days when you felt overwhelmed after a long day at school. You couldn’t imagine doing anything other than plopping down in front of the television, let alone finding out how to focus on your homework. 

How can you overcome the resistance and get it done? How do you get your mind to include this task in your day as well?

With just a few adjustments, you will be able to expand your capacity to concentrate.

Why Can’t I Focus on My Homework?

Countless factors constantly fight for your attention : social media, people, overthinking, and anxiety. All of this can make you feel as though you have little control over your mind. 

If you want to start to focus better on your homework, you’ll need to set your mind up for success. Remove all distractions .

Here are two key principles that can help you be more successful in your studies:

1. Identify the distractions in your surroundings

What are the things in your daily life that take your mind away from your studies? Clearly identifying these distractions can help you understand both the problem and what causes it.

Among our environmental distractions, digital distractions are one of the worst kinds, and according to a number of studies , their effect is on the rise in the classroom.

If you’re looking to gain more concentration and, thus, form better study habits, question your online behavior first and foremost.

2. Limit the use of technology to find focus

What’s the role of social media in your daily life? Have you ever sat down to calculate how social media distracts you from doing the things you should be doing?

When you are wondering how to focus on homework long after you’ve put your phone away, you’re still thinking about the last posts you saw on Instagram. The sound of new notifications can be enough to reroute our attention from the task at hand.

And then comes the information overload, the fear of missing out, and the all-too-common signs of addictive behavior. Technology is affecting your mind more than ever, and it’s taking your focus away.

How to Focus on Homework: 12 Things You Can Do to Be More Indistractible

Here are 12 tips on how to stay focused while completing your homework, taught by superbrain coach Jim Kwik and habit transformation expert Nir Eyal .

• Make a routine
• Set up a study-friendly environment
• Avoid heavy meals
• Organize your study notes
• Tell others to stay away
• Listen to study music
• Set deadlines
• Take brain breaks
• Use discomfort as motivation for productivity
• Use time blocking
• Let go of thoughts that distract you
• Reimagine your task

Let’s look at each study hack in more detail.

1. Make a routine

Routines help you be productive without exerting as much effort. When you have homework to do, a study routine can be the reason you actually sit down, set enough time aside, concentrate, and stay focused until you complete the project.

This process doesn’t need to be complicated: just tell yourself that you will sit at your desk at home once you’re back from school. Put your phone on silent, make an outline of the work that needs to get done, and simply begin with what’s most important.

2. Set up a study-friendly environment

A place for everything and everything in its place. That applies to studying, too.

Lying in bed with your notebook is considered a distraction, as is being in the living room with your laptop while others are doing their activities.

You need an isolated place when you decide to focus on your homework. Make it feel comfortable, keep it organized, keep it clean, and consider putting up some motivational posters or positive affirmations .

3. Avoid heavy meals

It’s not advisable to have a big meal beforehand. Big meals can ruin your focus and make you feel sluggish and lazy because it takes a big amount of time and energy for your body to digest. A snack is okay.

There are also some foods , though, that are just plain bad for your productivity. For example, soda, candy, and fried foods are all full of sugar and have no nutritional value. They make your insulin spike up, but then it crashes very fast, which makes you feel depleted of energy.

4. Organize your study notes

Prioritize your work. Keep lists and place the most important items on top. Then work on the items that you should get done first.

It helps to outline what you need to do, breaking it down into smaller, more manageable steps. Use colors to highlight the essentials . 

This makes it all look much simpler and you’re more likely to actually get started. The brain loves organization and it won’t be so likely to procrastinate when it knows you have a structure set in place.

5. Tell others to stay away

Don’t be afraid to let others know that you’re studying and require some time and space to get your work done. Decide on fixed hours for studying and tell your friends and family members that you won’t be available during that time of the day.

If others respect your study time, you’ll be more inclined to respect it as well. 

6. Listen to study music

There are many tracks out there designed to help your mind focus. Whether you use binaural beats or just instrumental music, the right sounds can really help to tune your brain into a productive frequency.

This meditation is also great to listen to; it puts your mind in a clear, concise, and ready-to-take-on-the-world mode:

7. Set deadlines

Even if your teacher has already given you deadlines for each assignment, set new ones yourself at earlier dates.

This helps you build discipline, learn how to focus on studying, and prioritize every day.

8. Take brain breaks

Frequent breaks actually increase your productivity and focus. You’ll see that after each study session, the brain needs to be engaged with something different —  you need to activate other parts of your brain before going back to your studies so that you can reach top performance.

You can also use the Superbrain Yoga Technique. In the Superbrain Quest, Jim talks about implementing it during your breaks. It goes as follows:

• Massage the left lobe of your ear with your right hand, and the right one with your left hand
• Inhale and squat down
• Exhale and come back up while continuing massaging your opposite ear with the opposite hand
• Keep going for a few minutes

As your body moves, your brain grooves. — Jim Kwik, trainer of Mindvalley’s Superbrain Quest

9. Use discomfort as motivation for productivity

The brain is wired to protect us from danger, and our ancestors needed this function of the psyche to survive. Discomfort is associated with danger, and whenever they felt it, they knew it was time to run away or protect themselves in one way or another.

In today’s world, danger isn’t so imminent. However, discomfort is, and the brain still works to protect us in the same way. 

So why not use it to your advantage?

Once you have this mindset shift, you can see the discomfort that comes with doing your homework as fuel for moving forward, from pain to pleasure. So instead of procrastinating and avoiding the discomfort, just use it as motivation to get things done.

And maybe you can even save yourself a fun activity to do later in the day, so you have something to look forward to.

10. Use time blocking

You can use time blocking and set a specific amount of time for parts of your homework that needs to be done. For example, you block 30 minutes of reading, then another 30 minutes of writing down highlights from the text. 

This method will give you more structure and support you when you need to focus on school work, as you will have a dedicated structured time to do so.

11. Let go of thoughts that distract you

When you need more concentration, but your thoughts keep getting in the way, here’s a fun visualization exercise you can use:

• Before you start working on your homework, close down your eyes and imagine a flowing river in front of you. 
• Now, place every thought on a leaf and let it run down the river while watching it move away from you. 

Do this repeatedly for 5-10 minutes and see how your mind becomes clearer, more productive, and more inspired.

12. Reimagine your task

How can you make the process of doing your homework more fun? Is there any way you can think of to make it more exciting and engaging?

As you introduce play and fun into any task, your capacity to stay focused will increase. So just try out different methods to engage more in your homework. 

For example, what if you made a trivia quest about your history lesson homework? Or what about riddles to make you remember all the characters from the novel you have to read? 

Once you play around with these kinds of games, you might find that focusing on your homework isn’t as boring as you thought it would be.

Unleash the Power of Your Focus

Discovering how to focus on your homework can go beyond schoolwork and actually support you in many other activities you want to do. Concentration is one of the best skills to nurture for your growth.

If you need a little guidance at the beginning of your focusing journey, Mindvalley has it in store for you. 

By unlocking your FREE Mindvalley access , you can check out sample classes from quests that help you develop better focus and study habits, such as Becoming Focused and Indistractable by Nir Eyal and Superbrain by Jim Kwik. You can also immerse yourself in beautiful sounds and guided meditations designed to improve concentration and help you enter the flow state.

The earlier you start, the greater your journey of self-discovery will be. Welcome in.

— Images generated on Midjourney.

Recommended Free Masterclass For You

Discover Powerful Hacks to Unlock Your Superbrain to Learn Faster, Comprehend More and Forget Less

Join the foremost expert in memory improvement and brain performance, Jim Kwik, in a free masterclass that will dive into the one skill you will ever need — learning how to learn Reserve My Free Spot Now

Alexandra Tudor

Jim Kwik is the trainer of Mindvalley’s Superbrain and Super Reading quests. He’s a brain coach and a world expert in speed reading, memory improvement, and optimal brain performance. Known as the “boy with the broken brain” due to a childhood injury, Jim discovered strategies to dramatically enhance his mental performance. He is now committed to helping people improve their memory, learn to speed-read, increase their decision-making skills, and turn on their superbrain. He has shared his techniques with Hollywood actors, Fortune 500 companies, and trailblazing entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Richard Branson to reach their highest level of mental performance. He is also one of the most sought-after trainers for top organizations like Harvard University, Nike, Virgin, and GE.

How we reviewed this article:

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Daniel Wong

How to Focus When Studying: 20 Uncommonly Effective Tips

Updated on August 28, 2023 By Daniel Wong 129 Comments

Do you find it hard to focus when you’re studying?

There are so many distractions these days: text messages, videos, email and social media.

Not to mention your own wandering mind.

Over the years, I’ve taught many thousands of students how to study more effectively.

One of the best ways to improve your grades is to learn how to focus better while you study.

I’ve come up with this list of 20 tips and techniques to help you concentrate while studying.

(To get 5 additional tips, download the free PDF below.)

Enter your email below to download a PDF summary of this article. The PDF contains all the tips found here, plus  5 exclusive bonus tips that you’ll only find in the PDF.

How to focus on studying.

You can learn how to focus better by trying some of these techniques during your next study session.

When you find one that works, make it a part of your routine every time you study.

1. Use your phone camera or webcam to record yourself studying

This tip may sound strange, but it works.

Set up your webcam or your phone camera to record a video of yourself studying.

The idea is to create accountability.

Instead of having a friend check on your progress, you have a camera watching everything you do.

Knowing that you are being watched will remind you of your objective.

Just when you’re about to get distracted, you’ll remember that everything you’re doing is being recorded.

It’s a useful reminder to yourself that you’ve made a commitment to study.

2. Use Focusmate

If you want to take it to the next level, use Focusmate instead.

With Focusmate, you make a pre-commitment to study for a 50-minute period at least one day in advance.

You then get paired with a real-life accountability partner.

You must turn on your webcam during the 50-minute session. This means that you and your study partner can see and hear each other during the study session.

If you leave your desk without giving an explanation, your study partner can report you, and vice versa.

Similarly, if you don’t turn up to your study session or if you are late, your study partner can report you.

Non-compliance results in the system marking you down. If your score falls below a certain level, the system will eventually lock you out.

But if you keep your commitments and complete your study session, the system will reward you with points.

3. If you don’t feel like starting work, take 1 minute to prepare yourself mentally

Sometimes you may not even feel like getting to work.

When this happens, take a minute to prepare yourself mentally.

Set a timer for a minute and tell yourself that you’ll start work when the timer goes off.

By doing this, you’ll be much more likely to get to work at the end of the minute.

This is called an “implementation intention”.

Any time you signal to yourself an intention to do something, it makes it easier to begin that task.

In this case, the implementation intention is to set a timer for a minute before starting a study session, if you feel like procrastinating.

So, if you find it hard to motivate yourself to start studying , take a minute and prepare yourself mentally.

By doing this, you will eliminate the resistance you were experiencing.

4. Before your first study session of the day, create a plan for the day

Make the plan as detailed as possible.

There’s a good reason for this. You must be clear about what you’re going to achieve during each study session.

For example, “study science” is not a sufficiently detailed study plan .

Here’s an example of a plan with enough detail: “Read pages 25 to 32 of the science textbook and create a summary diagram.”

When you break a task down into detailed components, you will have a better idea as to whether it’s achievable within the specified study period.

Another advantage of creating a detailed plan is that it becomes easier to assess your progress.

If you’re halfway through your study period and you’ve already completed half of what you planned to achieve, you’ll know you’re on track.

A key part of studying effectively is setting specific tasks to work on during each study session.

5. Write down exactly why you want to study hard

Another way to stay focused when studying is to be clear about why you want to study hard in the first place.

Write down the reasons you want to study hard.

Keep the list handy so you can remind yourself of these reasons when you find yourself losing concentration.

For example, you might write down:

• “I want to become a more knowledgeable person.”
• “I want to become a more self-driven person.”
• “I want to cultivate the habit of always doing my best.”
• “I want to make the most of my educational opportunities and learn as much as I can.”

Try to focus on process-oriented reasons rather than outcome-oriented reasons.

Because outcomes are often beyond your control, whereas the process is always within your control.

For example, the outcome of getting A’s for all your subjects is, in some ways, beyond your control. But studying for a total of at least 2 hours every day is a process that is within your control.

Here’s another reason to focus on the process rather than on the outcome.

The outcome could be something that may only come to pass in the distant future.

On the other hand, the process is something you engage in every day.

It’s far more effective to measure the achievement of the process than the achievement of the outcome.

6. Keep track of all the tasks you’ve completed

Keep a record of all the tasks you complete each day.

This is important for two reasons.

Firstly, it allows you to monitor whether you are meeting the objectives set in your study plan.

If you are not meeting your objectives, you may have underestimated the time required for the tasks.

But if you are completing your tasks with time to spare, you may be able to set your targets higher.

Secondly, it’s important for your morale to see that you are making progress.

Studying is an activity where progress isn’t always easy to measure. But when you keep track of the tasks you have completed, you’ll be clearer about the progress you are making.

This will remind you that you have been productive, which will keep you motivated.

7. Put only the materials you need for your current task on your desk

The brain is able to process information more effectively in an uncluttered environment. This is what researchers have discovered .

As such, it’s a good idea to place on your desk only the items that you need to complete the task at hand. For example, this might consist of the assignment, a pen, a pencil, an eraser, and a calculator.

Make a list of what items you’ll need during your study session. Make sure you have only those items on your desk.

If your study area is disorganised, take a couple of minutes to tidy it up before you start work.

Having things neat and tidy has a calming effect on your mind and will help you to concentrate.

8. Get your brain ready by doing deep breathing exercises before each study session

Deep breathing exercises increase the ability of your mind to focus.

Researchers at Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience have studied the effect of breathing exercises on the body’s production of noradrenaline.

Noradrenaline functions as a neurotransmitter, which affects your concentration.

By regulating your breathing, you can optimise your levels of noradrenaline.

The researchers concluded that “there is a strong connection between breath-centred practices and a steadiness of mind”.

Here is a simple breathing exercise that will bring calm and focus to your mind before you study:

• Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose for 4 seconds.
• When you feel that your lungs are full of air, hold your breath for 2 seconds.
• Then slowly exhale through your nose for 4 seconds.

Do this exercise three times in succession before the start of every study session.

Try it out now to see how relaxed it makes you feel!

9. Don’t study in bed

Don’t try to do anything productive while lying or sitting in bed.

It’s important that the place where you study is not the same as the place where you sleep .

You won’t be able to study effectively in a place that you associate with relaxing or sleeping. In fact, this is my first suggestion when students ask me how to avoid sleepiness while studying .

Also, if you study in bed you will either be lying down or sitting cross-legged.

Neither of these positions is conducive for maximal focus. These positions may even result in neckaches and backaches.

What’s more, you may end up taking unintended naps!

So do your work at a proper study desk, every single time – this is a good habit that every student should cultivate !

10. Adjust the temperature of your studying environment

Make sure the temperature where you are studying is optimal.

Researchers at Cornell University found some interesting results when office temperatures were raised from 20°C to 25°C (68°F to 77°F).

Typing errors fell by 44% and output increased by about 150%.

Most research shows that the temperature most conducive for working and studying is in the range of 22°C to 25°C (72°F to 77°F).

So if it’s possible for you to adjust the temperature of your studying environment, keep it within this range.

11. Write down exactly what you’re working on at the moment

Every time you begin a study session, write down the task that you’ll be working on.

Do this on a rough sheet of paper and leave it on your study desk. This way, it will serve as a constant reminder about what you should be doing at the moment.

Just as you need a detailed plan for the day (Tip #4), you also need a detailed plan for each study session.

For example, if you write down “Do math assignment” for the current study session, it’s not specific enough.

“Do math assignment, questions 1 to 3 ” is more specific, so you’re more likely to stay on task.

12. Tell your family your study schedule for the day

Post your study schedule on your bedroom door or on the fridge door in the kitchen.

This way, your family will know when they shouldn’t disturb you.

There’s another benefit to doing this. It also gives you a greater sense of accountability.

By making a pre-commitment to your family about when you’ll be studying, you’ll be more likely to stick to your study schedule.

All in all, this is a simple tip that will enable you to concentrate when you’re studying.

13. Put all of your digital devices in another room

This might seem like common sense, but I’m surprised how many of my teenage coaching clients were not doing this before I started working with them.

The old adage “out of sight, out of mind” applies here.

Leave your tablet and phone in another room and put them on silent mode.

Minimising temptations is one of the keys to being productive.

In addition, even if you feel tempted to check your phone, you probably won’t do it because the effort required to walk to the other room is too great.

14. Use these two apps to eliminate digital distractions

The first app I recommend is Forest .

With this app, your study session “becomes” a tree.

At the beginning of the session, you plant the tree and it starts to grow. But if you close the app, the tree dies – and nobody wants their precious tree to die!

By using the app, you’ll have a more productive study session.

Of course, having your phone next to you while you study could be a distraction (as mentioned in the previous tip).

This means that you’ll need to be careful not to use your phone for anything else.

The second app you can use to remove digital distractions is Freedom .

You can schedule this app to block other apps such as YouTube, games, and social media to keep you on track.

15. Listen to classical music while studying

Listening to classical music is another way to help you focus when studying.

Dr. Masha Godkin , professor at Northcentral University, has researched the effects of music on our brains.

She found that classical music can take you from the beta brainwave state to the deeper alpha state, and even further to the theta state.

According to Dr. Godkin, the ability of music to stimulate both sides of the brain is why music helps you focus and also improves your memory .

Classical music with a fast tempo, such as Beethoven’s Für Elise, is effective in helping students to concentrate and remember more information.

16. If you don’t like classical music, listen to music/sounds from these two websites

If you don’t like classical music, try using Coffitivity instead.

Coffitivity simulates the sounds you would hear in a cafe to boost your creativity and brain function.

It’s designed based on research at the University of Chicago. This research shows that we think better and are more creative when there is a moderate level of background noise.

Alternatively, try listening to Brain.fm .

Brain.fm offers music engineered to help you achieve and sustain deep focus.

Personally, I use Brain.fm almost every day, and I’ve found it to be useful. By listening to Brain.fm, I’m able to stay focused for about 50% longer than before!

17. Use earphones or headphones while studying

If you intend to use Tips #15 or #16, then you’ll probably want to use earphones or headphones.

But even if you don’t want to listen to any type of music, using earphones or headphones is still a good way to improve your concentration while you study.

Because they insulate you from the outside world.

Using earphones or headphones is a signal to others that you are occupied.

This reduces the likelihood that others will interrupt your study session.

Wearing earphones or headphones will also remind yourself that you are in the middle of a study session.

18. Count how many study sessions you complete each day

There’s a saying that “what gets measured, gets done”. This principle applies to study sessions too.

Keep track of how many study sessions you complete each day.

This way, you’ll become more intentional about getting to work.

Let’s say that you typically study in blocks of 30 minutes.

Before you begin your first study session of the day, you might decide that your goal for the day is to do at least 3 sessions of 30 minutes each.

As the day goes by, count how many sessions you’ve completed.

By keeping score in this way, you’ll focus on the process of doing the work. As a result, you’ll get more work done!

19. When you feel as if you’re about to get distracted, write it down

It’s inevitable: From time to time, you’ll get distracted during your study sessions. So you need a strategy for dealing with these distractions.

Here’s a technique that works well.

Let’s say that you’re reading your science notes when you get the urge to check your text messages.

Instead of giving in to the temptation, write down on a rough sheet of paper: “Check text messages.”

Once you’ve done that, you’ll find that it’s easier to go back to studying.

During your next break, you can go ahead and do what you’ve listed on that rough sheet of paper. In this case, you can check your text messages.

Why is this technique effective?

Because instead of simply trying to resist the urge, you get to “take action” by writing down the distraction. In doing so, you’re acknowledging the urge without giving in to it.

This leaves you free to go back to what you were doing before – studying.

20. Set an end time for when you’ll stop studying each day

This might not be the advice you were expecting.

After all, shouldn’t you be trying to study for as many hours as you can every day?

No, because the idea is to study smart, not just hard.

Of course, you need to work hard. But it’s also essential to lead a balanced life.

So set a strict deadline, such as 9:30 pm, and make sure that you don’t do any work after that time. The best time of the day to study is specific to every student, but it’s important that you decide when you’ll stop studying each day.

This will give you time to wind down before going to bed. This means that you’ll be able to get those 8 hours of sleep that you need to optimise your academic performance.

There’s another advantage to setting a specific end time for when you’ll stop studying each day.

Clearly defined limits help you to concentrate on what you’re doing right now.

You won’t get distracted as often, because you know that you won’t stay up late to catch up on the time you’ve wasted because of procrastination.

The result?

You’ll learn more in less time, and you’ll get good grades too.

Staying focused while studying is something that all students struggle with.

But there are many things you can do to help you concentrate and get into a flow state when studying .

As described in this article, there are plenty of ways to harness the power of your mind and make it work with you, not against you.

So take at least several study tips from this article and work them into your routine, starting today.

If you do this, you’ll find that your study sessions will become more productive and enjoyable!

