concentration/staying on track

[nobodyspecial]

Just keep reminding yourself that the deadline is going to arrive, regardless of what you do. It won't go away, it won't be postponed, it's coming and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Whether or not you're ready for it, though, is entirely up to you. Inevitability can be a tremendous incentive.

The above is certainly true enough, but procrastination is much more fun. I used to get a salt/sugar/caffine buzz from Doritos and Coke and write throughout the night. That said, my gpa wasn't anything to write home about.

 

[Edward]

I coped with all that stuff at uni by being the reclusive type.... course, it helps that I don't like being out in the sun lol

These days, I do struggle with concentration span. I was a real daydreamer as a child, and it has come back on me as a side effect of clinical depression in the last couple of years. I really do recommend the breaking it down approach. Even you don't get much done in one day, you do still fel you've achieved something, which leads on to a little bit more the next day...

I can also recommend the benefits of keepnig regular hours. Not starting til lunchtime, then working half the night, and getting up late the next day to repeat the cycle is very counter-productive in my experience.

 

[sixsexsix]

I am a "late bloomer" and just doing my 1st year right now, at age 25. I work fulltime so a lot of the issue, for me, is coming home exhausted and not wanting to do anything at all after a long hard day at the office! It's definately been a struggle and next year I will cut down my working hours to try and make things a little less hectic on myself.

Thanks to this thread though I did get to doing a little more research last night, so thanks all! I have been having a lot of problems finding enough sources for my topic, and the whole thing has just felt like such an impossible struggle I just want it to be over with

 

[Paisley]

After a day at the office, I usually have to force myself to work out. But after I do, I feel energized. And I don't do long workouts, either--just 20 to 50 minutes.

 

[Sunny]

(1) Recreational reading is a HUGE temptation. I FINISH whatever I was reading before, then IF I start something, it's something large or not so exciting (i.e. not as tempting). If I don't do this, the consequences are dire. I have been known to read two complete novels in one day, since I simply cannot concentrate on studying with unfinished reading staring in my face.

(2) Close down my Outlook. This is the trigger that's kept me off my computer. If I'm getting email all the time, of course I'll be getting up to check who loves me. Then I'll be browsing my blog... reading my friends page... ebay... the Fedora Lounge... the weather... Project Gutenberg (OH NO - see above)...

(3) Music. Without some noise going on, I'm either falling asleep (when it's quiet) or distracted (when the family's loud). But music has its issues, too:

• Music with lyrics distracts me. No words. (No OTR either, darn it.)
• Music I do not know well distracts me.
• Quiet, slow, or uneven-tempo music might as well be nonexistent.

In desperation once at school, I created a playlist of the soundtracks to the Indiana Jones movies and Pirates of the Caribbean. Fast, strong, driving, forceful, and NOT emotional. The Lord of the Rings soundtracks do not work at all, but this playlist does. I can't goof off with it blaring in my ears, and since I know all the tracks forwards and backwards (nearly) so they're not distracting, in and of themselves. I only use it for really serious situations (forcing myself to write a program in C++, studying for intermediate accounting II final, etc.) so it doesn't get stale. The hard part is forcing myself to get serious in the first place.

Good luck! I've got an auditing final a week from today... Physician, heal thyself! lol

 

[Foofoogal]

fftopic: I am not in any way suggesting you have this but I couldn't finish a sentence in my brain and when I would lay down at night my mind would race with no concentration.
I had a thyroid condition called Graves disease. I am in remission now for over 3 years. I still have my thyroid but was on 6 PTU and 2 Inderal in the beginning for 6 month. I take no medicine now but use diet like they do in Europe.
I stay off of processed foods, iodine and salt mainly.

 

[sixsexsix]

Hey FFgirl, I don't think I have a thyroid problem...I actually had my thyroid checked about 6 months ago because I am always cold, but it appears to be ok. I do get the nighttime racetrack thinking, but I think that is fairly common?

 

[SGT Rocket]

When ever I get a little writers block I just try to set a good time to just write. Say, tomorrow at 9:00pm, I'll put on my schedule to write. Now the time comes and I sit down. But, I still and really dreading it and can't think of anything to put on paper. So I just write. Sort of a stream of consciousness. It doesn't even need to relate to the subject that I must write about.

Soon, you'll find yourself writing on the subject that you need to for your paper.

 

[Foofoogal]

Hey FFgirl, I don't think I have a thyroid problem...I actually had my thyroid checked about 6 months ago because I am always cold, but it appears to be ok. I do get the nighttime racetrack thinking, but I think that is fairly common?

You have to fast before the test and the person really has to know what they are doing. Losing alot of weight fast is also a sign and hyper where you cannot sit still.

 

[Real Swell Gal]

How bout taking your books to a nice shady spot outside to study?