Strategies

Work out what is distracting you. Is it because you have too many other commitments that you feel you need to attend to before studying? Are you finding tasks boring or overwhelming? Are you experiencing personal problems? Do you give yourself enough time to relax? It may be something as mundane as not being well organised.

If the cause of poor concentration is serious, seek help. If you're not well organized, work on ways to improve the situation. For example, you may be distracted because your study area is messy or noisy. Create a study environment that is conducive to work. Make sure that it isn't too comfortable though. Trying to study on a bed is more likely to result in you falling asleep than improving your concentration! Another strategy is to study in small blocks rather than for long periods of time, and don't forget to take frequent breaks and reward yourself for your work (see Time management).