Like this article? Please share it with your friends.

May 2, 2020 at 7:18 pm

Thank you very much for your effort, its really taking me higher and making me more focused on my study. God bless you.

May 2, 2020 at 9:15 pm

You’re welcome, and God bless you too.

May 5, 2020 at 3:30 pm

They are so amazing thank you

May 5, 2020 at 4:53 pm

I’m glad you like the article.

October 6, 2020 at 11:29 am

I never thought some of these would work on me since I have autism and aspergers spectrum so I easily get distracted.

December 22, 2023 at 12:30 pm

This is so amazing and helpful may the Lord bless the work of your hands

May 2, 2021 at 1:56 pm

Hi this is Sagar, I am preparing for a competitive exam but I am unable to the focused mindset. My mind won’t allow me to sir and study as it takes a lot of time to prepare for it. Could you please guide me regarding it ?

November 2, 2020 at 11:59 pm

Thank you so much sir. I am in class 10 but I am distracted now, so I’m reading this. I feel energetic now. If I am distracted again I will read this. Thanks a lot sir…

January 29, 2021 at 6:29 am

Hello Mr Wong, may I simply ask what it is you have studied at University and if you graduated.

October 22, 2022 at 12:07 am

Thanks To you I’ve been more focused and discipline and I can see the changes in progress thank you Sir.

May 7, 2020 at 2:04 am

These tips are so much fruitful for achieving something very big in life

May 7, 2020 at 8:04 am

You’re welcome.

August 5, 2020 at 10:12 pm

reallu unusual tips but when i play the results in my mind they fall in place perfectly……..will definitely check them out!!! thanks for such a wonderful article

April 27, 2021 at 11:09 pm

Really it’s more realistic….superb…tips

May 3, 2020 at 9:27 am

Thank you for giving us the tips.. Its very useful.. I hope everyone can study easier using these tips 🌈

May 3, 2020 at 10:32 am

You are welcome, and I hope everyone finds this article useful too!

May 3, 2020 at 12:04 pm

Thank you sir 😀

May 3, 2020 at 9:34 pm

You’re welcome!

May 4, 2020 at 7:47 am

Thnku so much for tips …I’ll try it definitely …👍

May 4, 2020 at 8:43 am

May 3, 2020 at 4:05 pm

This is truly the best article regarding effective study. Reading the article was itself a big motivation. This article covers every problem a student faces with the best solution provided. I am in loss of words in expressing my deep gratitude to the writer of this article. Thank You very much! There could be nothing better than this.

I appreciate your kind words!

November 26, 2020 at 8:09 pm

I am trying to follow all the tips that you’ve mentioned sir. They are so useful to me during quarantine.

January 10, 2021 at 4:07 pm

ya you are right

May 3, 2020 at 7:34 pm

I really procrastinate during quarantine….. I have been trying these tips for some days now. And they work. Thank you do much for the tips!!

May 3, 2020 at 9:35 pm

I’m glad to hear that the tips have worked for you!

May 3, 2020 at 11:04 pm

First of all, thx for allowing comments, for me, not allowing them is “questionable” and seens to become more and more common among the media these days… Second: many of these tips are really new to me. I think this article will help a lot, thank you very much! Blessings from Brazil!

You’re welcome! I’m glad to hear that.

May 6, 2020 at 7:24 pm

I m going to try this from today it is difficult.thanks Sir

May 6, 2020 at 9:50 pm

All the best!

May 3, 2020 at 11:51 pm

This tips are very usefull. Thank you

May 4, 2020 at 8:44 am

May 4, 2020 at 12:18 am

In recent days… Procrastinate become my habit……I don’t know how …..But it happened……..These tips are very useful for me….Thank you sir….

I hope this article helps you!

May 4, 2020 at 12:45 am

It was really amazing 😍 Helped me a lot! Thank u so much😊

That’s great to hear!

May 4, 2020 at 12:51 am

Thank you very very much Sir.. everyone will find easier to focus on their studies like me during these quarantine days. It’s really benificial. I hope you’ll help us by your precious tips in future too.

You are very welcome.

May 4, 2020 at 1:10 am

I was looking for something like this for my studies. Thank you for doing this great work. I hope every student gets more and more benefit from this article. Thank you once again & God bless you.

May 4, 2020 at 8:45 am

You’re welcome and God bless you.

May 4, 2020 at 1:17 am

Unbelievable methods ND it’s very easy to relate with these ,sir really feeling blessed to see your article . Best article i have everything read sir related to studies .thanks a lot , thankyou so much sir Wong .

With regards .

May 4, 2020 at 2:23 am

Really an appreciable work from which I got new , effective, amazing and rejuvenating tips it’s really fab this article motivated me alot and make me feel energetic to indulge in my studies Apps provided by you are very helpful Thank you so much

I’m really happy to hear that!

May 7, 2020 at 7:00 am

Am really very greatful with the to and am really going to put it into practice Thanks once again

May 7, 2020 at 8:05 am

Thank you so much for your time and effort that you put into writing this article for us! I’ll definitely be downloading Focusmate and Freedom. Enjoy your day 😊

May 4, 2020 at 8:46 am

You’re welcome — thank you, I did take many, many hours to put this article together!

May 4, 2020 at 2:50 am

Thanks for sharing how to focus to study.Now I can get organize to start my Goal.

It’s my pleasure!

May 4, 2020 at 3:20 am

Thank You Sir your advice is very useful

You’re more than welcome.

May 4, 2020 at 4:25 am

May 4, 2020 at 8:47 am

You are welcome.

May 4, 2020 at 4:38 am

What can I do to motivate myself to start studying without stopping. Sometimes I feel I’m never going to finish how can I eliminate that feelings?

May 4, 2020 at 8:48 am

I’m sorry to hear that, but I think you’ll find this article useful: https://www.daniel-wong.com/2018/04/23/get-motivated-to-study/

May 4, 2020 at 7:22 am

Thanks for the tips

You’re very welcome.

May 4, 2020 at 7:26 am

Let me try for my children and let you know. Thank you.

Ok sure, thank you.

May 4, 2020 at 10:56 am

Every lines were worth reading. It help me realised where I’ve gone wrong and how i can improve my study session more effectively. Thank you so much for putting up all these tips together. I hope I’ll be able to implement them !!

May 4, 2020 at 11:47 am

All the best as you implement the tips!

May 4, 2020 at 1:05 pm

During the current situation is very likely to procrastinate, but your words are giving us enough motivation to do something. Thanks a lot.

May 4, 2020 at 2:35 pm

May 4, 2020 at 12:48 pm

Do you have a sample study schedule to share? Just a rough guideline will be good too. Thanks

May 4, 2020 at 2:36 pm

For that, you can check out this article ( https://www.daniel-wong.com/2015/01/14/straight-a-student/ ) — hope it helps.

May 4, 2020 at 1:22 pm

Can you please write an article On how to increase the hunger to study means we should get addicted to it

May 4, 2020 at 2:37 pm

I think you’ll find this article useful ( https://www.daniel-wong.com/2018/04/23/get-motivated-to-study/ ).

May 4, 2020 at 2:05 pm

Thank you very much for your generous sharing. I share these tips with students I am counselling. Will check in with them after a week or so, and I am sure they will be able to concentrate better and be more focussed.

These tips are also very useful for me.

Warm regards

Thank you, Helen. I’m glad you found the tips useful.

May 4, 2020 at 2:07 pm

Thnx a lot.. I will try these tips and let you know the results

May 4, 2020 at 4:30 pm

Thank you for sharing.

May 4, 2020 at 5:54 pm

It’s my pleasure.

May 4, 2020 at 4:52 pm

Its a really a great deal struggling to stay focus…Thanks for the insights, am sure it will be productive

May 4, 2020 at 5:55 pm

May 4, 2020 at 4:59 pm

Thank you so much sir for the really helpful tips ! Keep putting more content like this ..it’s really working !

I’m happy to hear that!

May 4, 2020 at 9:11 pm

Wooow! You did a wonderful and a great job. May God bless you and give you more wisdom for you to provide us with more of these things. Thanks.

May 4, 2020 at 10:18 pm

May 4, 2020 at 10:36 pm

The tips are just great, thank you sir

May 5, 2020 at 8:02 am

May 4, 2020 at 10:59 pm

Thanks so much for this article, lately I have being so distracted and often procrastinate about my studying time during this lockdown. But I believe with this article I will do well in studying and passing my professional exam. Pls I will like to be getting.ur articles often, how do get to read them.

May 5, 2020 at 8:05 am

You’re welcome. You can download this free guide ( https://www.daniel-wong.com/students-improve-focus/ ) to sign up for my mailing list, then you’ll get updated whenever I publish new articles.

May 4, 2020 at 11:18 pm

It’s one of the most valuable article I have read on effective studying tips till now …and surely goin to try these! Great work done 👍

May 5, 2020 at 8:00 am

May 5, 2020 at 1:04 am

Such an amazing article ever seen ,by reading itself I’m motivated thks alot for sharing such an article the subtitles mentioned in the article is very accurate to overcome distractions. I’m soo interested to include these in my daily routine for procrastinate my distraction. Once again thank you soo much.

May 5, 2020 at 7:59 am

May 5, 2020 at 1:14 am

This article came just in time. I’ve been looking for ways to keep me from getting distracted, but all I could really find is how to get motivated. I’ll definitely be using some of these tips!

I hope the tips work for you!

May 5, 2020 at 1:17 am

Such an amazing article ever seen thks alot for sharing this by reading itself I’m motivated moreover the subtitles mentioned in the article is very accurate to overcome distractions .I’m soo interested to include these in my daily routine for procrastinate my distractions. Once again thank you soo much. Share more stuffs like this which may help lots & lots of students.🙂🙂

I hope you manage to implement the tips successfully!

May 5, 2020 at 1:21 am

Thank you So Much Sir.. Now I’m preparing for Medical Entrance Examination…… These Tips really helpfull Expecting More…. 😄🙏 Sir….. Please pray for me to Crack My Exam… 😊

May 5, 2020 at 7:58 am

All the best for your exam!

May 5, 2020 at 3:12 am

Thank you very much for your advice! Have nice evening!

Sure, it’s my pleasure.

May 5, 2020 at 6:58 am

Thanks for sharing the tips of study.i am really worth it when read this article

May 5, 2020 at 6:59 pm

Mr.Daniel Wong I truly appreciate your extremely helpful efforts to make studies more productive.. Thank you so much for your article…

May 5, 2020 at 9:27 pm

You’re welcome, Pranjal.

May 6, 2020 at 6:26 am

It’s such an article for starting a productive study session or being attentive to study or even turning attention back to study..

May 6, 2020 at 8:15 am

All the best as you put the tips into practice!

May 6, 2020 at 11:19 am

Useful tips. Thank u

May 6, 2020 at 1:09 pm

You are welcome. I’m glad you found the tips useful.

May 6, 2020 at 2:20 pm

Thank you so much for such great tips and for taking the time to write this. I’ve saved this article and will implement the tips!

May 6, 2020 at 2:41 pm

Glad to hear that!

May 6, 2020 at 2:59 pm

One of the best article, I had came across during these days. It is motivational too. Thank you Mr. Daniel Wong for sharing very useful tips for all…. which are not only for students but every person.

Thank you once again

May 6, 2020 at 4:04 pm

You’re welcome, and thank you for your kind words!

May 7, 2020 at 6:50 am

This is very interesting and it will help some us! I think it will make a difference in our study! Thank you very much and continue with this great job! God bless you!

You are welcome and God bless you too!

May 13, 2020 at 2:53 pm

Thank you very much for the exceptional creative tips! These can help the learners a lot!

May 13, 2020 at 2:59 pm

May 22, 2020 at 2:54 pm

Thank you! I am trying to follow your advice roughly (I did that even before actually reading this article). The only thing is, I don’t think I need to videotape myself. Instead I just use tracking programs. And of course I write my assignments, organize a comfortable learning space, and leave my smartphone in my living room. I rarely turn on music – only when I feel that I can concentrate with it, but most of the time it’s easier for me to learn something in silence.

August 22, 2020 at 3:45 am

thanks a lot sir…it helped me a lot

August 31, 2020 at 10:47 pm

I love your suggestions…These are better than other websites which only state some common facts…your suggestions are great…I was also looking forward to using Focusmate…But it seems that only people 17 years old and above can use it…I am in middle school and just turned 13…Can you please suggest one more website just like Focusmate please…

October 6, 2020 at 11:31 am

Thanks, it really helped with my distraction problems!

December 23, 2020 at 10:21 pm

I’m preparing for exams which are after a month. These tips are soo helpful, I’m soo glad to have found this page. Thank you sir!🙂

January 8, 2021 at 2:46 am

thank you, this article really helps me!!!

January 17, 2021 at 11:08 pm

why i can’t focus in study

January 28, 2021 at 4:45 am

dude I just made an account on brain.fm

Game changer.

They should give you a cut when I pay for the year after my 3 day trial.

Going to go hit up a 2 hour session to “cinematic music focus”.

Might pair this with the tree app for extra measure.

(My issue is wanting to stop and hop on netflix — hence the tree).

February 15, 2021 at 1:23 pm

Really, this article got me excited as though I already practiced it. The methods are well outlined and easily implemented. The fact that it involves exercise, sleep and diet makes this article like an all-round solution for improving my learning, maintaining a healthy body and alleviating depression; all with just one article.

Thanks Mr Wong, you’re a life saver.

April 7, 2021 at 7:47 am

Thanks sir for your advise and tips, it really helped me focus in my study more.

April 11, 2021 at 8:33 am

thanks your article for studying.

May 9, 2021 at 8:01 pm

I found this useful. I have bookmarked this page so that I can come back here when ever I want it. thankyou so much

July 5, 2021 at 1:49 pm

thank you so much helped me alot

September 26, 2021 at 11:26 am

Thank you so much. The 16th tip helped me so much

November 14, 2022 at 8:35 pm

i really found it very helpful. amazing tips.

July 5, 2023 at 9:33 am

How to focus on main point.

September 29, 2023 at 8:44 am

Thank you so much. Sometimes it takes multiple strategies. Switching up from day to day. Good of you to share!

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How to focus while studying: Tips for better concentration

Use this helpful toolkit to finally focus better when studying. You'll learn how to plan effective study sessions and improve concentration.

You may enjoy being a student in your chosen field, but memorizing a stack of lecture notes so that you can pass your exams is another story entirely, especially since there are so many distracting, exciting, and colorful things in the … oh look, a butterfly!

Even top-performing students with ninja-level self-discipline struggle to stay focused while studying. The difference, however, is that they have developed the right study habits that not only get them in their chairs to study but keep them there too.

What’s their secret? How can you better concentrate while studying?

You, my friend, are holding the (virtual) answer in your hands. In this article, we're going to show you:

• How to focus from the start
• How to maintain focus and overcome daydreaming
• How to become a more focused person overall

(Also make sure you check out our guide ' Top mental strategies for studying at home ' if you're required to be productive in an environment that can sometimes be a little distracting #doomscrolling.)

How to focus while studying, from the start

Almost all of the problems associated with an inability to focus while studying fall into one of two broad categories:

• Issues of inertia: Difficulty starting to study
• Issues of daydreaming: Difficulty maintaining concentration when studying

Both have the same frustrating results but can require slightly different approaches to overcome. What you ideally need to do is calm your thoughts and minimize distractions just like you do when falling asleep, only now you're going to unleash 100% of your cognitive powers on learning and remembering!

Here’s how to do that ...

Tip # 1 for focusing while studying: Set up a peaceful, distraction-free "study bubble"

• Set out all your materials , stationery, Diet Cokes … whatever you need to learn. You shouldn’t have to get up for anything once you’ve started.
• Have a word with your family , housemates, cat, parrot, needy indoor plants … whoever you think might be a source of distraction. Explain politely that it’s study time and that you’d appreciate some quiet with minimal interruptions.
• Clear out your inbox . If there are emails that require time-consuming action, write it down on a to-do list so that you won’t forget to take care of it later. The science is clear: Multi-tasking does not actually work !
• Clear your phone of notifications and then turn it on silent so that it can’t ping and distract you. Better yet, leave it in another room. You won’t hurt Siri's feelings, we promise.
• If you’re working off a device, log out of any apps and social media that might send you distracting notifications.
• Optimize your body and brain to study . Go to the toilet, fill up your water bottle, brew a cup of coffee or tea, set out your snacks, and get a good night’s rest the night before.
• Knock out any important, potentially distracting tasks before your allotted study time—like paying a bill, feeding the cat, or breaking up with your annoying boyfriend.

Now, you don’t have to do all of the above to prepare your study bubble, but if you’re easily distracted and have a tendency to procrastinate when studying , clearing your proverbial plate can go a long way in helping you focus better.

Tip # 2 for focusing while studying: Set goals and milestones

The key to mastery is consistently devoting time to learning, whether it’s ten minutes or two hours a day. Therefore, your next step towards honing razor-sharp skills of focus is to set study goals or milestones.

Here are three steps to doing that:

Step 1: Skim the material before diving in

Start at the very beginning of the coursework you need to learn and lightly scan through everything, jotting down an outline as you go (think: roadmap). This will give you a 30,000-foot view of your subject AND prime your brain for the harder learning and memorization work to come.

Step 2: Identify your strengths and weaknesses

This will alert you to the sections and chapters you need to allocate more time . The aim is to be prepared, not surprised , when your "weakest" and least favorite topic shows up on your next exam.

Step 3: Break everything down into "bite-sized" study sessions

Now you can break your outline down into manageable daily chunks , depending on the amount of time you can spare each day to study. This isn’t an exact science so don’t be too rigid but make sure you comfortably spread everything out over the days you have left before your test or exam. And remember to devote more study time to your weaknesses!

(You can use Brainscape's free study schedules and exam planners to do this!)

How does all of this preparation help you to focus on studying from the start?

• Memory refresh: Scanning through and reviewing your study notes in order to establish a study plan refreshes your memory and helps to connect the dots on everything you’ve learned during the course or semester.
• A healthy perspective: By establishing that 30,000-foot view of what needs to be done, as well as a plan to get it done, you’ll probably feel a lot less intimidated by the task at hand.
• Motivation: With the study material broken down into smaller, more achievable milestones, you get that delicious “reward-like” sensation far more frequently. Mmm … dopamine . (Also, keeping a finger on the pulse of your study metrics can be a huge motivation because it allows you to visualize your progress toward your goals.)
• Momentum: Because this exercise isn’t memory–or even focus-intensive–it makes it easier to start, even if you have the attention span of a goldfish. And once you’ve overcome that study inertia, the momentum can kick in.

Essentially, you have just succeeded in establishing a powerful and convenient framework for learning. Good job! Now let's look at how you can stay focused while studying and maintain concentration.

How to maintain focus while studying

If it’s not external distractions (the cat, a noisy housemate, or emails plucking at your concentration), it’s internal distractions and the little siren’s song of the voice seducing you away from your books. Either way, staying focused while studying is hard . How can you overcome that particularly saucy daydream about Adriana Lima or Ryan Gosling (or both)?

Tip # 3 for staying focused while studying: Set goals that are appropriate to your mental gear

On some days, it feels like we can cruise through our study material like a Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 on an eight-lane autobahn. On other days, it's like we’re rattling down a potholed country road in an ancient pickup truck.

The trick is to recognize which gear your brain is in and shift your study approach to suit it.

If you're in a high mental gear, plan a long study session and try attacking the areas you’ve been having difficulty in. However, if you’re feeling flakey and easily distracted, shift down and instead, plan a series of short 5 to 10-minute flashcard sessions with frequent study breaks in between and some kind of reward at the end. You'll probably end up studying longer than that if you're on a roll.

The point is to capitalize on the energy you do have and still manage to study productively on the days you find your energy waning. Remember, the most productive people are skilled at managing their energy and attention , and not just their time.

Tip # 4 for staying focused while studying: Vary your learning methods

Everyone burns out after some time. There’s only so much reading and text highlighting you can do before your mind wanders. What can help enormously to re-engage your concentration is a bit of variety , both in your study environment and method:

• Try a change of scenery : Go for a walk or relocate to your local library, coffee shop, or even just a different room in your home.
• Do a round of flashcards : Take a break from your books and try a different study medium altogether, such as studying flashcards in Brainscape !
• Pepper your studies with frequent breaks: Some students follow the Pomodoro Technique , where they study for 25 minutes and then take 5 minutes off. We advise you to use natural milestones as breaks—between chapters or sub-sections—rather than blindly setting a timer that could interrupt you when you're on a roll. Find your sweet spot of time-on versus time-off and give yourself that space to breathe!
• Arrange a study session with a group of peers: This functions as a nice adjunctive method to your regular studying because (1) it holds you accountable, (2) your peers can help you address your weaknesses, and (3) in helping them, you're able to review your knowledge.

Just leave the beer at home.

Tip # 5 for maintaining study focus: Set automated study reminders

Take the guesswork and decision-making out of studying by programming study notifications into your device . You can easily do this with Brainscape, which has study streak reminders : gentle “nags” to keep your daily study streak alive.

To activate, simply go into the menu in the mobile app (left), select Notifications, and then you can then toggle on Streak Reminders (top right). Those will show up as push notifications on your phone’s home screen (bottom right) reminding you to stop what you’re doing and put in a quick study round with Brainscape. You can also customize the time of day you’d prefer to receive your reminders!

Tip # 6 for motivating yourself to study: Gamify your productivity

If you’re the pony, what’s your carrot? Is it chocolate? A 15-minute walk? A 20-minute episode of Modern Family ? Or even an actual carrot? Find what you can dangle in front of your nose as an incentive to complete a study session and then set yourself moving-target goals like “Once I finish making flashcards for this section on criminal law, I’m going to murder that Snickers bar,” or “Once I answer 10 flashcards in a row with perfect confidence, I’m going to go for a 15-minute walk."

Gamifying your productivity essentially requires that you design a reward system that makes studying feel gratifying for your brain. In other words: train your brain like you would a dog. With treats!

Tip # 7: Use the right tools to stay focused while studying!

One effective study tool that rolls all of the aforementioned hacks into one ridiculously good-looking flashcard-based learning platform is Brainscape , which breaks down content-heavy subjects into collections of bite-sized flashcards. These are then delivered to you via the hyper-efficient learning power of spaced repetition , metacognition , and active recall to help you learn twice as fast as any other study technique .

In short, Brainscape is engineered to:

• Make starting studying as easy as tapping a single button , eliminating mental inertia.
• Make learning incredibly accessible , wherever you go, even offline.
• Deliver the content to your brain in a way that is optimized for retention so you get more done in less time.
• Create a fun, engaging, and gamified study experience with tons of learning stats and awards to chase.
• Provide you with detailed study metrics so you can keep a finger on the pulse of your progress.

In other words, if you struggle with staying focused while studying, Brainscape is a powerful study tool that'll get you through any test or exam prep.

Tip # 8 on how to concentrate while studying: Give yourself a chance to reflect

Sometimes you genuinely need to take a break to reflect on your studies, as well as on the things that are distracting you. In fact, if you’re struggling to concentrate, maybe it’s because you haven't given yourself enough "reflective downtime" to process the things that are on your mind, such as an upsetting email, a pressing assignment, or a happy social development.

Opportunities for introspection include long walks, meditation, jogging, swimming, yoga, commuting, peeling potatoes, watching paint dry … any low-intensity activity that allows your brain to wander, daydream, and process. Taking a little study break to reflect, both on what you are learning and on what’s going on in your life is essential to your well-being. It’ll help improve your attention span and you’ll probably sleep better too.

How to become more focused on studying

Studying is a taxing and demanding mental activity so it’s no wonder that it tends to inspire inertia. And then maintaining focus while studying can feel like a constant battle in this digital world, with its constant distractions and slavish devotion to instant gratification.

But after reading all this, (good job by the way!) you should have a comprehensively stocked mental toolkit at your disposal. Now you know how to improve concentration, how to focus, and how to remember what you learn. You have everything you need to smash that exam into the bleachers right there in your he— SQUIRREL!

Flashcards for serious learners .

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How to Focus on School Work

Last Updated: May 9, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA . Emily Listmann is a private tutor in San Carlos, California. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 97,695 times.

Focusing on school work is vital to your success in high school and college, but it can be very hard to force yourself to focus. Between spending time with loved ones, extracurriculars, and social media, it’s difficult to pay attention to school work. However, employing attention-focusing techniques and rewarding yourself for completing assignments will help you focus on your school work and complete your assignments more quickly.

Establishing Good Work Habits

• Sometimes it might be helpful to see if your school offers tutoring, especially if you find that confusion over your homework is often why you struggle to focus on it.
• Working with a tutor will definitely help you stay on task with your school work and help improve your grades, as well.

• You can use either a physical notebook-style planner or download an app on your phone or tablet.
• Be sure to organize your planner. Using color coded tabs or sticky notes can help you keep track of your assignments work, and extracurricular schedule. For example, use blue tabs to denote upcoming assignments or tests, red tabs to show your work schedule, and yellow tabs to show your social schedule.
• If you use a physical planner, be sure to keep it neat. A chaotic-looking planner that you can't read or understand won't help you focus. Avoid scribbling out words or writing illegibly. Write neatly and be sure to write in erasable pencil or use white out to make changes to assignments written in ink.

• For example, if you have a 5 page English paper that’s due in a week, that assignment should take priority over a science project that’s due in a month. Tests should always be marked as high priority in your planner.
• Take into account how long assignments will take, as well. Think about the "big picture" of your school schedule. Instead of only focusing on what is due in the next few days, for example, take a macro view and consider what assignments are due this month. Then, as time allows, make an effort to chip away at future projects. This way, when those due dates approach, you won't have to rush and stress out over how to find the time to complete those assignments. [3] X Research source

• Let your parents and friends know what time blocks you have set aside for school work. Doing so can help eliminate distractions.
• If you’re a morning person, get up early, eat some breakfast, and work on assignments before school or work. If you are a night owl, then arrange for time to work before bed.
• Regardless of which time of day you choose to do your work, be sure that you’re getting enough sleep. It’s counterproductive to be sleep deprived while you try to focus on your school work.

Working Effectively

• You can find foam earplugs at any drugstore or convenience store. Aim for earplugs with a Noise Rating Reduction (NRR) of 32 or 33, as this is the highest noise cancelling rating available over the counter. [5] X Research source

• If you must leave your phone on, then turn it to silent (not just vibrate) so you don’t hear any incoming calls or texts to distract you from your school work.

• Consider browser extensions that disconnect social media for you. Browser extensions like Nanny (Google Chrome) and Mac Freedom (Windows and Mac compatible) block your access to your top time-wasting websites. [8] X Research source

• Make sure that you set a timer or alarm clock so that your breaks are only 15 minutes. Dragging breaks out longer can derail your efforts to focus on and complete your school work.

• For example, tell yourself that you need to finish your algebra homework within an hour so that you can watch your favorite show before bed. Setting a goal with a clear reward at the end will help motivate you to stay focused on completing your work. [11] X Research source

Maintaining Realistic Expectations for Yourself

• For example, don’t expect that you can come home from school and spend an hour writing a quality ten page paper. Research papers take time to both write and research, so it’s unrealistic to expect to squeeze all of that work into one evening. Instead, spread your writing and research out across several days to make the project more manageable.

• Asking for their help is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it’s their job to help you when you are struggling!

• Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast. Even if you aren’t hungry in the mornings, have some juice or pack a portable snack like an apple or a granola bar for later.

• If your doctor determines that you have this disorder, then he or she might recommend medications, dietary changes, therapy, or a combination of these to Treat ADHD .

Supercharge Your Studying with this Expert Series

Expert Q&A

• Don’t be ashamed of asking for help, whether it’s from a tutor, parent, counselor, or doctor. You want to be as successful as possible in school, so use every resource at your disposal. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you are diagnosed with ADHD, remember that it is a legitimate medical condition that can make focusing on school work nearly impossible. It is not a character flaw or a sign of laziness on your part. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Things You’ll Need

• Noise cancelling headphones
• Dedicated work space

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/homework.html
• ↑ https://www.swarthmore.edu/writing/understanding-your-assignment
• ↑ https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/time-management-tips-online-students/
• ↑ https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1333782
• ↑ https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/technology-and-student-distraction
• ↑ https://www.vu.edu.au/about-vu/news-events/study-space/6-ways-to-avoid-social-media-distraction-while-learning-online
• ↑ https://www.edutopia.org/article/research-tested-benefits-breaks/
• ↑ https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting/
• ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/focused.html
• ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201812/self-care-12-ways-take-better-care-yourself
• ↑ https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/pain-you-can-get-help

About This Article

To focus on school work, start by establishing good work habits to help you stay organized and be more productive. For example, use a planner to create a schedule and set aside blocks of time to complete your school work. Remember to keep track of your assignments and their due dates in your planner, and prioritize your assignments based on importance and due date. It can also help to work in a quiet, dedicated space that's free of distractions, and don't forget to put your cell phone out of sight to help you stay focused! For tips on creating goals for your school work, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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A Clear Mindset for Clear Assignments: How to Focus on Homework

Discover the secrets on how to focus on homework by beating social media temptation and sidestepping distractions like a pro.

Created by:

August 4, 2023

When it comes to completing homework assignments, maintaining focus can be a daunting task. The allure of social media, the temptation to procrastinate, and the constant barrage of distractions can make it challenging to stay on track.

However, with a clear mindset and effective strategies, you can overcome these obstacles and make the most of your study time.

In this blog post, we will explore various techniques on how to focus on homework and achieve your academic goals.

Before we dive into the strategies, let's first understand why focusing on homework is crucial and explore some common distractions that students face.

The Benefits of Concentrating on Homework Assignments

Homework serves as a vital extension of classroom learning. It allows you to reinforce concepts, develop critical thinking skills, and deepen your understanding of the subject matter. By focusing on your assignments, you not only complete them efficiently but also gain valuable knowledge and skills. Additionally, effective time management and concentration during homework time can lead to better grades and improved overall academic performance.

Common Distractions That Students Face While Doing Homework

In today's digital age, distractions lurk around every corner, vying for our attention. When it comes to homework, these distractions can significantly hamper your ability to concentrate. Social media notifications, incoming messages, the appeal of video streaming platforms, and the endless rabbit holes of the internet can divert your attention and derail your productivity.

Now that we understand the importance of maintaining focus during homework, let's explore some strategies to help you prepare for productive study sessions .

Preparing for Homework

Creating a Study Environment

Creating an ideal study environment plays a crucial role in fostering concentration and productivity. Find a quiet and well-lit area where you can focus without interruptions. Clear your study area of any unnecessary clutter and ensure you have all the materials you need readily available. A clean and organized environment can contribute to a clear mindset and facilitate efficient studying.

Organizing Study Space

Having an organized study space can have a significant impact on your ability to concentrate. Keep your study materials neatly arranged and easily accessible. Use folders, binders, or digital tools to organize your notes, textbooks, and assignments. When everything is in its place, you can quickly locate what you need, minimizing time wasted searching for materials.

Minimizing Distractions

Distractions are the arch-nemesis of focus. To minimize their impact, it's important to identify and mitigate potential distractions in your study environment. Consider silencing your phone or using a dedicated app like Opal, the #1 screen time management app, to manage and monitor your device usage. Opal's innovative features can help you regain control over your screen time and stay on track with your assignments.

Now that your study space is optimized and distractions are minimized with a few easy changes, let's explore techniques to help you stay focused during your homework sessions.

Using the Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that can enhance your productivity and maintain focus. It involves breaking your study time into intervals, usually, 25 minutes in length, called "Pomodoros." After each Pomodoro, take a short break of 5 minutes. Every four Pomodoros, take a longer break of 15-30 minutes. This technique allows you to work in short bursts, preventing burnout and keeping your mind fresh.

Setting Goals and Prioritizing Tasks

Setting clear goals and prioritizing tasks can provide a sense of direction and purpose to your homework sessions. Understand the importance of setting goals and identify the most important tasks that need your immediate attention.

Create a to-do list with specific and achievable goals, ensuring that you tackle the most crucial assignments first such as Math homework. This approach helps you stay motivated and focused, as you can track your progress and experience the satisfaction of crossing off one task at a time.

Eliminating Procrastination

Procrastination is the enemy of productivity , and we have all fallen victim to its draw at some point. Understanding procrastination and identifying your triggers can help you combat this productivity killer.

Procrastination often arises from feelings of overwhelm, fear of failure, or a lack of interest in the task at hand. Recognize these triggers and develop strategies to overcome them. Break your assignments into smaller, manageable tasks, and reward yourself for completing each one. By taking small steps and staying motivated, you can conquer procrastination and maintain focus.

Staying Focused During Homework

Now that you've laid the groundwork for productive study sessions, let's explore techniques to help you maintain focus while doing homework.

Active Reading Techniques

Active reading techniques can significantly enhance comprehension and focus during your study sessions. Skimming and scanning techniques allow you to quickly gather information from texts, identify key points, and gain an overview of the material. Note-taking enables you to engage with the content actively, aiding memory retention and comprehension. Annotating your textbooks or reading materials with highlights and marginal notes can also help you stay engaged and focused.

Time Management Techniques

Effective time management is a cornerstone of focused sessions and helps complete your homework quicker. Prioritization is key to ensuring you allocate your time wisely. Identify the most important tasks and allocate sufficient time for each. Avoid the temptation to multitask, as it often leads to mind wandering, reduced focus, and diminished productivity. Instead, consider using time-blocking techniques, where you allocate specific time slots for different tasks. This approach helps you maintain focus on one assignment at a time, maximizing your efficiency.

Utilizing Technology

While technology can be a source of distraction, it can also serve as a valuable tool for maintaining focus. Various apps and tools are designed specifically to help students stay on track with their assignments. Apps for focusing, such as Opal or Screen Time , can provide valuable support by managing screen time, blocking distracting websites, and creating a distraction-free mode. By leveraging these technologies wisely, you can harness their power to enhance your focus and productivity.

Maintaining Focus

Staying focused for extended periods can be challenging, so it's essential to incorporate breaks and mindfulness techniques into your study routine.

Taking Breaks

Breaks are not a sign of laziness; they are a necessary component of maintaining focus and preventing mental fatigue. Understand the importance of breaks in maintaining productivity and take effective breaks that rejuvenate your mind. Step away from your study space, engage in physical activity, eat a few healthy snacks, get some fresh air, or indulge in a hobby you enjoy. Use these breaks wisely to recharge and return to your assignments with renewed focus.

Mindfulness Techniques

Mindfulness is a practice that cultivates present-moment awareness and helps you stay engaged with your tasks. Incorporate mindfulness techniques into your study sessions to improve concentration and reduce distractions. Practice deep breathing exercises, listen to classical music, focus on the sensations of studying, and cultivate an attitude of curiosity and non-judgment. By embracing mindfulness, you can bring clarity and intention to your homework sessions.

Managing Stress and Anxiety

Stress and anxiety can significantly hamper your ability to concentrate and perform well academically. Understand the impact of stress and anxiety on your focus and implement strategies to manage them effectively. Identify stressors and triggers, and develop healthy coping mechanisms.

Meditation and breathing exercises can help calm your mind and alleviate anxiety. Taking care of your overall well-being through exercise, adequate sleep and a balanced diet also contributes to reduced stress levels and improved focus.

Staying on Track

While the strategies mentioned above can significantly enhance your ability to focus, there may be times when you require additional support or motivation.

Seeking Help

Recognize when you need help and don't hesitate to reach out to others. Other students, teachers, or family member can provide valuable guidance and support. Collaborating with classmates through study groups or seeking clarification from your instructors can help you overcome challenges and maintain focus. Remember, seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Seeking help not only benefits your focus but can also be a gateway to a supportive community. One such community that shares your vision for focused productivity is the Opal community.

By joining the Opal community, you gain access to a network of like-minded individuals who are striving for productivity and focus. You can connect with peers who understand the challenges of maintaining concentration and share valuable insights and strategies. Through the Opal platform, you can engage in discussions, exchange tips, and tricks, and find inspiration from others on the same journey.

Rewarding Yourself

Rewarding yourself for your hard work and accomplishments can serve as a powerful motivator. Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small, and choose appropriate rewards that align with your interests and values. Whether it's indulging in a favorite treat, enjoying leisure time, or engaging in a hobby, these rewards reinforce positive habits and create a sense of satisfaction.

Staying Motivated

Motivation is the driving force behind focused and successful homework sessions. Understand what motivates you and tap into those sources of inspiration. Set long-term goals and break them down into smaller milestones. Celebrate each milestone as you achieve it, and use these accomplishments as fuel to keep you moving forward. Stay positive, maintain a growth mindset, and remind yourself of the bigger picture.

Final Thoughts

Maintaining focus while doing homework is a skill that can be developed with practice and a clear mindset. By creating a study environment conducive to concentration, utilizing effective time management techniques, incorporating breaks and mindfulness, and seeking appropriate support, you can enhance your ability to focus and achieve academic success.

Remember, staying focused is not about eliminating all distractions but rather managing them effectively. So, apply these strategies consistently, harness the power of technology tools like Opal, and make the most of your study time. With a clear mindset and focused approach, you can conquer your assignments and pave the way for a successful academic journey.

To make the most out of every day, learn more about how Opal can be your reliable companion in managing screen time and optimizing your focus during homework and beyond.

Now, armed with these strategies, go forth and conquer your assignments with a clear mind and unwavering focus!

Learn More About Opal Today!

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With a combination of app restrictions, real time feedback and rewards, you can begin to focus better and accomplish your dreams.

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Opal helps you block out apps, notifications, so you can truly focus or simply disconnect. Super important, because remote work means work is always just a glance away. Opal helps increase that distance.

I’m really passionate about the impact Opal has on the brain. I really feel like people, especially athletes, don’t understand what the word “recovery” means. It’s not about giving your muscles a break. It’s about giving your mind a break too from all the sensory input we deal with on a daily basis.

Several people suggested Opal – I tried it out and it does exactly what I need it to do and is much more customizable than Down/Screen Time 💎 👍

I have been using Opal and it has really made me intentional about how and when I use my phone. I'll set a 23 hour timer and literally keep my phone in one room in the house so i don't default to looking at it as a habit (something I did a lot in my first 2 weeks off).

Loving Opal. It's helping me not get super distracted while I'm in a deep work session!

I’ve been managing my social media time with Opal for months and couldn’t recommend it more!

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Lesson Plan: How to Improve Your Focus

If you struggle to sit through a class or complete a homework assignment without wanting to check your phone every few minutes, this lesson can help.

By Natalie Proulx

Lesson Overview

Featured Article: “ How to Focus Like It’s 1990 ” by Dana G. Smith

Do you get distracted easily? When you have a homework assignment to complete, a book to read, an instrument to practice or a room to clean, is it easy for you to stay focused and do it, or does your mind drift and wander? Do you quickly begin to daydream, check your social media feed or think about what you want to eat? Are you distracted by constant dings and pings from your phone? In short, do you find yourself thinking about everything but the task at hand?

If you answered yes, you’re not alone. As Dana G. Smith writes in today’s featured article, “Smartphones, pings and Insta-everything have shortened our attention spans.” In this lesson, you’ll learn how to get some old-school concentration back with tips from experts.

The article you are about to read refers to a 2004 study which found that people averaged two and a half minutes on any given task before switching to something else. By 2012, the average time had dropped to 75 seconds. Now, we spend about 47 seconds on a task, on average.

Discuss with a partner: Do these findings surprise you? Or do they resonate with your experience of trying to concentrate? What do you think could explain the shortening of our attention spans?

How long do you think you can focus on something before you get distracted? Test it out: Grab a stopwatch and start reading the featured article . How long can you read before your mind starts to wander, you get interrupted by a ding on your phone or your brain simply needs a break? Can you beat 47 seconds? If you could, how easy or difficult was that experience for you? What ultimately broke your concentration? Share what you noticed with your partner.

Do you think you need to work on improving your concentration? If you were to try this again, what tips or tricks might you use to help stay focused?

Questions for Writing and Discussion

Read the article , then answer the following questions:

1. What does the study done by Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, show us about attention spans today?

2. What are three things, according to the article, that cause us to get distracted and grab our phones? Which of these, if any, do you tend to experience when you are trying to focus?

3. Turning off notifications is often suggested as a way to reduce distractions. Why won’t this on its own solve the problem of distraction?

4. The article offers three ways we can improve our focus. What are they? Which one sounds most useful for you and why?

5. Dr. Mark and Larry Rosen, a professor emeritus of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, both favor taking tech breaks over going cold turkey and giving up technology altogether. Why? Have you ever tried to give up technology for an hour, a day or longer? How did it go for you?

6. Maryanne Wolf, a professor in residence at the University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, says reading on paper is better than reading on a screen. Why would that be? How often do you read on paper? Do you think it could help you focus? Why or why not?

Going Further

Choose one of the strategies for improving focus recommended in the article and try it out. For example:

The next time you attempt a task you have trouble focusing on — such as doing your homework, practicing the piano or cleaning your room — instead of checking your phone whenever you feel like it, try focusing for 15 minutes and then giving yourself a two-minute tech break. Repeat until you finish the task.

Or, try to increase your self-awareness around your tech use while doing this task. As the article says, “When you have an urge to open Instagram, for example, ask yourself why: Do you feel exhausted and need a break? Will this help restore you? If so, go for it. After a few minutes, check in again and ask if the app is still giving you value. If not, it’s time to get back to work.”

A third option: Try deep reading on paper. Open a physical book (start with something you want to read for pleasure), set an alarm for 20 minutes, put your phone on silent mode, and make yourself read slowly and deliberately.

After you’ve tried out one of these strategies, reflect on how it went for you using the following prompts. You might share your experiences with your classmates.

How easy or difficult was it to sustain your attention using this strategy? Were you able to focus better than you usually do? What challenges did you encounter?

When you did get distracted, what do you think caused it? Did a notification on your phone interrupt you? Did you self-interrupt? Did your brain just need a break? What does this tell you about yourself, and what might help you to stay focused next time?

As Dr. Mark notes, improving your concentration takes practice. Do you think you will continue using this strategy when you need to focus? Why or why not? How do you think increasing your attention span could improve your life?

Find more lesson plans and teaching ideas here.

Natalie Proulx joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2017 after working as an English language arts teacher and curriculum writer. More about Natalie Proulx

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7 Tips for Becoming More Mentally Focused

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

Staying on task can be difficult, but it can be particularly challenging when you are surrounded by constant distractions. In today's always-connected world, diversions are nothing more than a click away, which makes it that much more difficult to figure out how to focus.

Even during quiet moments, distraction is literally at your fingertips as you find yourself checking your social media notifications or the latest news updates.

But being mentally focused is essential for success. The ability to concentrate on something in your environment and direct mental effort toward it is critical for learning new things, achieving goals , and performing well across a wide variety of situations.

Whether you are trying to finish a report at work or competing in a marathon, your ability to focus can mean the difference between success and failure.

Fortunately, focus is a lot like a mental muscle. The more you work on building it up, the stronger it gets.

Becoming more mentally focused is achievable, but that doesn't mean that it's always quick and easy. If it was simple, then we would all have the razor-sharp concentration of an elite athlete.

It will take some real effort on your part and you may have to make some changes to some of your daily habits. Here are some tips and tricks from psychology that can help you learn how to focus and develop laser-like mental concentration.

Press Play for Advice On Staying Motivated

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how to stay motivated and focused even when you don't want to. Click below to listen now.

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Evaluate How Mentally Focused You Are

Studio Firma / Getty Images

Before you start working toward learning how to focus, you might want to begin by assessing just how strong your mental focus is at the present moment.

You find it easy to stay alert

You set goals and break tasks up into smaller parts

You take short breaks, then get back to work

You daydream regularly

You can't tune out distractions

You lose track of your progress

If the first set of statements seems more your style, then you probably already have fairly good concentration skills, but you could be even stronger with a little practice.

If you identify more with the second set of statements, then you probably need to work on your mental focus quite a bit. It might take some time, but practicing some good habits and being mindful of your distractibility can help.

Eliminate Distractions

While it may sound obvious, people often underestimate just how many distractions prevent them from concentrating on the task at hand. Such intrusions might come in the form of a radio blaring in the background or perhaps an obnoxious co-worker who constantly drops by your cubicle to chat.

Minimizing these sources of distraction isn't always as easy as it sounds. While it might be as simple as turning off the television or radio, you might find it much more challenging to deal with an interrupting co-worker, spouse, child, or roommate.

One way to deal with this is to set aside a specific time and place and request to be left alone for that period of time. Another alternative is to seek out a calm location where you know you will be able to work undisturbed. The library, a private room in your house, or even a quiet coffee shop might all be good spots to try.

Not all distractions come from outside sources. Exhaustion, worry , anxiety, poor motivation, and other internal disturbances can be particularly difficult to avoid.

A few strategies you might want to try to minimize or eliminate such internal distractions are to make sure you are well-rested prior to the task and to use positive thoughts and imagery to fight off anxiety and worry. If you find your mind wandering toward distracting thoughts, consciously bring your focus back to the task at hand.

Limit Your Focus

While multitasking may seem like a great way to get a lot done quickly, it turns out that people are actually rather bad at it. Juggling multiple tasks at once can dramatically cut down on productivity and makes it much harder to hone in on the details that are truly important.

Attentional resources are limited so it is important to budget them wisely.

Think of your attention as a spotlight. If you shine that spotlight on one particular area, you can see things very clearly. If you were to try to spread that same amount of light across a large dark room, you might instead only glimpse the shadowy outlines.

Mindful Moment

Need a breather? Take this free 10-minute meditation focused on finding clarity —or choose from our guided meditation library to find another one that will help you feel your best.

Part of knowing how to focus is making the most of the resources you have available. Stop multitasking and instead give your full attention to one thing at a time.

Live in the Moment

It's tough to stay mentally focused when you are ruminating about the past, worrying about the future, or tuned out of the present moment for some other reason.

You have probably heard people talk about the importance of " being present ." It's all about putting away distractions, whether they are physical (your mobile phone) or psychological (your anxieties) and being fully mentally engaged in the current moment.

This notion of being present is also essential for recapturing your mental focus. Staying engaged in the here and now keeps your attention sharp and your mental resources honed in on the details that really matter at a specific point in time.

It may take some time but work on learning to truly live in the moment. You cannot change the past and the future has not happened yet, but what you do today can help you avoid repeating past mistakes and pave a path for a more successful future.

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a hot topic right now, and for good reason. Despite the fact that people have practiced forms of mindfulness meditation for thousands of years, its many health benefits are only recently starting to be understood.

In one study, researchers had human resources professionals engage in simulations of the sort of complex multitasking they engaged in each day at work.  

These tasks had to be completed in 20 minutes and included answering phones, scheduling meetings, and writing memos with sources of information pouring in from multiple sources including by phone calls, emails, and text messages.

Some of the participants received 8 weeks of training in the use of mindfulness meditation , and the results found that only those who had received this training showed improvement in concentration and focus.

Members of the meditation group were able to stay on task longer, switched between tasks less frequently, and performed the work more efficiently than the other groups of participants.

Practicing mindfulness can involve learning how to meditate, but it can also be as simple as trying a quick and easy deep breathing exercise .

Quick Tip to Regain Focus

Start by taking several deep breaths while really focusing on each and every breath. When you feel your mind naturally begin to wander, gently and uncritically guide your focus back to your deep breathing.

While this might seem like a deceptively simple task, you may find that it is actually much more difficult than it appears. Fortunately, this breathing activity is something you can do anywhere and anytime. Eventually, you will probably find that it becomes easier to disengage from intrusive thoughts and return your focus to where it belongs.

Take a Short Break

Caiaimage / Paul Viant / Getty Images

Have you ever tried to stay mentally focused on the same thing for a long period of time? After a while, your focus starts to break down and it becomes more and more difficult to devote your mental resources to the task. Not only that, but your performance ultimately suffers as a result.

Traditional explanations in psychology have suggested that this is due to attentional resources being depleted, but some researchers believe that it has more to do with the brain's tendency to ignore sources of constant stimulation.

Researchers have found that even taking very brief breaks by shifting your attention elsewhere can dramatically improve mental focus.  

So the next time you are working on a prolonged task, such as preparing your taxes or studying for an exam, be sure to give yourself an occasional mental break.

Shift your attention to something unrelated to the task at hand, even if it is only for a few moments. These short moments of respite might mean that you are able to keep your mental focus sharp and your performance high when you really need it.

Keep Practicing

Building your mental focus is not something that will happen overnight. Even professional athletes require plenty of time and practice in order to strengthen their concentration skills.

One of the first steps is to recognize the impact that being distracted is having on your life. If you are struggling to accomplish your goals and find yourself getting sidetracked by unimportant details, it is time to start placing a higher value on your time .

By building your mental focus, you will find that you are able to accomplish more and concentrate on the things in life that truly bring you success, joy, and satisfaction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Mental focus refers to your ability to concentrate on relevant information in your environment. This ability allows you to attend to things that require attention, complete tasks that you need to accomplish, and acquire new information.

While every person differs, the following strategies can help you stay mentally focused: 

• Get enough sleep each night
• Reduce the distractions in your environment
• Focus on one task at a time
• Try to be more present in the moment
• Practice mindfulness
• Give yourself short breaks to clear your mind
• Limit your social media use
• Utilize effective time management strategies, such as the Pomodoro technique

In order to focus, the brain needs to filter out irrelevant information to concentrate on what really matters. Different types of attention can affect your ability to focus. Selective attention , for example, acts like a spotlight to highlight specific stimuli in your environment. Sustained attention, on the other hand, allows you to stay mentally focused on something for an extended period of time.

Strategies that can help you boost your concentration and focus over time include:

• Brain training and brain games
• Regular exercise
• Spending time in nature
• Eating a balanced diet
• Taking supplements to boost brain health
• Improving your sleep

Levy D, Wobbrock J, Kaszniak A, Ostergren M. The effects of mindfulness meditation training on multitasking in a high-stress information environment . Proceedings - Graphics Interface . 2012;45-52. 

Ariga A, & Lleras A. Brief and rare mental breaks keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements . Cognition . 2011;118(3):439-443. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.007

Ariga, A, & Lleras, A. Brief and rare mental breaks keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. Cognition. 2011;118(3):439-443. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.007.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

8 Effective Tools for Staying Focused and Getting Stuff Done

It can feel harder than ever to stay on task; here's how you can..

Posted August 22, 2020 | Reviewed by Kaja Perina

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What do innumerable Zoom meetings, an unceasingly stressful new cycle, a pandemic, working from home, a steady stream of smartphone alerts, and general uncertainty all have in common?

Each of these strains our ability to feel centered, focus, and get things done.

And if you find it hard to focus even under the best of circumstances (whatever those are), it can feel practically impossible to do so now.

The good news is that even given conditions that are far less than ideal, it is possible to be more focused and get things done .

(Take it from someone who has struggled with attention and focus her entire life!)

And even better news— you don’t need to sustain laser-like focus for hours at a clip in order to get things done.

Of course, the most basic foundation for focusing is to take good care of yourself.

So, do what you already know is important.

Get regular exercise. Exercise has been shown to cause changes in the brain that enhance the ability to focus. And exercise has other cognitive and mental health benefits, as well.

In addition, eat well. Stay hydrated. Practice good stress management . Get a good night’s sleep. Meditate.

And let go of perfect for now (and honestly, just let go of it, period).

What else can you do?

1. Pay attention to your normal escape behaviors—and manage them .

Escape behaviors are those things you do to alleviate the stress or boredom that crops up whenever you have to work on a specific task or assignment.

For many people, the go-to escape behavior may be to snack mindlessly; for others, it will be to become suddenly fatigued, or click on every email alert that pops up.

The key to managing escape behaviors is planning ahead . So, if your escape behavior is to snack, portion out a reasonable amount of a healthy snack and put the box away before sitting down to work. You can eat the snack quickly or slowly but when it’s gone, that’s it. And remember to factor that snack into your day’s meals.

If your escape behavior is to become suddenly sleepy , note this ahead of time. Have water or tea, etc. with you before you sit down to work, or use a standing desk attachment to help prevent feeling sluggish.

And if your escape behavior shows up as checking every email, or surfing the net – see the next tip.

2. Take a Technology Time Out.

Before sitting down to work, silence all non-essential apps, close all programs and windows other than the one you’ll be using, and turn off all phone alerts. Seriously.

Remind yourself that you can look at these things when you’re taking a longer break (see the following tip), but not before.

3. Reward Your Brain with Structured Breaks .

Many people think that in order to be productive, they have to work for several hours straight without stopping. This is neither true nor ideal.

It’s actually easier to stay on task when there is a concrete end or break in sight. Create a realistic schedule of work alternating with breaks.

There’s the popular “Pomodoro Technique,” which is based on 25-minute work sessions followed by 5-minute breaks. For example, someone’s daily goal to work on a specific project might be 3 or 4 pomodoros, followed by a longer break.

Others will work in 30-minute blocks followed by 7-minute breaks, or 48-minute blocks with 12 minutes breaks, etc.

Make sure to stand up and stretch during each break, and stay away from the computer (and even better, away from any sort of screen time ) during the break.

You can use brief breaks to do laundry, prepare food, stretch, and so forth.

After a few of these work/rest cycles, reward yourself with a longer break.

Remember, your brain is much more likely to cooperate with the demands you’re placing on it if you reward it for doing what you ask of it.

4. Make a SMART List...

...of your goals for the next day. Do this at night before you go to bed.

It’s a “smart” list because both the list—and the goals on it—are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-restricted.

Give yourself no more than 5 minutes to jot down your goals. This means that you can’t obsess about them or go down a rabbit hole of looking things up, and so forth.

Remember, at this point, you’re not actually working on the project ; you are basically outlining what you’ll need to do so that you have an easy-to-follow outline ready for when you actually sit down to do the work tomorrow.

Then, for each broad goal, write a bulleted list of the tasks required to complete that goal. Keep the lists short and to the point. If your goal is to work on a presentation for next week, the bullet points might include scheduling a time frame in which you’ll work on this, creating 20 slides, and rehearsing your talk. That’s it.

5. Plan for External Distractions .

For example, we have three dogs, and if they are awake, they are barking—at a squirrel outside, to go for a walk, when they are hungry, and so forth. We've learned that they are less barky during the day if they have a decent morning walk, have eaten well, and have gotten their morning treats (I know...).

The solution is not for these guys to suddenly have no needs whatsoever; it’s for me to anticipate their needs, make sure they are met, and try to create some sort of (imperfect) structure that works both for them and for me.

Planning ahead and being flexible reduces my stress and theirs.

6. Add Binaural Beat Technology to Your Toolbox.

Binaural beat technology (BBT) is a type of brainwave entrainment that uses auditory tones to shift one’s predominant brainwave state into something more appropriate or relevant to the task at hand.

How does BBT work? When tones of different frequencies are played in each ear, the brain will hear the difference between these tones, rather than hearing each one separately.

It is the frequency (in hertz) of this difference that creates a shift in the brain.

Lower frequencies are associated with deep, dreamless sleep (delta), deep meditation or REM sleep (theta), and feeling relaxed, but awake (alpha). Higher frequencies shift the brain into being focused and alert (mid-beta), and having greater cognitive flexibility, creativity , and focus (gamma).

BBT is frequently combined with music, guided imagery, nature sounds, or some combination of these. There are a number of popular apps and audio downloads that feature beta, gamma, or a combination of these frequencies to enhance focus. Listen to BBT using headphones and while working on a task.

7. Release Resistance and Be in the Now.

Surrender to the fact that right now, you probably will not find yourself working in the same way as you did previously.

The interruptions you face now are different from the ones you had a lifetime to become accustomed to. Give yourself time to adjust to new workday interruptions (e.g., the doorbell ringing, kids and pets demanding attention, innumerable video meetings).

8. Do Your Best—and Be Kind to Yourself.

Remember, all anyone can do is their best at any given moment. Human beings are resourceful and adaptable and resilient . It’s how we’ve survived as a species. But adapting to something new is a process.

Understand that it’s normal to feel fatigued, and scattered, and wish things were different right now.

Allow yourself to have these feelings. These emotions are your truth of the moment.

And then breathe, set a timer, and do what you need to do.

Facebook /LinkedIn image: Klever LeveL/Shutterstock

Basso, J. C., & Suzuki, W. A. (2017). The effects of acute exercise on mood, cognition, neurophysiology, and neurochemical pathways: a review. Brain Plasticity, 2(2), 127-152.

Colzato, L. S., Barone, H., Sellaro, R., & Hommel, B. (2017). More attentional focusing through binaural beats: Evidence from the global–local task. Psychological research, 81(1), 271-277.

Reedijk, S. A., Bolders, A., & Hommel, B. (2013). The impact of binaural beats on creativity. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 7, 786.

Vysniauske, R., Verburgh, L., Oosterlaan, J., & Molendijk, M. L. (2020). The effects of physical exercise on functional outcomes in the treatment of ADHD: a meta-analysis. Journal of attention disorders, 24(5), 644-654.

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How to Stay Focused on Homework: 13 Easy Tips

Whether you’re a 15 year old and trying to pass the 10th grade or doing your Master’s degree and trying to complete the required reading, learning how to stay focused on homework is a lifelong skill that can feel boring and painful at times, but is necessary.

We learn to dread homework growing up, viewing it as the thing that gets in the way of our recreational time.

Who wants to be doing math problems when they could be outside playing with their friends?

Who wants to deal with pages of required reading or worry about staying focused when studying when they could be watching the latest bingeworthy shows on Netflix?

I’m not here to argue for or against the necessity of homework itself, but instead that sometimes, doing homework is a part of life.

And if we want to succeed in life, we have to do the homework.

We have to get motivated to write that essay , we have to get motivated to study , and we have to learn to stay focused on our goals .

Staying focused on homework when there are so many other distractions competing for our attention can be difficult, so in this post we’re going to get real, get honest, and talk about how to stay focused on homework even when you’d rather be doing anything else.

Study Tools You Need RIght Now

1. See How Fast You Can Get it Done Accurately

Getting your homework done quickly is usually the goal for most people, and while you don’t want to sacrifice accuracy, making a game out of it and seeing how fast you can get your homework done is usually a great way to stay focused on your homework.

There is a theory that we use as much time for tasks as we give ourselves, so it may be that actually you can write a good essay in 2 hours, when normally you would take 6 hours.

How much of that 6 hours is spent being distracted and wandering around your room aimlessly?

When we limit our time, we can get things done faster.

This isn’t to say that you should try and do 56 math problems in 2 minutes or sacrifice actually learning the material, but making a game to see how fast you can accurately do your homework is a great way to stay focused because now instead of just trying to focus on the content, you are focused on the goal of completing it and that will carry you through when it gets hard to stay focused.

2. Give Yourself a Reward When You Finish

It’s the only trick in the book, but that’s because it works and is one of my best productivity tips .

If you’re find it difficult to stay focused on your homework, make sure to promise yourself some sort of award when you finish.

For example, if you finish your book report, you can watch 30 minutes of your favorite TV show.

If you finish your math problems, you can have the snack you’ve been wanting since you got home.

Those of us adults with homework can also do this, but in bigger ways.

When you finish your dissertation, reward yourself by buying the new purse you’ve been keeping your eye on.

When you finish your physics problems, you can call a friend and go meet up for dinner.

Human nature is to work best when we are working towards something, and this is another way of keeping you focused on your homework by keeping you focused on the reward that will come from staying focused and completing your goal.

3. Find a New Way to Study

Sometimes, focus comes down to what you’re actually doing to learn the material.

For instance, I never learned well just rereading my notes to study for tests, and I found it much easier to use index cards to create questions and quiz myself with.

If part of your homework is studying for a test or something that you’re able to do in a way that makes more sense to you, do that!

We had quite a few projects that I was able to be more creative on that really helped keep me focused on working on them because I was much more interested.

If you’re having major problems focusing on your homework, check to see that you’re picking topics that really interest you, where possible, or talk to your teachers or professors to let them know that you’re struggling and see if they have any creative suggestions on how you could learn the material.

You can also use something like ClickUp to help you organize your homework and studying virtually.

4. Create a Study Group and Set a Goal

Study groups aren’t always good for focusing on homework because by the end of it, you’ve devolved into planning your Spring Break and no one has stuck to the plan or gotten much work done.

However, I like study groups as a way to stay focused on school work when you have a goal in mind. For instance, you could meet up and say you’re not going to leave the library until you’ve finished the project or you could say you’re not going to leave until you all feel confident that you could pass a test on Chapter 7 or you won’t finish until everyone has finished and understands how to do all of the math problems.

Having a study group just to have a study group isn’t always helpful, but with a clear outcome in mind, you can at least try and keep the socializing to a minimum until you go out and celebrate later for having finished.

You can also do it virtually with a platform like Zoom , which I talk about in my list of productivity tools .

This is also a great time to actually be honest with yourself about who that you know would make a good study group.

5. Do the Hardest Homework First

Our ability to focus goes down the longer we work on something, so if you have 4 hours of homework in 4 different subjects, you should start with what you find hardest first when your focus can be at its peak.

By the time you reach the fourth hour, you may be really wishing you had something that was much easier to focus on because you will naturally lose the willpower and ability to stay focused for that long.

This sometimes goes against our natural inclinations to save the hardest homework for last because we don’t want to deal with it until later, but putting it off makes it even harder to focus.

6. Listen to Instrumental Music

For some people, music can help keep them stay calm when stressed and is a good idea when trying to focus on homework, but make sure it’s the right kind of music.

For me, music with words is actually really difficult to have on in the background while I work on something also related to words (reading or writing or trying to understand concepts) because it uses that part of my brain to try and sing along.

I find that instrumental music is much better, whether it’s just basic instrumental music, instrumental covers of my favorite songs, or dedicated study playlists that use music that is actually thought to improve your concentration based on the tones of the sounds it creates.

You can find tons of these on Youtube and just put it on in the background as you try to get to work.

7. Create Your Perfect Environment

Equally, some of us find it super hard to focus with any noises in the background.

The aim of the game when it comes to focusing on homework has to do with creating your perfect environment and testing different environments to see what works for you.

Some people will find it easy to work in a library filled with other people working and walking around, while others will want to be in a cubicle with nothing else going on around them.

Some will want complete silence, others will want to blare music.

You should also think about the actual physical way you do your homework and whether that’s helping you.

There is a big difference for some people in the ability to focus when you’re laying down on your bed versus sitting at a dedicated desk, or working outside versus working inside.

Create the best environment you can before you get started on your homework and you’ll make it that much easier for yourself to focus.

8. Complete It In 20 Minute Chunks

Most people can focus for about 15-30 minutes before needing a quick break to look at something else or just stop looking at whatever they’re working on for a minute or two.

If you chunk your homework down into 20 minute chunks and aim to complete one at a time, this is actually a really useful way to stay focused because it’s not as daunting and you can focus on getting through one chunk at a time.

You can do this in so many ways, like chunking down the math problems and doing 10 at a time before you take a break, or reading a certain number of pages before you take 5 minutes to look up from your book.

Do everything in your power to make focusing seem less challenging, and your mind and body will more easily cooperate.

9. Get a Tutor

Sometimes, a study group of your friends isn’t necessarily the best idea under many circumstances, but a tutor almost always is.

Unlike a social companion, they’re there basically to help you focus on studying and to help coach you through anything you find difficult.

Having that external person who is sitting with you and helping you chunk down your work and setting goals for you is exactly what some people need to get their homework done in a productive way.

The level of tutor you need depends on what you’re working on.

If you just want someone to help you with the material who has done it before, you could ask someone a few grades above you to help out.

Equally, some families hire tutors for children with learning disabilities or those who are really struggling in a topic, and in this case the tutor may have a lot more experience in behavior and helping people to get the work done that goes beyond having done it beore.

10. Plan to Teach it to Others

Teaching the material to others is always a great way to help yourself stay focused when learning, because believe it or not, you’re learning to!

I used to teach my stuffed animals the material after I had done some homework on it, but you can also try and teach it to anyone to see how much you remember.

Many times, this transition into an active way of learning rather than passive is a great way to stay focused on studying and get things done instead of just hoping you remember it.

11. Use Website Blockers on Your Computer

If your problems with staying focused on your homework come down to other distractions, you can install plenty of software on your computer or phone that actually block certain websites when you tell them to.

You could block social media so you’re not taking breaks to scroll Instagram, block the entire internet or turn off the WiFi if you’re trying to focus on reading but can’t help continue to go on Reddit every couple of minutes, etc.

Staying focused isn’t just a “you” problem, it is a pretty prevalent human problem, especially in the modern world where we have more distractions than ever before.

So be strong, block the websites and apps, and then get down to business.

Not giving yourself the option to go on them means you don’t have to use up willpower trying not to.

You could also do this by giving someone else your password to your social media accounts and having them change it and not telling you what it is so it’s impossible for you to get in.

12. Make a To-Do List with Color Coding

For us visual people, making color coded to-do lists isn’t just an Instagrammable organizational tip, but a big life hack that helps us stay on track and be more productive.

If you’re struggling with your homework and staying focused, make a list each day of exactly what you need to do and use color codings, post-it notes or another visual way of checking things off to work through your list.

The more that you visually see completed on the paper, the more motivated you’ll be to keep staying focused and getting through the rest.

When you don’t have a list, it can feel like you’re not making any progress.

13. Use a Highlighter When Reading

If your homework involves reading or studying, you can also take an active role in this by using a highlighter to highlight important passages or use a pen to make notes next to the reading as you go.

This is proven to keep you more engaged in the material, which in turn will keep you more focused on your reading.

When you’re forcing yourself to engage with and respond to the material, you’re much more likely to remember and stay focused on it as opposed to what happens when you just passively read a book or read over your notes.

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Seven smart tricks to stay focused on schoolwork and projects

Each new school year brings new challenges -- and new distractions. It's harder than ever to stay focused on work or on studying, but there are old and new tricks to help keep our mind on the game.

Whether you're a freshman noob, a gray-haired grad student, or even a long-term member of the professional elite, you most likely have trouble focusing on your tasks at times. Modern tech is lovely, but it's also a nonstop parade of distractions that can tear down the resolve of the strongest wills. Here are some tricks to help you overcome electronic distractions as you study or work.

• Wear headphones. This is especially true if you have to work around other people, but even if you're on your own, this helps you focus (as long as you have the right music playing, of course). Not only are people less likely to bug you with trivia, you should find that your sense of space narrows to a small shell around you and keeps your attention focused on whatever is right in front of you. Even white noise can help if music is in itself a distraction for you! 
• Turn off anything you don't need. Be ruthless! Unless you have a family member at the hospital or someone who needs a ride from the airport, you can turn off your phone. Same goes for e-mail, instant-messaging apps, Facebook, and anything else that might ping you. Even if you ignore it, the signals are shaking up your attention. If you can turn off your Net connection entirely (for studying or some writing tasks, for example), so much the better. 
• Monitor your time-wasters.   RescueTime  is a great, free service that will keep track of the sites and apps you use over time, then tell you about it in excruciating, possibly embarrassing detail. (Don't worry, your information is all kept strictly confidential.) This can be enlightening, as you might not realize how much or how little time you spent on any given distraction. Some may be harmless! 
• Block distracting sites. If you need the Net for research or communication with study buddies, you can still keep yourself from wandering over to Reddit or that one Tumblr with pictures of animals wearing socks.  LeechBlock  is a Firefox add-on that lets you set up sites to block and times to block them.  StayFocusd  is a Chrome extension that does much the same thing. You may feel weird spending time setting it up, but you are almost certain to save time in the long run. 
• Use multiple machines or desktops. Not all of us can afford multiple computers, but if you have some extra cash, buying an inexpensive computer (maybe running Ubuntu Linux for extra savings) that is dedicated to work can pay off. Load it only with the apps you need to get your work done, then take it somewhere nice and quiet for work. A cheaper, but less effective, trick is to use multiple desktops. Macs have  Mission Control  built in, and Windows users can use the free  Dexpot  app to run multiple desktops. 
• Use multiple accounts. Another great, cheap trick is to log out of your computer, then log back in as a guest. You won't have nearly as many distracting bells and whistles, and it's so easy that pretty much anyone can do it. Of course, you'll need to keep yourself from just logging back in every few minutes, but inertia is the best friend of willpower. 
• Set up a reward system. This is somewhat advanced and requires extra willpower, but is also completely tech-independent. Set up a system that lets you goof off (or plow through e-mail, or tag your music files, or whatever) for 10 minutes following an hour of uninterrupted work. Of course, you may need to vary the times somewhat to suit your needs, but try not to let your work period fall much under a half-hour or so, especially if you're working on a large, complex project. If you try it and still find yourself checking Twitter every few minutes, this one isn't for you, so scroll back up the list until you find something that works. 

Some combination of these should help you channel your inner monk and get that big project done on time. Good luck!

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How To Focus On Homework And Score Top Grades (Really)

The term homework is one that many students would rather not hear mentioned. Furthermore, the subject of homework has sparked such a heated debate among scholars – is it necessary or not? However, this article’s focus is to help students at all levels learn how to stay focused while doing homework.

If homework is not your favorite, do not skip this post. You never know what the end of it holds for you.

What Is Homework?

Although this may be a cliché to many already, it would be prudent to have a working definition to guide this discussion. As the root word suggests, homework is schoolwork done outside school – especially at home. Teachers may assign homework based on:

What the students have learned that day in class What the teacher intents to teach the following day Some of the concepts that brought difficulty to the students

Students are therefore required to carry this assignment at home and complete it on their own. However, as we will see in our discussion, this is not always easy. Most students, whether kindergarten kids, college or university students, have trouble focusing on their homework.

How To Focus On Homework – Why Is It Necessary?

Research has shown that homework plays a critical role in the life of any student. Some of the reasons why homework assignments are necessary to include:

• It helps students understand concepts better.
• Teachers can gauge the understanding of the students
• It keeps students engaged while at home
• Parents can be part of their student’s academic journey through such tasks.

Therefore, all students need to learn how to focus on homework to achieve the above objectives and more. Learning how to stay focused on assignment is necessary in the following manner:

Students will be able to complete assignments on time. When students know how to ward off any homework distractions, they can fully concentrate on their homework and complete it on time. It helps them write correct answers. Students who know how to focus on homework can research well and develop the right solutions for their assignments. They will also be able to avoid minor grammatical and spellings errors in their papers. It makes a complex assignment seem easy! With a total concentration on a particular homework problem, students can easily find answers even to the most challenging issues.

That is why you need to master how to concentrate on h/w. It is a skill that has helped many students finish their assignments and score top-tier grades even at the college level. You are not an exception either! Once you cultivate the skill of how to focus better on homework, the returns will be rewarding.

But why can’t I focus on homework? You may ask.

Can’t Focus On Homework? Here Is Why?

• A long day at school: The long, tiresome school activities can wear you out to the point of failing to focus on your homework. Some may not even want to see their books anywhere close to them.
• Complex assignments: Some of the technical tasks can turn you off completely. For instance, failing to find an answer after four or more attempts can make you lose your concentration.
• Unfinished businesses: In the process of trying to complete your homework, you may remember an errand you were to make. Sometimes, you may have promised to pay a courtesy call to a particular friend. All these will raise a sense of anxiety in you and derail your concentration levels.
• Environmental factors: There are times when the downpour is so heavy that you lose concentration. A stubborn bird that likes to rest next to your window can also be a distraction.
• Emotional disorders: Although many may not know this, emotions and attitudes play a crucial role in concentration. If you are experiencing any form of emotional instability, you may not be able to complete your assignment as planned.
• Noise from around: Your neighbor might decide to show you how loud his home theatre system can go. Your siblings might also distract by noise from their toys or video games. None of these will keep your mind fully on the homework.
• You might be lazy! Please don’t feel like I am too hard on you. Laziness is a common thing that affects everyone – even the president feels sluggish at times! It can distract a student from focusing on the homework and completing it.

All these might distract you to the point of screaming (like I did some time last year). However, there are working tips and advice from expert writers that can help you concentrate on homework. Let’s have a look at them.

What To Do When You Can’t Focus On Homework

Use the following tricks to focus when doing your homework:

• Get some rest after coming home from school: The human mind also gets tired, just like any other body part. Therefore, you can take a shower and a little nap after school before engaging in your homework. A fresh mind is a catalyst to total concentration.
• Have all the materials you need beforehand: It is essential to assemble all the tools necessary for your homework before starting. Collate all the stationery and refreshments you may need in advance. It prevents getting up now and then to get a forgotten ruler or calculator from the other room or classmate next door.
• Choose the best time for completing your homework: Research shows that the mind works best early in the morning. You can decide to rest early and wake up in the morning to complete your assignment. After all, your stubborn siblings and the noisy neighbor will not be awake by this time.
• Have an order of completing your tasks: For instance, math homework can contain both problematic and simple sums. You can alternate these two so that you do not end up tackling five technical aggregates at the same time that will drain you off quickly.
• Get rid of destructions: Things such as music, television, computers, mobile phones, and other electronic gadgets can be a huge distraction. It would be wise of you to put them away when completing your homework not to be distracted. If possible, you can switch them off.
• Complete urgent errands first: Before sitting down to begin your homework, ensure that you have completed every chore you were assigned. It will enable you to focus your mind entirely on your task and not on the incomplete errands you have to go.
• Make a cup of coffee! It can do the magic perfectly well. When you feel like your concentration levels are getting low, especially during the night, you can make one for yourself. It will also keep you from dosing off amid the work.
• Listening to soft, soothing music: Psychologists say that the mind works best when a conducive environment is created. Slow music playing in the background can help maintain your concentration levels during studying. However, loud music is not recommended for such cases.
• Take a glass of water: Long hours of completing assignments can dehydrate your brain. The result of this is loss of concentration. Taking water hydrates it and thus increases brain activity. You will be able to focus on your homework once again as if you just began.
• Keep your mind up and alert: Psychologists have recommended chewing gum as a way of engaging your mind and keeping it active. It will help you maintain focus on your homework to the end.
• Avoid sugary foods: Things like sweets, chocolate, juice, or biscuits are a no-go zone if you wish to focus on your homework. They will only work to reduce your brain activity and make you sleepy.

The tips discussed above are only practical when implemented. Some of them may require you to push yourself to the limit, but they are necessary if you want to score top-notch grades. Remember that practice makes perfect!

How To Do Homework Without Getting Distracted During COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic struck the whole world with a bang destabilizing almost every system. Education has not been spared either, and students have to adopt new and creative ways of completing homework amid the pandemic.

Here are some expert ideas:

• Limit your exposure to COVID-19 related news: The more you watch the news or read social media posts on coronavirus, the more you get anxious and distracted. Get verifiable facts from the WHO website or trusted government sources. These will reduce panic and give you ample time to complete your homework without losing focus.
• Adhering to the coronavirus prevention protocols: By following the laid down measures, you will not have to start doubting yourself when completing your homework. For instance, if you washed your hands, avoided physical contact, and wore your mask all day while in school, you would not have to fear the risk of exposure to the virus.
• Staying calm and composed: It is essential to focus your mind on the homework rather than the mere gossip you’ve heard all day long concerning the virus. A calm and composed mind will focus on the need of the hour, which is the homework and not any other thing.

Although the virus has ravaged the whole world in diverse ways, remaining optimistic will give you the calm mind necessary for completing your homework.

How To Stop Getting Distracted From Homework In Remote Learning

Most schools have adopted the distance learning approach, and students must complete their homework online. It comes with its fair share of distractions which may hinder effectiveness in the completion of tasks.

However, you can put off homework distractions in remote learning with the following tactics:

• Avoid visiting unnecessary sites: When conducting your research online, refrain from visiting places such as YouTube or Netflix to check the latest music or movies. Doing this will help you focus on the assignment at hand.
• Make sure that your laptop accessories are working: These include the laptop charger, mouse, or keyboard. When all these are in perfect condition, you will complete your homework online with ease.
• Have a stable internet connection: Remote learning depends on internet connectivity, and any interference on this can bring overwhelming frustrations on the part of the student. That is why you have to ensure that you have the proper bandwidth for completing your assignment online.
• Avoid the temptation of browsing outside the homework scope: While online, you might remember a particular fact or feature you wanted to Google during the day. It will only serve to take your focus away from the homework. Stick to your homework scope and do not deviate.
• Avoid social media sites as plague: You might think to yourself, ‘let me see what people are talking about on Twitter for two minutes, then come back to my assignment.’ The two minutes can end up being two hours. Social media sites have a way of attracting you and making your stay there all day long.

With the advancements in technology, computers can now know your preferences and automatically present to you what you like. Clicking on a link or visiting a site that is irrelevant to your homework will distract your attention. If possible, block any ads that may pop up in your remote learning course, as this may make you lose focus.

Final Words On How To Focus On Homework

We have seen the necessity of homework, some of the distractions, and how to handle them. Remember that homework, just like any other assignment in class, requires your maximum attentiveness. In some institutions, task amounts to the final grades, making it necessary to handle it with utmost precision.

Perhaps you have tried any of the expert tips above and still failed to focus; we are here to offer you quality homework assistance. You will find suggestions on how to focus on homework and experts who can help you complete those tedious homework problems.

Are you aspiring to score an A+ with professional writing help? We are here for you! Let us relieve you of that homework burden and give you all the time you need to socialize with your friends.

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How to Stay on Top of Assignments: Tips and Strategies

Jack Wright

Staying on top of your assignments can be a challenge. It requires organization, discipline, and time management skills. Fortunately, there are a number of strategies you can use to stay organized and on top of your tasks. Read on to learn more about how to stay on top of assignments.

Breaking Down Assignments into Manageable Tasks

The first step in staying on top of assignments is breaking them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This will help you break large tasks down into smaller chunks that are easier to tackle. It will also help you keep track of what needs to be done and when. You can use a task list to keep track of the different components of each assignment and make sure you stay on track.

When breaking down assignments into smaller tasks, it is important to prioritize the tasks. Start with the most important tasks first and work your way down the list. This will help you stay focused and ensure that you are completing the most important tasks first. Additionally, it is important to set realistic deadlines for each task. This will help you stay on track and ensure that you are completing the assignment on time.

Prioritizing Your Assignments

Once you’ve broken down your assignments into more manageable tasks, it’s important to prioritize them. This will help you determine which tasks are most important and need to be done first. You can prioritize tasks based on importance, urgency, due date, or any other criteria you deem necessary. Make sure to take into account any deadlines or other time constraints when ordering tasks. This will help you stay on top of when assignments are due and which tasks should be completed first.

When prioritizing your tasks, it’s important to be realistic about how much time you have to complete them. If you have a lot of tasks that need to be done in a short amount of time, it’s important to prioritize the most important tasks first. This will help you ensure that you are able to complete the most important tasks before the deadline. Additionally, it’s important to take breaks in between tasks to help you stay focused and motivated. Taking breaks will help you stay productive and on track with your assignments.

Setting Deadlines and Sticking to Them

An effective way to stay on top of assignments is to set deadlines for yourself and stick to them. This will help ensure that you are meeting your deadlines and completing tasks on time. Setting realistic deadlines is key – if you set unrealistic goals for yourself it can be difficult to stay motivated and make progress. When setting deadlines for yourself, make sure to allow enough time for any unexpected delays or other factors that could affect your progress.

It is also important to break down large tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks. This will help you to stay focused and motivated, as well as make it easier to track your progress. Additionally, it is important to reward yourself for meeting your deadlines. This could be something as simple as taking a break or treating yourself to something special. This will help to reinforce the positive behavior of meeting your deadlines and staying on top of your tasks.

Working Ahead of Schedule

Whenever possible, try to work ahead of schedule. This is a great way to stay ahead of deadlines and make sure you don’t get caught up in last-minute scrambling. Working ahead can also help alleviate the stress that comes with having a lot of assignments due at once. It can also help you manage your time more efficiently, as you can spread out your work over a longer period of time.

Additionally, working ahead of schedule can help you to identify any potential problems or issues with your work before it is due. This can help you to make any necessary changes or adjustments before the deadline, ensuring that you submit the best possible work. Working ahead of schedule can also help you to stay organized and on top of your tasks, allowing you to focus on the quality of your work.

Taking Breaks to Recharge and Refresh

It’s important to take breaks while working on assignments to recharge and refresh. Working too long without taking a break can lead to burnout and fatigue, making it harder to stay focused on your tasks. Taking regular breaks can help boost productivity and focus, as well as helping maintain your motivation levels. Breaks don’t have to be long – even a 10-minute break can be beneficial.

Utilizing Technology to Stay Organized and On Track

There are a number of tools and technologies available that can help you stay organized and on top of your assignments. These include apps like Google Calendar, which allow you to organize your tasks and set reminders for yourself. There are also project management tools such as Trello and Asana, which help you plan out projects and keep track of progress. Utilizing these tools can make it easier to manage your tasks and assignments.

Delegating Tasks When Necessary

When faced with a large number of assignments or tasks, it can be helpful to delegate some of the work. Delegating tasks can help make sure that everything gets done in a timely manner and that no tasks are forgotten or overlooked. It can also help take some of the pressure off of you as you don’t have to do everything yourself. When delegating tasks make sure the person is capable of completing the task in the allotted timeframe.

Getting Help When Needed

If you’re struggling with an assignment or task, don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s always better to get help sooner rather than later, as this will help ensure that the task gets done correctly and on time. You can seek help from friends, family, teachers, or even online sources like forums and chatrooms. If you’re having trouble with an assignment, don’t hesitate to ask for assistance.

Developing Good Habits for Long-Term Success

Finally, developing good habits is key for long-term success when it comes to staying on top of assignments. This includes things like creating a daily schedule and sticking to it, taking regular breaks, setting realistic deadlines, and asking for help when needed. Developing these habits can make it easier to stay organized and on top of your assignments in the long run.

By following these tips, you can stay organized and on top of your assignments. It takes practice and dedication, but with the right strategies in place, it is possible to stay organized and make progress on your tasks. Staying on top of assignments is a crucial part of academic success – use the strategies outlined here to ensure that you stay on track!

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12 Ways to Maintain Focus All Day Long

“why can’t i focus” you learned long ago that good intentions don’t magically translate into concentration — particularly when your task is boring, difficult, or extra critical. designed for adhd brains, these 12 strategies will help you develop the muscles for real, sustained attention..

Why Can't I Focus?

You’ve crafted your to-do list. You’ve gathered your supplies. You know what you need to do. And yet when the time comes to actually complete the day’s tasks, your brain drifts off.

Why is focus — both finding it in the first place, and pulling it back when it starts to stray — so difficult for people with attention deficit disorder ( ADHD )? The answer lies in brain chemistry: ADHD brains are naturally low on dopamine and norepinephrine, which control brain arousal and attention levels. Other people may find that, when the situation calls for it, they can “buckle down” and force their brains to focus. For people with ADHD, the advice to “just focus” is maddening; it simply can’t be done.

You can’t force focus, but you can create an ideal environment — both physical and mental — for it to thrive. The key is working with (not against) your ADHD brain, and combining the specific factors that help your focus flourish. When you're wondering, "Why can't I focus?" follow these 12 tips to get started.

1. Remember the Zeigarnik Effect.

The “Zeigarnik Effect” is the principle that unfinished tasks are harder to get out of your brain than are tasks that haven’t been started. This means that starting a project — even if you work on it for just 10 minutes — will make it harder for your brain to forget or dismiss it. If you find yourself daydreaming instead of getting started, set a timer for 10 minutes and do something (anything!) during that time. Once you start, the big, scary project will turn into an unfinished task — meaning your brain will latch onto it and figure out how to get it done.

2. Use a “daily focus list.”

Write down your major priorities at the beginning of each day. This is a great way to block out annoying distractions and periodically refocus your attention. A daily focus list — a short, bulleted outline of three major and three secondary priorities — isn’t just a “to-do list”; rather, it’s a grounding tool that keeps your head out of the clouds and focused on what’s really important. (Download an example of a daily focus list .)

[ Get This Free Download: 6 Ways to Retain Focus (When Your Brain Says 'No!') ]

3. Create a “parking lot.”

Racing thoughts and hyperactive imaginations mean that ADHD brains are easily thrown off course by passing thoughts about dry cleaning or returning Aunt Linda’s phone call. Deal with sidetracking thoughts — and the anxiety they can create — with a “parking lot,” an easily accessible place to dump unneeded thoughts until a more appropriate time. The parking lot could be a notebook you carry in your purse, or a post-it note stuck to your desk; whatever it is, it will save you stress and keep your focus unbroken.

4. Identify your “overwhelm” triggers.

When the ADHD brain gets stressed, it jumps into fight or flight mode. This looks like a lack of motivation: You abandon your piles of laundry or half-done taxes and binge-watch Netflix instead. Break this cycle by identifying the triggers that cause you to feel overwhelmed. For some, it’s hunger; for others, it’s too many conflicting priorities. Getting a handle on what causes your overwhelm won’t be enough to deter it every time, but you’ll be better equipped to anticipate its arrival and plan accordingly.

5. Go with your flow — not just the flow.

ADHD comes with plenty of superpowers (like hyperfocus ), but you can’t always predict when they’ll kick in. Respect your brain! Recognizing when you’re “in the zone” — and able to tackle tasks that require attention and focus — is just as important as recognizing when your brain is in a fog. When you’re totally out of it, give yourself permission to shift your attention to less-demanding tasks, like filing papers or folding socks. You’ll get more done in the long run!

6. Look for “positive distractions.”

“ Distraction ” need not be a dirty word. Certain diversions can actually help you get more done in the long run. Take, for instance, exercise: stepping away from a project to go for a walk might seem like avoidance, but physical activity actually boosts the brain and can help you operate more efficiently when you come back. Seek out the “positive distractions” that work for you; good examples include meditation, a quick dance break, or a creative art project. If you’re nervous about getting lost in your distraction, set a timer — and stick to it.

[ Click to Read: 25 Everyday Brain Boosts ]

7. Forget perfection.

Hyperfocus isn’t always a force for good. Sometimes, it can lead people with ADHD to obsess over small, unimportant details — and kill their real productivity in the process. Work on letting go of perfectionism and settling for “good enough.” This is a journey, not a destination, so don’t expect your perfectionist tendencies to disappear overnight — but you can expect to reduce your anxiety, build your self-esteem, and improve your productivity along the way.

8. Buddy up.

Recruit an “accountability partner” — someone you talk to daily, weekly, or monthly — to help you prioritize goals, chart progress, and celebrate successes. Accountability builds focus — and, in the long run, creates change — because everyone (particularly someone with ADHD) thrives on being able to say, “Yep, I did it.” A partner — whether it’s an ADHD coach, a close friend, or even your mom — can help get you where you want to go.

9. Set aside planning time.

Lack of planning is one of the biggest focus drains; it’s hard to stay in the zone when you don’t know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing! Even one minute of planning can save you as much as 40 minutes of work, so it’s important that you schedule regular, short planning sessions to sketch out priorities and deadlines for the upcoming days or weeks. Of course, nothing is set in stone — priorities can shift and emergencies can arise. But having even a general sense of your goals and how to plan to achieve them — even if you get thrown off course — works wonders for retrieving your focus from La-La Land.

10. Find clarity.

The greater your clarity, the easier it is to stay focused and get things done. If you’re having trouble paying attention to a project, ask yourself these questions to expose the root of the problem: What do you want to achieve? Whose expectations are driving this project — your own or someone else’s? Do you understand what you need to do? Getting a handle on what’s expected of you will make it easier to ignore distractions and maintain a positive mindset.

11. Set deadlines.

Ever wonder why you do everything at the last minute? It’s because deadlines are actually neurologically useful to the ADHD brain — they eliminate competing priorities and boost adrenaline, making it easier to dive into hyperfocus and crack down on a task. Not every task comes with a clear deadline, however — so you need to create your own. These could be deadlines for each phase of a project — “On Tuesday at 4 PM, I’ll pick up the paint supplies from the hardware store” — or for the project itself: “The bathroom needs to be painted by February 1.” Post your deadlines prominently and set frequent reminders — they’ll increase your likelihood of following through.

12. Acknowledge — and then dismiss — negative thoughts.

Rumination is the enemy of focus. Repeatedly dwelling on, say, a recent argument with your spouse can block out other important thoughts, making it nearly impossible to get anything done. Trying to block out negative thoughts entirely, however, usually backfires. Instead, acknowledge your natural thought patterns, and plan a time when you can give them the attention they deserve. Tell yourself, “Yes, the argument last night upset me, and my feelings right now are valid” to help you manage strong emotions and circular thought patterns — without letting them hold back your focus.

[ Read This Next: How to Banish Negative Thoughts & Feelings ]

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Keep Calm and Go On: 18 Great Strategies to Keep Students on Task

Whether you’ve been a teacher for one day or over 30 years, you’re likely all too familiar with how challenging it can be to keep students on task. If you’ve ever had to deal with students talking during lessons, wandering the room, reading a book during instruction, or engaging in other off-task behavior, take some time to read through the tips I’ve put together below for you.

I’ve had huge success implementing a few of these tips with some of my students, and I think you could benefit from trying them out as well. You may also want to share this video from a school counselor with your students.

The school counselor in the video highlights some key behaviors and tips for students to help them better maintain their focus, attention, and on-task behaviors.

Best Strategies to Help Students Stay on Task

Here is my top list of 18 best strategies for helping teachers maintain classroom management and students stay focused on the assignment.

• Provide Focus Through Student Goal Setting →
• Create Awareness with Countdown Timers →
• Hold Direction-Focused Conferences →
• Include Physical Activity →
• Break Tasks into Pieces →
• Rate (and Change) Tasks →
• Incorporate Printable Checklists →
• Provide Only One Task or Assignment at a Time →
• Use Preferential Seating →
• Use Contrasting Colors to Increase Visual Focus →
• Use Natural Sunlight or Lamps Instead of Fluorescent Lighting →
• Remove Visual Distractions →
• Have “Attention Breaks” →
• Explore the Option of Medication →
• Set Up a Home Office →
• Leverage Interests →
• Vary Instructional Strategies →
• Set Deadlines →

Read on to take a closer look at each of these great ideas.

1. Provide Focus Through Student Goal Setting

Setting goals with students can be a very powerful motivator to help them focus. Take time to sit down one-on-one with students and review their performance and some of their work samples. Discuss areas for improvement, and work together to set a goal.

Have students write their goal somewhere they’ll see it every day so it can help them stay motivated to focus to improve and meet their goal. Be sure to schedule quick check-ins with students to discuss their progress towards meeting their goals and to praise the effort and focus you’ve been observing.

2. Create Awareness with Countdown Timers

Many students get off task and don’t realize how much time they’re taking away from whatever it is they are supposed to be doing. Using a countdown timer  is one strategy that can help students gauge the amount of time they have left to complete a task to limit off-task behaviors.

For many students, seeing the visual of a timer counting down in front of them is enough to keep them focused on their work to ensure they finish insufficient time.

3. Hold Direction-Focused Conferences

Direction-focused conferences are a way to give students some personalized attention each day to help keep them on task. A direction-focused conference is a short (1 minute) conversation between you and each student in your class. During the conference, ask each student two questions: “What work have you been completing, and what will you be working on next?”

Giving students the opportunity to articulate these answers can help them refocus when they return to their seats.

4. Include Physical Activity

Sitting in the same spot for an extended amount of time and maintaining focus is hard enough for adults, let alone children. Children also have a shorter attention span and benefit from broken-up instruction. Take time at various times during the day to give students the opportunity to get a little physical activity.

This can be as quick as asking the class to all stand-up and do 10 jumping jacks or putting on a short dance video for everyone to dance to.

5. Break Tasks into Pieces

As we just mentioned, students have a short attention span. This can make it challenging for them to complete longer tasks in one fell swoop. Try breaking tasks into smaller chunks and give students a short break between each task.

For example, if you ask your students to write a story about something and draw a picture to go with their story, consider breaking this task into smaller pieces. You could ask students to write the introduction to their story, then take a quick movement break, then come back and write the middle of their story, followed by another break, and then write the end of the story, take another quick stretch, and then draw the picture to go with the story.

6. Rate (and Change) Tasks

Some children may get off task when they feel overly frustrated with a task or perceive it to be too challenging for them to complete. If you feel this may be the case with one of your students, have a conversation with them and ask them to rate how difficult the task is using a scale of 1 to 10.

If they communicate that the task is very difficult for them, work with them to brainstorm a list of things you could do to support them with the activity.

7. Incorporate Printable Checklists

Another common reason students get off task is that they simply don’t remember the directions or aren’t clear on what they should do next. Avoid this potential problem by making quick checklists for each task that layouts the various steps that students should complete.

You can also ask students to turn their checklists in with their finished product to show that they completed each step.

8. Provide Only One Task or Assignment at a Time

Another idea you can try with students who seem overwhelmed by complex assignments or having too many tasks to keep track of is to only assign one task at a time.

Giving students one specific thing to work on will help make it clear what they should be doing. Then, once they have finished that task, you can give them their next assignment.

9. Use Preferential Seating

The preferential seat is a well-trusted method used by many teachers to keep specific students on task. With a preferential seat, you make very strategic decisions about where to seat each child.

Place students that you know have more difficulty staying on task closest to you. This will allow you to more closely monitor their behaviors, and they’ll be more likely to be on task knowing that you are so close by.

10. Use Contrasting Colors to Increase Visual Focus

Another reason some students may have trouble focusing is if they are having a hard time seeing or reading the information on the board or a smartboard for classroom .

Using contrasting colors to increase students’ ability to focus on the words or visuals that are important to their learning. Here are the best colors to use in your learning environment.

11. Use Natural Sunlight or Lamps Instead of Fluorescent Lighting

Many classrooms have fluorescent lighting, which can be hard on the eyes. Consider keeping your overhead lights off and opening the blinds or purchasing lights with softer, more natural light to use in the classroom. These lights will be much easier on the eyes and may help increase students’ focus. Find some harmless lamps for your classroom in this article .

As a benefit, you may also notice that you feel better at the end of each day without sitting under the fluorescent lights all day.

12. Remove Visual Distractions

An overload of visual stimulus can overwhelm students and make it very challenging for them to focus on just one thing, such as their work. Evaluate your classroom and considering paring down your decorations and posters so as not to overwhelm your students.

Also, consider how visually distracting the directions you post or the worksheets you share with your students may be.

13. Have “Attention Breaks”

An attention break is an opportunity for students to determine whether they were focused on their work at a given time. Before conducting attention breaks, teach your students what paying attention is and what they should be doing if they are truly paying attention. Give a few examples and have students act out examples and non-examples of paying attention. Then, throughout the day, set timers to go off at different times and have students indicate whether they were or were not paying attention when the timer went off.

This can help students become more self-aware and also help them gain a better understanding of what paying attention means.

14. Explore the Option of Medication

If you have tried several of the strategies listed here and still have major concerns about a particular student’s ability to pay attention, ask their parent to come in for a conference. Discuss your concerns and get the parent’s opinions about the behaviors and what they are seeing at home.

If you can’t brainstorm additional ideas to try, consider recommending that the parent set up an appointment with their child’s pediatrician to explore the next steps.

15. Set Up a Home Office (For Doing Home Tasks)

If parents have shared that they are also having trouble keeping their child on the task at home when completing homework or other assignments, suggest that they set up a home office space. Giving students a dedicated space where they can focus away from siblings or other distractions can help increase their focus.

If parents don’t have a separate room they can use as an office, suggest purchasing a study carrel or even just a tri-fold board that can be set up in front of students to block out other distractions while they work.

16. Leverage Interests

Find out about what interests your students and use their interests to help keep them on task. For example, if one of your students who has a particularly challenging time staying focused and on task loves dinosaurs, find ways to work dinosaurs into your lessons.

This may include reading books about dinosaurs in reading, making up math word problems about dinosaurs, giving dinosaur stickers out to students who are working, or anything else you could think of that has to do with dinosaurs.

17. Vary Instructional Strategies

Students have different learning styles. Some may be visual learners, others are auditory learners, while still others may be kinesthetic learns. A child’s learning style impacts which types of tasks will deliver the greatest educational benefits.

It is important to vary your instructional strategies and work to meet the different learning styles of your students through the different lessons you teach.

18. Set Deadlines

Finally, set deadlines for when work needs to be completed and turned in. When students have a deadline to work towards, it is more concrete for them than saying something like, “finish this as soon as you can.”

Your deadline may be in the next 20 minutes, by the end of the day, or by the end of the week depending on the task, but having something concrete and communicating it to students is important.

Staying on Task Worksheets

Staying on task and maintaining focus through instruction and classwork does not come naturally to many students. In fact, you’ll need to work with your students to teach them this skill, the same as you would need to work with them to teach them to add, subtract, read, or write. Incorporating some lessons and worksheets that specifically focus on the skill of staying on task can help students improve their ability to focus and pay attention. Below are a few great places to find some staying on task worksheets to use with your students:

• Staying on Task Worksheets from Teachers Pay Teachers
• SMART Goals Worksheet from The Art of Education University
• Following Directions Worksheets from teAchnology

Keeping students on task is a problem nearly all educators face. Every child is different, and some strategies will work better with different students. Take some time to experiment with your students using some of the ideas from this post. Come back and share your successes in a comment; I’d love to hear about what worked with your class!

Last Updated on February 22, 2022 by Emily

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Emily is an active mother of two and a dedicated elementary school teacher. She believes the latest technology has made a huge impact on the quality of early learning and has worked hard to upgrade her classroom and her own children’s learning experience through technology.

Follow her on Twitter , Pinterest , and Instagram for more teaching fun!

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How to focus: Tips to get things done in a distracted world

Focus is more than just concentration—it’s an approach to work that can help you minimize distractions, take charge of your time, and protect yourself from burnout. Learn about common barriers to focus and their solutions, and get science-backed tips to help you stay in the zone.

Picture this: you’ve got a demanding task to accomplish, but it feels nearly impossible to focus. You try to force yourself to concentrate, but the work just drags on and seems to take much longer than it should. 

Sound familiar? If it does, you’re not alone. 

The truth is, being able to focus isn’t as simple as just deciding to do it. There are lots of factors that can impact your ability to focus, from digital distractions to a lack of clarity around which tasks are most important. In this article we describe common practices that can prevent you from focusing, with science-backed solutions to help you stay in the zone. 

What is focus? 

Focus is essential to tackle difficult tasks, think creatively, and work efficiently. It can help us get things done better and faster, avoid burnout, and end each day feeling like we’ve accomplished something. 

How to find focus & flow in a distracted world

Get science-backed tips from experts in psychology and neuroscience. Learn how to minimize distractions and focus on high-priority tasks, so you can flourish at home and at work.

What’s sapping your focus? 

In the modern workplace, focus is often elusive. Here are the four most common reasons you (or your team) can’t focus, plus how to solve them. 

Trying to multitask

According to our research , nearly three in four employees (72%) feel pressure to multitask during the day. But while multitasking may feel more productive, it’s actually just task switching in disguise. 

Our brains aren’t wired to truly multitask, so when you try to do two things at once—like drafting emails during a meeting—you’re actually switching between those tasks at lightning speed. And since we pay a mental cost for every switch, we’re actually getting less done and making more errors when we try to multitask. 

Multitasking is a myth. In reality, it’s rapidly switching from one task to another, and then back again. And every time you make that switch, you pay a ‘tax’ on both your time and your energy. For that reason, it’s almost always more efficient to monotask: Focus on one thing and move on when you’re done, so you don’t pay unnecessary switching taxes.”

The solution: Schedule focus time

Instead of toggling between different tasks throughout the day, schedule dedicated time to focus on one specific project. Two common methods for scheduling focus time are timeboxing and time blocking. Timeboxing is a time-management strategy in which you estimate the amount of time a task will take and box out time to complete it. During a timebox, you ignore all other tasks until the box is over. The concept of time blocking is similar—but instead of boxing out time for a single task, you group similar tasks together and complete them all in one time block. For example, you might schedule a time block to answer emails. 

Regardless of of which method you choose, here are some tips to help you schedule focus time: 

Block out time on your calendar. Set a status (like “do not disturb” or “in a focus block”) on any instant messaging apps you use, so your colleagues know you’re in heads-down mode. 

Eliminate distractions . Turn off notifications for email and instant messaging, and close out of any applications or windows you’re not using for the work at hand. Put your phone in a drawer or out of sight so you’re not tempted to answer phone calls or text messages. 

When you’re done, take a break. If you can, get away from your computer and do something physical, like stretching or taking a walk. 

Empowering your team to carve out focus time can significantly boost productivity. According to productivity research from UC Berkeley’s Becoming Superhuman Lab , when leaders encourage “Focus Sprints” for their teams (dedicated focus time when team members don’t switch between apps or monitor their inbox), people report being 43% more productive. 

Monitoring your inbox 

While email and messaging tools are essential to work, they are being misused, causing office mayhem and pushing people to the brink of burnout. Rather than bringing teams together, they can create silos as information gets spread throughout multiple apps and groups.

Additionally, these tools are meant for communication, not for large-scale (or even small-scale) project management. When projects at work are managed through email or messaging, neverending notifications and scattered information are the end result, making it difficult for teams to concentrate at work.

Yet, 80% of knowledge workers report working with their inbox or other communication apps open. And while many people feel pressure to respond to messages immediately, this constant monitoring comes at a cost. When you check notifications while you work, you’re constantly task switching and losing momentum each time a new message pops into your inbox. In fact, it can take upwards of 20 minutes to regain momentum after an interruption—so if you check your inbox three times in a span of two hours, that’s half your potential focus time lost. 

These focus-draining notifications make it impossible to tap into flow state or deep work —a mental state in which you can focus without distraction and accomplish difficult tasks faster and more effectively. 

Most people I know don't have a workday anymore. They have these little pockets of time, between meetings and calls and answering emails, where they have 15 minutes here, 30 minutes here, 45 minutes there, and that’s their workday.”

The solution: Answer emails and messages in batches

According to a 2016 MIT study , people who check their email in batches report higher productivity compared to those who rely on notifications to answer messages. Batching involves checking email and messages only during dedicated times throughout the day, so you can avoid costly interruptions when you’re trying to check important tasks off your to-do list. 

Here’s how to do it:  

Schedule time to process messages and email . The frequency you choose depends on the nature of your work—for example, an account manager may need to check messages more frequently in order to maintain contact with clients. If you can, try starting with two 30-minute blocks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. 

Turn off notifications. Whatever communication apps you use, snooze notifications or turn on Do Not Disturb mode to ensure you don’t see distracting icons and banners flash across your screen when you’re trying to focus. And if you really need to concentrate, close out of email and messaging apps completely. 

Let your team know when you’re available. Share your communication preferences with your team and let them know when you typically answer messages. If you’re a manager, encourage your direct reports to do the same. And if your team uses an instant messaging app like Slack, set statuses to indicate when you’re focusing or available to chat. 

Long virtual meetings

According to cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Sahar Yousef, we use significantly more brainpower to pay attention during a video call than during a face-to-face meeting. In fact, a 2020 Microsoft study showed that video fatigue sets in at the 30-minute mark for virtual meetings, meaning it becomes much harder to focus past that point. On the flip side, we can usually maintain focus for 45 to 60 minutes when we’re talking face-to-face. 

Video conferencing is actually physiologically more draining and requires more neurological effort to stay alert and maintain attention. At the end of the day, when your body is tired and your attention is completely sapped, it isn’t your fault—your brain is overloaded.”

The solution: Plan virtual meetings intentionally 

Making your meetings shorter (30 minutes or less) and more efficient is the best way to reduce video fatigue. Here are some tips to set your meetings up for success: 

Consider whether you need a meeting in the first place. Sometimes, a status report or asynchronous update can work just as well as (or better than) a call. As an added bonus, asynchronous updates give your team more uninterrupted time to focus on work that matters. 

Share an agenda and any materials attendees should read in advance. An agenda helps you move efficiently from topic to topic and ensures you don’t miss any critical pieces. Plus, sharing materials in advance helps attendees come prepared to discuss and propose solutions.

Consider team preferences. Ask your team when they prefer to meet and when they’re typically in heads-down focus mode. For example, if the majority of your team likes to reserve their mornings for focus time, try to schedule meetings in the afternoon. 

End meetings a few minutes early. Back-to-back meetings can quickly drain everyone’s mental reserves. A few minutes break between sessions can help your brain reset, especially if you step away from your screen. 

Turn off self-view during video meetings , or cover the image of your face with a sticky note. Seeing your own face during a video call activates the part of your brain responsible for facial recognition and is an extra drain on your focus. “Imagine if someone walked into a conference room carrying a full-length mirror to watch themselves,” says Dr. Yousef . “That’s essentially what we’re doing when we see our own faces on a video call.” 

Lack of clarity

When you experience clarity at work, you know what goals you’re working towards, the responsibilities of your role, and how to prioritize your tasks. But without that clarity, it’s hard to prioritize work and determine what’s in (or out) of scope. As a result, you might end up splitting your focus between too many projects, getting lost in small tasks like chat and email, and feeling like you’re not accomplishing enough. 

Lack of clarity is a common occurrence. According to our research , 29% of knowledge workers feel overworked due to a lack of clarity on tasks and roles. 

Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.”

The solution: Create (and communicate) clear goals

Clear goals are like a compass. They help you decide what’s important to focus on and what you can deprioritize. For example, imagine you have a quarterly goal to improve engagement on Instagram, and a smaller short-term goal to write 10 Instagram posts per week. With that goal in mind, you can decide to use your next block of uninterrupted time to draft and plan social media copy rather than answering emails. In this example, your goal helps you focus on work that matters and avoid getting sidetracked with less-important tasks. 

Here’s how to create clarity with goals: 

Create and share SMART goals with your team . SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. They provide a clear roadmap and finish line for your project. For example, a product team could set the following SMART goal: “In Q3, partner with the customer service team to create a chatbot for our desktop website.” 

Track progress towards your goals . Goals are a powerful motivator because they ensure that your day-to-day work has a clear purpose. But in order for goals to be effective, they should be connected to your work. That means you should make a plan to regularly check in and update your progress—for example, at the end of each day or week.  

Set daily MITs (most important tasks) . Every day, write down 1-3 things you want to accomplish. This helps you focus and gives you permission to clock out once those tasks are accomplished—the key to avoiding burnout and maintaining focus long-term. When cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Yousef tried this method at her lab , the team saw a 28% increase in individual productivity and a 42% reduction in burnout. 

5 tips to boost your focus

We’ve covered the four most common reasons you might struggle to focus, plus ways to get around them. If you’re still having trouble, try these five tips to get in the zone and maximize your productivity.

1. Create triggers to tell your brain it’s time to focus 

According to Dr. Yousef , our brains have memories. When we pair a certain environment with a specific stimulus (like sitting at a clean desk and writing), our mind creates a cognitive association—it remembers and anticipates that stimulus in the future. That means the next time you clear off your workspace and sit down to write, your brain will be predisposed to focus on that task. 

If you’re having trouble concentrating, try creating cognitive associations to let your brain know it’s time to focus. Here are some ideas: 

Light a candle.

Drink a specific beverage, like a cup of coffee or tea.

Listen to a specific type of music. 

Wear specific clothes—if you’re working from home , this could mean dressing up like you’re going to the office.

Clear your desk space. 

Go to a specific location, like an office, coffee shop, or a specific area of your house reserved for work. 

2.  Tap into your biological clock

Your personal biology may influence when you’re most productive during the day. According to Nobel Prize-winning research , every person has a “chronotype”—a pre-set circadian rhythm that determines the fluctuations in our daily energy levels. And when you know your chronotype , you can schedule focus blocks during your peak hours and save less-demanding tasks for when you have less energy and your attention span is shorter. Most people fall within these three categories: 

AM-shifted: You naturally wake up early in the morning and feel most productive at the start of the day. If this sounds like you, tackle creative tasks first thing in the morning, and leave your afternoons for less demanding work. 

Bi-phasic: Your peak focus time falls between 10am and 2pm, with an energy dip midday. You may experience a “second wind” of energy in the evening. Focus on big tasks before lunch or later in the day after your afternoon slump. 

PM-shifted: You prefer to wake up later and do your most product work in the late afternoon and evening. If you’re PM shifted, ease into the day with tasks that don’t require as much brainpower and reserve your late afternoons for focus time. 

3. Consolidate tasks in one tool

When you rely on your memory to keep track of tasks, you’re taking up valuable brainspace trying to remember things. But when you write down everything you need to do in one place, you can use that mental energy to focus on completing those tasks. This is one of the concepts behind David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) method—because in order to prioritize your work, you need to capture it all first. 

The way you record tasks matters. Instead of using paper lists or spreading your attention between multiple online tools, try using a single project management tool to organize all of your project information and tasks. That way, you can track and share action items in the same place where work happens.

4. Try a time management strategy

The right time management strategy can go a long way in helping you focus by helping you avoid multitasking and understand how you’re spending time. While the approach you choose depends on your personal work preferences, here are some options to get you started:  

The Pomodoro Technique : You don’t need to focus for long periods of time to get things done. This technique uses 25-minute work sessions and 5-minute breaks, so you can tackle one task at a time and reduce mental fatigue. 

Time blocking : With time blocking, you schedule out every single part of your day. This technique can help if you want to reclaim your day and understand how you’re spending your time. 

Timeboxing : Timeboxing involves creating a “timebox,” during which you aim to finish a specific task within a certain time frame. This method can help if you struggle with multitasking and checking notifications throughout the day. 

Eat the frog : This method involves tackling your most difficult task first before you do any other work. As Mark Twain once said, if you have to eat a live frog, do it first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you throughout the day. 

The Pareto Principle : Also known as the 80/20 rule, this principle states that roughly 80% of outcomes come from 20% of causes. When it comes to productivity, this means some tasks have significantly more impact than others—and if you focus on those, you can maximize your impact.

5. Prioritize your well-being

Taking care of your physical wellness and mental health is one of the best ways you can improve your focus. When your body and mind are healthy, you can think clearer, manage stress better, and avoid burnout. While your personal health may depend on a number of different factors, the basics are a good place to start: get enough sleep, build in time for physical activity, eat healthy meals, and take short breaks throughout the day. Even low levels of anxiety can make it harder for you to concentrate—so if you’re feeling stressed, take a break, talk to a friend, go for a walk, or try a mindfulness meditation.

And most importantly, remember to give yourself some grace. No one can focus all the time, and it’s normal for your concentration to vary throughout the day or week. 

Focus on what matters

Focus is about more than just getting things done. It’s an approach to work that can help you avoid constant distractions, take charge of your time, and protect yourself from burnout. And while work can sometimes feel fast-paced and chaotic, these tips can empower you to step back and prioritize where to spend your mental energy. 

Related resources

Write better AI prompts: A 4-sentence framework

How to track utilization rate and drive team profitability

Fix these common onboarding challenges to boost productivity

How to align your team with a work schedule template

How to Stay Focused at Work: 20 Effective Tips & Tricks

Table of Contents

Staying focused at work can be as much of a hassle as keeping your focus while working from home — you’ll likely have to deal with many distractions. Sometimes it’s noisy neighbors, other times, constant meetings take away from the time you should be spending on priority tasks.

Still, learning how to reduce common workplace distractions and tweaking your work (and life) habits can help you retain focus and keep moving forward.

To help you out with that, in this blog post, we’ll:

• Talk about why you struggle to focus at work, 
• Give you 20 effective tips that will help you improve your concentration, 
• Explain the main benefits of staying focused, and
• Provide you with some handy instant focusing techniques.

So, let’s begin.

Why do I struggle to focus at work?

Distractions are everywhere — whether you work in an actual office or you’re comfortably seated in your home chair. However, external distractions are not the only reason you can’t focus on work. 

Perhaps you waste your time on trivial things and burn your brainpower and energy by having an internal debate over what to eat or wear. 

Or, you might lead an unhealthy lifestyle and struggle with sleep deprivation which leads you to make more mistakes.

Some people even struggle to leave their personal issues out of work, making it difficult to manage their emotions and achieve the optimal level of focus for completing their tasks. 

So, before deciding on a technique for improving your focus, try to:

• Take a long hard look at your habits,
• Identify which of these concentration killers are the main culprits for your attention deficit, and
• Build your way up from there. 

This way you’ll be able to introduce far-reaching changes to your lifestyle and develop lifelong habits that will help you retain focus despite the circumstances.

Now that we’ve established why you can’t concentrate at work, we’ll provide you with some useful, practical advice on how to improve concentration.

20 Tips on how to stay focused at work

As we’ve promised, here are 20 tips that will show you how to increase focus by altering your work or lifestyle habits, inducing new scheduling methods, avoiding distractions, and much more.

So, let’s get right to it.

Tip #1: (Re-)evaluate your work habits

Before you start blaming others for distracting you and thus making you less productive, think about your work habits and whether they make you productive in the first place:

• Do you force yourself to get up early in the morning just because that’s what productivity gurus recommend, only to spend the hours before noon drowsy, moody, and unfocused?
• Do you wake up fully energized, only to immediately focus on frivolous tasks that drain your energy until you have no zest left to finish the project that’s due tomorrow?
• Do you work for 2 hours in the morning and then go to an early lunch just when you’ve fully immersed yourself in work because you want to adjust to your colleagues’ schedules?

If your answers are a sad “ yes ,” then it’s your own work habits that you need to re-evaluate and change.

How best to (re-)evaluate your work habits

A problem with your work habits has a lot to do with how you schedule your day. You may schedule activities too early or too late in relation to your biological prime time , i.e., the time when you’re the most productive:

• If you’re the most productive later in the afternoon (and you have flexible work hours), try to get to work at a later time — you’ll avoid the dreaded morning drowsiness and ensure a larger number of productive working hours per day.
• If you’re the most effective early in the morning, schedule your most important activities for this time — you’ll finish your priority tasks early, and spend the rest of the day working on less urgent activities, thus relieving yourself of unnecessary stress.
• If your colleagues have different productivity peak hours than you, don’t try to fit in with them no matter what — do your work at your own pace and try to socialize with colleagues at other times.

Following a fixed routine is beneficial for productivity, but, you’ll have no benefit from it if it’s the wrong fixed routine. So, work on your current schedules to find ideal times for all your assignments.

To calculate your biological prime time, you can use a time tracker like Clockify and track the time you spend on the same activities in the morning and the afternoon. That way, you’ll see when you’re more efficient with said activities.

You can do this for all your work activities to create an archive telling you when you’re the most efficient with a certain type of task.

💡 Clockify Pro Tip  

If you already know whether you are more productive earlier or later in the day, check out the following guides: 

• Why morning people are productive (+ tips for morning larks)
• Why some people are more productive at night (+ tips for night owls)

Tip #2: Create and follow a to-do list

Not organizing or prioritizing your work can interfere with your ability to concentrate, so it’s best to sort your tasks and make a to-do list.

Therefore, the first thing you need to do to start your day right is to create a to-do list you’ll follow. This way, you’ll know:

• Exactly what you need to do today, and
• Which tasks you’ll need to reserve time on your calendar for.

💡 Clockify Pro Tip

If you want to see the main differences between some of the interesting methods you can use to organize your to-do list, read our blog post:

• I tried 6 to-do list methods: Here’s my verdict

How best to create and follow a to-do list

Customize your own to-do lists to your liking — for this purpose, you can use one of our free to-do list templates . Whether for work, school, or even daily chores — create and download your personalized to-do list in PDF format, share it with your colleague in Google Docs, or simply print it out.

When creating your to-do list, make sure you:

• List all the tasks you need to do today,
• Parse these tasks into smaller subtasks you can keep track of more easily,
• Mark all items as urgent/NOT urgent and important/NOT important ,
• Reshuffle your list to put tasks and subtasks you marked as urgent/important first,
• Delegate the tasks and subtasks you’ve marked as urgent/NOT important — delete them from your to-do list, notify the person you’re delegating to, and
• Eliminate tasks you’ve marked as NOT urgent/NOT important — delete them from your to-do list.

Read more about the Eisenhower matrix and how to use it to make efficient to-do lists here:

• How can Eisenhower matrix improve your time management

It’s of the utmost importance to prioritize your work when creating to-do lists. Therefore, when you start working, do your urgent/important tasks and subtasks first, and your NOT urgent/important tasks and subtasks second.

Then, put a checkmark next to each task you finish, as soon as you finish it. Watching the number of tasks you’ve finished increase will make you feel more confident to continue working and reach the end of the list as soon as possible.

To facilitate the creation of a to-do list, you can use task management software like Plaky and have all your tasks sorted and in one place.

To learn more about the importance of prioritizing your workload and how to actually do it, check out this article: 

• The pickle jar theory in time management

Tip #3: Timebox your emails and meetings

On average, you spend about 13 hours per week on emails and about 6 hours on meetings. That means you spend almost half of your workweek on routine activities that don’t bring your company any profit.

To minimize the time you spend on these less important activities, you can limit meetings and inbox management tasks by timeboxing your schedule.

With timeboxing, you’ll plan your day more efficiently by allocating less time to activities that are not your priorities.

How best to timebox emails

For example, you can schedule 15 minutes for managing your inbox every 2–3 hours. Start the timer, and once the 15 minutes are up, close your inbox, even if you’re in the middle of writing an email.

After 2–3 hours, it will be time for another email timebox. You’ll then have 15 minutes to continue writing the said email.

How best to timebox meetings

The same goes for meetings. If you have a standup meeting every day, set aside 20 minutes for it each day, and try to wrap up the meeting as soon as the 20 minutes are up.

This way, you’ll ensure you stick to your meeting agenda and keep everyone focused on what they want to say in a straightforward and fast manner.

By timeboxing your meetings, you’ll put the time you spend on them under control and save more time and concentration to allocate to more important tasks.

In case you’re not the one who organizes the meeting and decides how long it’ll last, you can maintain your focus by automating repetitive tasks , which will leave you enough time to finish all the tasks that require your undivided attention.

If you’re interested in learning how to organize your tasks and your time for maximum efficiency, check out this blog post:

• How to be more efficient with your tasks

Tip #4: Define personal deadlines

Setting personal deadlines and parsing your project into milestones helps you work your way through projects briskly. A personal deadline can be any time frame you come up with that comes before your official deadline. 

Even though official deadlines set by your supervisor or clients still remain your main frame of reference, personal deadlines are there to increase your chances of completing your tasks on time. 

How best to define personal deadlines

So, once you are assigned your share of work on a project, block time in your calendar for your tasks and set a realistic deadline. Here’s what you should keep in mind when defining your personal deadline:

• Don’t set a loose deadline — according to Parkinson’s Law , all your tasks expand to fill the time you’ve allocated to them, so try not to give yourself more time than you need. 
• Don’t be overly optimistic about your deadline either — Hofstadter’s Law states that your tasks usually take more time than you originally think, so try to be as realistic as possible when setting a deadline. 

The best practice is to set your deadline based on previous experience with the same type of tasks. If you know it takes you 3 hours on average to finish a project proposal, then you should set a deadline of 3 hours each time you write a project proposal.

Sure, sometimes it will take you 5–10 minutes more, sometimes 5–10 minutes less, depending on the scope of the proposal. However, following the steps for defining personal deadlines will help you obtain the most precise time estimate faster than ever before. 

Tip #5: Make others aware of your schedule

Once you’ve organized your work, defined your deadlines, and identified your priorities, it’s best to make sure your colleagues are aware of your schedule.

How best to make others aware of your schedule

For this purpose, you can take a popular time management game called “Circadian Rhythms” as inspiration and make your schedule public. To play this game, you and your colleagues need to write plans with your daily activities and your energy levels throughout the day and post those plans on a wall. This way, everyone gets to see when is the right time to call their co-workers and for what type of task.

Aside from posting plans on a wall, to make your co-workers aware of your schedule, you can:

• Hang a printed version of your schedule for the day/week on the front of your office door, or
• Share your Google Calendar with your colleagues.

As an alternative, you and your colleagues can join the same workspace to track time in a team Dashboard . This way, you’ll all be able to see what everyone is currently working on and decide whether it’s the right time to interrupt them.

Tip #6: Take short breaks

According to research on the effectiveness of short breaks for improving well-being and performance , breaks are among the most important things that not only help you focus but also reduce your mental fatigue levels. They function as controlled distractions from our work, vastly improving our ability to concentrate and thus perform better at work.

So, taking regular breaks is important for maintaining focus for longer periods of time — you’ll recharge your energy and increase your alertness levels.

How best to take short breaks

As the previously mentioned research explains, taking a respite from working on tasks helps us be more productive and stay energized and concentrated throughout our workday.

So, to make sure to take frequent breaks, take a look at the list of ideas on what to do when you step away from your desk:

• Go outside to take a walk around the block — the fresh air and natural sunlight will help increase your productivity and even help you improve your sleep quality .
• Make yourself a cup of green tea — this type of tea is a superfood filled with antioxidants, minerals, and caffeine, perfect to increase your physical performance.
• Do some desk stretches — you’ll feel refreshed.
• Watch an educational TED video — you’ll distract your mind from a current problem for 5 minutes and learn something new, like how sugar affects your brain and why we dream.
• Chat with a colleague you rarely see by the water cooler or reach out to them via the team chat app — you’ll get a social boost and refresh your mind.

What’s more, you can make use of the Pomodoro timer that can help you track the time you spend on tasks while keeping you focused and improving your productivity altogether.

The Pomodoro technique works on a very simple yet effective principle. You work in 25-minute “pomodoro” intervals separated by short 5-minute breaks. Every five “ pomodoros ,” take a 20 or 30-minute break.

Afterward, it will be easier to start another focused work session. Plus, now you’ll know you have something to look forward to when you start feeling too hazy to continue work.

Tip #7: Turn off notifications in apps

Notifications in apps are useful in general. They tell you when you can update a favorite program with new useful features or when your colleague has just sent you a new message. 

But, when you’re trying to focus, a message from your colleague telling you about the newest Black Friday deals would only distract you.

How best to turn off notifications in apps

You can disable notifications on all your devices altogether or disable notifications just for a select number of apps.

Most apps have the option to disable notifications, so you can do that app by app. For example, you can select the channels you want to get notifications from in the settings of your chat app or block updates from a certain program you’re looking to uninstall anyway.

Learn about the importance of decluttering your digital workspace here: 

• How to declutter your digital space

Also, you can use ‘ Do Not Disturb’ mode for your emails. 

According to Juliet Dreamhunter , a certified goal success coach and productivity consultant, utilizing ‘ Do Not Disturb’ mode for emails is one of the best ways to take control over your focus:

“Emails can be really disruptive to your work and prevent you from getting important tasks done. Set designated times to check your inbox and turn off email notifications so they don’t constantly pull your attention away from focused work.”

Have you ever thought about the amount of time you spend checking your inbox? To learn how to manage your emails more productively, check out what a professional organizer, Patty Kreamer, says on the subject:

• How to manage email productivity: Tips from Patty Kreamer, a professional organizer

Tip #8: Schedule quiet time

Finding some quiet time when you have to finish an important assignment with flying colors is often challenging.

So, it’s best to find a quiet, isolated place where you can go to work when you need ultimate focus and zero distractions.

How best to schedule quiet time

If you work from home and get distracted by noisy household members, try setting some ground rules. You can all sit down together and make a schedule, or some sort of compromise, that fits everyone’s needs. If you need quiet time for an important video call or a task that needs to be completed by tomorrow, that can be an ideal opportunity for them to finish some of their errands outside the house.

In other cases, like when you work on-site, you may have to leave your desk and move to some other, distraction-free room to work.

Nowadays, most companies that operate on-site have an open office policy — you all sit and work together, for better or for worse. 

But, most offices still have isolated rooms for meetings and similar activities.

So, when you’re feeling overwhelmed but have an important project proposal to finish:

• “Book” the conference room for an hour or two when there are no meetings and job interviews planned.
• Explain to your colleagues that you don’t want to be disturbed during this time.
• Take your laptop, put on your headphones (if you want a fully immersive effect), and focus all your attention on the task at hand.

As a result, you’ll likely work faster and achieve better-quality results. You’ll probably also feel a nice tingle of accomplishment once you re-emerge in the open office with a perfect final product.

Tip #9: Avoid your phone

Your phone is often your biggest obstacle on the road to focus at work. You can use it for phone calls, texting, browsing the Web, posting pics on Instagram, and more. In other words, you might use your phone to waste the time you should be allocating to work.

So, if you’re wondering how to increase focus and attention, avoid your phone like the plague during work hours.

How best to avoid your phone

It’s best to keep your phone on mute at work. This way, you won’t get distracted by notifications about personal emails, texts, phone calls, and news articles delivered directly to your inbox at an alarming (and annoying) rate.

Unfortunately, putting your phone on mute will only get you so far.

You can always reach for it in your pocket and see all these new, shiny notifications any time you want. So, you’ll likely need to take more drastic measures to deal with your lack of self-discipline at work.

Your best solution is to leave your phone or other devices that you use for cyberloafing at a place you can’t always reach. Cyberloafing happens when you use the Internet for personal use (e.g. surfing the Web, using social media, etc.) during office hours. To prevent that, leave distracting devices at some of these places:

• A locked desk drawer,
• A hard-to-reach place in your bag,
• A cabinet in the office kitchen, or
• The glove department of your car parked 8 stories below and half a mile away.

The more attached to your phone you are, the further away you should leave your phone during work time — this way, you won’t fall into temptation as often. And, if you do, you’ll at least get some fresh air and exercise looking for your car in the parking lot.

Tip #10: Avoid time-consuming websites

Working on the computer for 8 hours per day also makes it relatively easy to slack off on the computer. You can watch random YouTube videos, scroll your Instagram feed, and aimlessly browse the web. 

Such procrastination habits can easily lead you to fall out of line with your schedule and work extra hours to make up for the lost time.

How best to avoid time-consuming websites

Avoiding fun websites such as YouTube is much easier said than done, so once again, it’s best to turn to an external app to help you block time-consuming websites.

Website blockers such as Cold Turkey or Freedom are a good choice — they let you add the URLs of the websites you want to avoid to a blacklist. Consequently, you won’t be able to access them during preset times or until you whitelist them.

In case you want to have detailed reports on how you spend time throughout your workday, you can automatically track your computer activity to better manage your time. 

This way, you’ll have a better grasp of how much time you spend on productive work and how much on distractions such as social media, emailing, and similar. Comparing these times will definitely beat the habit of cyberloafing and improve your focus once and for all.

Tip #11: Use specialized headphones

Your focus is also often challenged by the noise from your surroundings — whether you have to deal with noisy neighbors and household members or work in an office full of people where there’s always something going on.

In case you’re, for some reason, unable to move from the noise and relocate to an empty conference room or similar, specialized headphones are a great solution. They’ll help you block the noise and give you some peace at work.

How best to use specialized headphones

Investing in a pair of noise-canceling headphones is a great idea — whether you work from home or in an open space office, they will enable you to concentrate better by dampening the disruptive noises around you. 

They’re also useful because they almost completely erase lower-frequency sound waves — the same sound waves that make you tired if you’re exposed to them for too long.

However, the only downside to noise-canceling headphones is that they often come with a hefty price tag. But you can usually find some affordable solutions or borrow a pair from a tech-savvy friend.

Or, you can make a request letter for these headphones at the office and see whether it gets approved.

Tip #12: Use productivity tools and extensions

Sometimes, you just need a little extra help with staying fully focused on your work. Luckily, the ever-evolving world of technology offers a lot of hands-on tools and extensions for that purpose.

The previously mentioned website blockers and time trackers are just the tip of the iceberg — there are various tools that can help you plan your workday and execute work with focus.

How best to use productivity tools and extensions

For maximum output, use productivity tools to: 

• Track your progress,
• Streamline your workflow, and
• Stay on the right track.

If you need a detailed list of productivity tools and extensions you can use, here are some of our blog posts to help you decide on the best tool for your needs:

• The best productivity tools for programmers
• Best Chrome extensions for productivity
• 20 best productivity apps for Mac
• Top productivity tools for remote teams

You can also use various browser extensions to increase your productivity levels and  redirect your attention whenever it wanders.

We asked Alexis Haselberger , a time management and productivity coach, what she thinks is the best way to stay focused at work. Alexis claims that using a Chrome extension such as Momentum can help us subtly redirect ourselves:

“When you have Momentum installed, every time you open a new browser tab, you’ll be confronted with what you planned to do that day instead of whatever rabbit hole your mind is trying to follow.”

This type of extension — which is actually a personal dashboard — uses daily inspirational photos, encouraging quotes, and your own to-do lists as friendly reminders to redirect your focus.

Nowadays, you can also find a productivity tracker to help you with every type of activity you have to perform at work. So, make your picks and remember — using productivity tools can help you decrease stress and finish work faster.

Tip #13: Set up a comfortable workstation

You won’t be able to focus properly if your chair and desk are uncomfortable — common problems include backaches, migraines, and increased fatigue.

Moreover, staring at a blank wall surrounded by dim lighting and stuffy air won’t do you any good either.

So, you’ll need to make some adjustments and tweaks to your workstation for maximum comfort.

How best to set up a comfortable workstation

If your desk allows no alterations, you’ll have to focus most of your energy on adjusting your chair:

• Raise or lower the seat pan — so that your feet lay flat on the floor or the feet rest.
• Ask your operations manager for computer risers — your screen should be at or slightly below your eye level.
• Adjust the back support of your chair — so that you feel comfortable sitting for long periods of time.
• Adjust the armrests — so that your arms can rest nicely without you hunching your shoulders.

Next, you’ll need to elevate your workspace with the right lighting and some greenery:

• Bring a small houseplant to put on your desk — plants help relieve stress in the workplace, and you’ll have something to take care of when you need to put your mind off work.
• Open the shutters on the windows closest to you — to bring in as much natural light as possible and keep yourself fresh and alert — if your colleagues protest about this, bring in a small overhead LED lamp you’ll use to emulate natural lighting just for you.

Finally, make sure your workspace is organized by removing distractions such as your favorite book, an interesting figurine you keep looking at, and similar from your desk.

You may believe that you can find everything you need in your creative chaos setting. However, according to research on how visual stimuli affects our cognitive functions , both our concentration levels and productivity decrease when we’re constantly looking at the clutter around us.

Interested in improving your focus under various conditions at work? Check out our other focus guides:

• How to stay focused in meeting at work
• How to stay focused when approaching retirement
• How to stay focused at work during the holidays
• How to stay focused at work on the computer

Tip #14: Meditate for 5 minutes

Meditation helps you relax and regain your focus after a stressful work session. On top of that, you can easily meditate at work whenever you need to organize your thoughts for future work.

In addition, people with ADHD can benefit from a specific mental training practice called mindfulness meditation . This type of meditation can help increase attentional functioning and other cognitive abilities. 

A study aimed at the effects of mindfulness meditation on attention (among people with ADHD) showed that mindfulness meditation:

• Improved participants’ sustained attention — i.e., the ability to focus on one specific task such as reading a book, watching TV, etc. — by 54.2%, and 
• Reduced their impulsivity (commission errors such as pressing a control button twice instead of once).

How best to meditate for 5 minutes

You can meditate at work during short breaks between tasks. This practice can relieve stress and help you regain focus, but it can also serve as a great strategy to help people who cope with ADHD. 

A five-minute meditation is easy and efficient if you follow these 7 basic steps:

• Sit on the floor next to your chair or in the conference room,
• Close your eyes,
• Breathe deeply in a rhythmic pattern,
• Focus on your breathing,
• Don’t ignore your thoughts but perceive them as clouds passing by,
• If you feel anxiety or fear, take a short break and return to your breathing exercises, and
• Perform these meditation exercises for 5 minutes per session.

By the end of each session, you’ll feel refreshed and more likely to focus on the next task on your to-do list. Regularly repeating this practice will help reduce impulsivity and inattention from ADHD.

Tip #15: Build a better bedtime routine

Many of the mistakes we make due to lack of focus actually stem from sleep deprivation — the lack of regular sleep not only influences our attention but also hinders our daily performance. This is why we want to emphasize the importance of having an established bedtime routine. 

Adults aged from 18 to 60 need seven or more hours of night’s sleep , while people aged from 61 and over need up to 9 hours of sleep each night. 

Therefore, creating a bedtime routine is one of the best things you can do to get enough sleep and be energized enough to focus at work.

How best to build a better bedtime routine

To get enough sleep and stop yawning at work, try incorporating the following tips into your bedtime routine:

• Have a regular sleep-wake cycle (for example, go to bed at 10 p.m. and wake up at 6 a.m.),
• Drink a cup of chamomile or lavender tea to calm your mind before you go to bed,
• Read a book before bed to reduce stress,
• Always aerate your bedroom during the day or half an hour before you go to sleep,
• Don’t eat heavy and fatty foods before sleep,
• Don’t drink caffeinated drinks,
• Don’t scroll through social media, and
• Don’t chug lots of water to avoid getting up in the middle of the night.

Tip #16: Get some exercise during the day

Exercising boosts your energy, gets your blood flowing, and makes you more alert — which are all excellent qualities for focused work. So, it’s a good idea to include an exercise routine at work, at least to some extent.

Sure, you can’t really bring a treadmill into the office if you work on-site (unless your company has a lax policy about such things) — but you can introduce exercising on a smaller scale.

How best to get some exercise during the day

If you work from home, you can use the most convenient spot in your apartment, spread out the mat, and do a 10-minute break workout. You can find some really easy but effective 10-minute break workouts on Youtube , and you don’t even need any special equipment — just a little bit of space.

Even if you’re working on-site, you can still do a series of quick and easy exercises during break time. You can use water bottles (or bring in your own set of weights) to do a couple of overhead presses or arm curls right at your desk.

Also, if you have flexible working hours and have a gym near the office, you can parse your day to work/exercise segments:

• Work for 4 hours in the morning,
• Hit the gym for 1 hour in the afternoon, and
• Finish your workday with 4 hours of focused work after the gym.

Alternatively, you can take a quick jog around the office building before lunch to really get your blood flowing.

If you need some more useful exercises to keep your body and brain active throughout the day, here are 10 productivity exercises you can try:

• 10 Productivity exercises for body and mind

Tip #17: Do one thing at a time

Have you ever caught yourself trying to switch between projects and tasks more often than is humanly possible? You probably thought this would help you get more done, but in fact, multitasking will only make you confused and less productive.

Instead of dealing with several tasks simultaneously, try doing one thing at a time. It will enable you to direct all your attention to that particular task and do it in the best possible way. 

When you’re 100% focused on one task, you can think more clearly and be more effective.  

How best to do one thing at a time

As we already mentioned, multitasking tears up your mental energy, so the best advice is to avoid it as much as you can.

To avoid multitasking, you should:

• Create a list of daily priorities and follow it,
• Try to say “No” more when asked to handle some additional tasks, and
• Close unnecessary tabs in your browser.

If you minimize distractions and stick to the defined list of priority tasks, you’ll decrease the amount of information your brain is trying to process. That way, you’ll maintain your focus and actually get bigger chunks of work done. 

Tip #18: Keep a record of your thoughts

If you feel like you can’t focus at work or on a specific task at hand because you can’t stop thinking about some other, perhaps non-work-related issues, try writing your thoughts down in a journal or a planner.

Getting those distracting thoughts out of your head will empty your mind of clutter and get your focus back on track. 

How best to keep a record of your thoughts

According to research on the benefits of journaling , writing our thoughts down not only reduces stress but also helps us understand our own feelings and thoughts better and clear our minds.

So, whether you’ve suddenly got a new idea on how to redecorate your bedroom or a solution to a troublesome task that isn’t even on your schedule for today, just write it down in your journal and remove these thoughts from your head.

Aside from keeping a journal, you can keep a record of your thoughts by:

• Writing them down on index cards,
• Making a quick note on your phone, or even
• Using a voice recorder.

That way, you’ll get rid of unnecessary ideas and thoughts and be able to pay attention to what matters at that moment.

Are you looking for a more creative way to keep track of your time and daily activities? Using a bullet journal time-tracking technique could be the right solution for you, so read our blog post and learn everything about it:

• I tested bullet journal time tracking for a week

Tip #19: Find purpose in your work

If you’re not really sure what the point of doing a certain task is or what your ultimate career goals are, you may find it hard to stay motivated and thus focused. 

Finding purpose in what you’re doing is essential to staying focused at work. Sometimes you may feel lost career-wise, without any instant benefits arising from your hard work, but that’s just because you haven’t set clearly defined goals for yourself.

To learn more about how to find motivation and what motivation strategies you can try out, read our blog post on the subject:

• How do you motivate yourself to keep working

How best to find purpose in your work

You can start by setting smaller goals that will gradually grow. Still, keep in mind that  these goals should be clear and realistic, such as, for example, “I want to earn that promotion” or “I want to improve my skills and get another certification.”

When you connect your daily tasks to a wider purpose, it’ll be much easier for you to concentrate on the task at hand because you’ll be able to see your effort paying off in the long run.

Tip #20: Create your own “focus mantra”

Having a personal mantra — such as affirmations or reminders of your priorities — is another great way to motivate yourself and stay focused on work.

How best to create your own “focus mantra”

According to Alexis Hasselberger, choosing a phrase that you can say to yourself to redirect your attention back to the task at hand helps a great deal with focus:

“When I find my mind wandering, or when I feel the urge to check email when I’m working on a big report, I say ‘Do what you’re doing right now’ to redirect myself.”

This is a simple yet effective way to quickly get back on track and finish the task you’ve been working on.  

What are the main benefits of staying focused?

Perhaps you don’t need to be reminded of the benefits of staying focused. However, in case you still have trouble setting your mind to making some changes, we’ve singled out some of the greatest benefits of being focused. 

Benefit #1: Staying focused ensures productivity at work

As we mentioned before, focus and productivity are closely related — you’ll hardly ever become productive if you don’t learn to maintain your focus.

Staying focused also helps you make the most of your workday. You’ll be able to finish all the planned tasks, and maybe even quicker than you anticipated.

As Alexis explains, the primary benefit of being focused at work is that you can work far fewer hours and get the same work done:

“Studies show that most people lose up to 1/3 of their workday simply to recover from distractions. Many people end up working much longer than a standard 8-hour work day to account for this. This means that if you are able to reduce distractions and stay focused, you can fit all your work into a standard workweek, or maybe even less, which means that you’ll have more time to do whatever you like outside of work!”

Benefit #2: Staying focused helps you reach a “flow state” and perform better

A flow state, colloquially known as ‘ being in the zone, ’ is a state of mind that allows you to get fully absorbed in a task at hand and thus perform better. So, if you want to produce high-quality work, you’ll first need to focus deeply on what you’re doing.

Productivity consultant, Juliet Dreamhunter, further explains that achieving a deep-focused flow state is important as it leads to better performance at work:

“When you concentrate on one task and avoid multitasking, you enter a deep focused flow state, a mental state where you are fully immersed in the activity, leading to higher productivity and quality of work.”

To learn more about how to get into a state of uninterrupted workflow and work faster and better, read our article on the subject:

• How to engage in Deep Work and achieve your goals

Benefit #3: Staying focused reduces stress

When we are fully concentrated at work, not only do we perform better, but we also stress less because we get to complete everything we want for the day. 

According to research on the impact of stress on attention , stress exposure and attention deficit are highly related — the more we stress, the lesser our ability to complete our task requirements is.

Moreover, when we’re able to stay on task long enough to successfully complete it, we feel a sense of accomplishment and more at ease.

To add to the subject, this time Juliet explains that staying focused benefits our mental health too:

“Staying focused minimizes the cognitive load associated with task-switching, which minimizes stress and helps avoid burnout.”

So, we can conclude that working on your focus definitely helps your overall well-being.

To learn more about burnout and its effect on health, read the blog post below:

• Career burnout and its effect on health

Quick concentration techniques for instant attention boost

You might be reading this blog post and thinking: “The tips would probably help me focus, but it’ll take too much time!”  

So, in case you need to focus right now, take a look at the following brain hacks that can help you concentrate within minutes .

Bear in mind that these might not work for everyone — but considering they virtually take no time, you can give them a try.

Focus hack #1: Try the 5-second rule

The 5-second rule, introduced in the eponymous book by Mel Robbins , is as simple as it sounds.

When you can’t make yourself start working on a task, count down from 5 — the moment you reach 0, plunge yourself into work.

Maybe all you need is that initial push to get things going.

Focus hack #2: Utilize the 4-7-8 breathing technique

The 4-7-8 technique was developed by Dr. Andrew Weil and is based on a yogic practice of controlled breathing, i.e., pranayama . This breathing technique helps reduce stress, which is always a good step toward regaining focus.

Here’s how to practice it:

• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whooshing “ocean” sound (by making a soft restriction in the back of your throat),
• Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds,
• Hold your breath for 7 seconds,
• Exhale through the mouth for 8 seconds, again making the “ocean” sound, and
• Repeat the cycle several times.

Focus hack #3: Do the work and the brain will catch up

No concentration? No problem!

Your focus may be failing you, but your body won’t. It may sound silly, but if you’re putting off a task because you can’t focus, you should try Nike’s advice — just do it.

This advice might irritate you — if you could just do it, you would be doing it already . 

However, the point is — you don’t have to do it well to start with.

For example, if you’re trying to write an article and your mind is blank, just open your doc, and start writing anything — even if it’s complete gibberish. Your mind will eventually catch up with your fingers, and before you know it, you’ll be fully focused and ready to do the real work.

Final thoughts: Building focus is doable, just find what works for you

Keeping focus at work is crucial for a successful career. It’s sometimes challenging but always manageable — if you follow the right focus tips.

Even though tweaking your focus takes time as you need to make changes in your lifestyle and start some new routines, for a quick solution, you can always try out some of the focus hacks we mentioned.

In the end, when you change your habits, you’ll find that you’re finishing your work faster and better, which will ensure you feel happier with your job and life overall.

Marija Kojic is a productivity writer who's always researching about various productivity techniques and time management tips in order to find the best ones to write about. She can often be found testing and writing about apps meant to enhance the workflow of freelancers, remote workers, and regular employees. Appeared in G2 Crowd Learning Hub, The Good Men Project, and Pick the Brain, among other places.

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Library Voices

How to stay organized as a college student.

The transition from high school to college introduces independence and accountability into our lives. You are responsible for attending your lectures, choosing your class times, and for many of us, paying room and board. These responsibilities can be overwhelming, especially staying on top of your assignments, completing personal tasks, and including time for socialization and self-care. It might feel as though you have to neglect certain parts of your life in order to be successful as a student, but that isn’t always true, this post includes tools you can use to give you peace of mind and structure in your life.

Notion is an all-in-one workspace that allows you to keep your life organized and gives creative freedom on what you want to create. There are endless possibilities on what you can create, such as finances trackers, vacation planning, habit trackers, and most importantly assignment trackers. This is the platform that I have used since my freshman year of college and I believe it is the reason I have been able to be successful and stay on top of my coursework.

Before using Notion, I had been overwhelmed with the daily tasks of being a college student. I remember asking myself, how do I stay on top of class, complete extracurricular activities, work on side projects, have a job, stay on top of finances and bills, have time for social activities, and have time for self-care? When you list these things out, it sounds extremely overwhelming, and can cause of sense of doubt. Since you’re stressed out about what you have to do, many times we procrastinate and prevent ourselves from achieving what we are capable of. In reality, it all comes down to how well you organize and structure these activities.

Assignment Tracker

An assignment tracker is a great way to start your journey with Notion. I start off my pages with a cover, which I usually download from Pinterest or choose from the built in options on Notion. I then choose an icon to be at the top of the page to be the page identifier on the sidebar view. I then insert a table and put in my school schedule with course number and class times, including an estimated study time depending on the day. Under this schedule is where I insert a call out, where I include my reminders. Lastly, I include a table view with my assignments! I include the class name, my status on the assignment, the date I want to start working on it, then the due date.

Here is an example assignment page that I use!

It may be difficult to get started on Notion and learn all of its functionalities, there are guides available to help you get started with creating your online workspace! Additionally, if you are stuck on how you want to customize your pages, there are free templates available that you can import into your Notion page that has everything all done for you! These include templates such as study pages, travel planners, investment planners and more.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is an online calendar that allows you to plan your daily tasks in an organized manner. I have tried numerous online calendars and highly prefer using Google Calendar to plan my day because of the color customization and overall visual aspects of the calendar.

A tip I have as a college student is to plan your days one at a time, this means setting apart 20 minutes at the end of each day to plan how you want the next day to be structured. When you do this, you are most likely to stick to your plan and not set unrealistic goals for yourself as you might do when planning an entire month out at once. Knowing this, it is still good practice to note down any special dates such as meetings, appointments, or any future commitments so you don’t forget.

I recommend planning absolutely everything , especially if you are someone that struggles with productivity. This means planning the time you will wake up, time to get ready, time to get to a certain destination etc. Of course, life happens and it may not always go as planned, but knowing an idea of how your day will look like helps bring a sense of peace to our already busy lives. 

Here is an example of how your Google Calendar may look like:

To customize the colors and make your calendar look aesthetically pleasing, there are multiple online tutorials to help you get started.

Do I Need Anything Else?

It is a common belief that to be productive we need to purchase extra tools such as a nice laptop, an iPad, or digital journals. If these are tools that actually do help, that’s great! However, many times these are unnecessary purchases that may not help at all or be useful to you. Productivity comes down to you and how you utilize your time. I realized that all I need to be successful is my laptop and nothing else. I was someone who was influenced to buy an iPad due to the belief that it would boost my productivity, sometimes I write some notes on it, but there are times where I go months without touching it. Don’t feel like you need fancy materials to be productive. You are capable of achieving your goals by your determination and willingness to try out new tools such as Notion or Google Calendar.

Good luck on your academic journey!

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