When it comes to studying, most of us bank on being able to focus like the Terminator on its mission target. That is until we sit down to study. Then we perform more like Homer Simpson in a donut factory.
This is because attention and focus are both like a muscle. Unless you build it through consistent practice over time, you’ll remain easily distracted by every donut that wafts its fragrance your way.
The desire to help students concentrate better was one of the big motivators that drove Brainscape to engineer the world's most effective flashcards app. Along the way, however, we learned a thing or three about how to improve concentration and focus, which inspired us to write this guide!
So here are some cognitive science principles that'll help you build your attention span like a muscle so that your brain is as shredded and single-minded as the Terminator when you need it to be.
[You might also love this article: 'How to focus while studying: Tips for better concentration']
How your brain focuses (and how to harness that)
Why do focus exercises work to improve your attention span and help you to study harder? The answer is steeped in neuroscience but here's the simple answer...
Brains learn via neural connections
Inside our brain lives a neural network with literally millions of possible connections. These neural connections are like muscle fibers. While you can't build new neurons, you can build new connections. In fact, building new connections is how we learn.
The more neural pathways that exist for a particular piece of knowledge or skill, the better you understand that concept and the faster you can recall or perform it.
To build these neural pathways, you need to repeat the exercise of trying to focus: of sitting down with your textbooks and notes and trying to apply yourself to learning. At first, it'll be laborious and you'll probably get distracted again and again, until you quit out of sheer frustration. But if you come back to it consistently, each time you'll focus for just a little bit longer.
Over time and with consistent practice, your focus will improve because those neural connections will become stronger and stronger. The importance of consistency here cannot be understated because, just like a muscle, the skill of focusing will atrophy if you don't work at it!
Brains are energy-hungry organs
The other reason your brain can feel resistant to focusing is that it's taxing for your brain! Even when it's at rest, your brain consumes around 20% of your overall energy load and when you try to focus on learning, it needs much more.
But the real problem here is that the brain is biologically engineered to want to conserve energy. It's a survival imperative. This is why you "don't feel like it" most of the time you're required to focus on your studies. Without any clear or present threat to your survival, the brain goes into "standby" mode and just wants to chill.
The good news is that, as we said, you can build your attention span like a muscle and now that you understand a little bit of the cognitive science behind why you might be struggling to focus, let's take a look at 10 exercises that'll train your brain to concentrate better and allow fewer distractions in.
10 Focus exercises to build your attention span
Exercise 1. Create a "study bubble"
The easiest place to start on your crusade to improve your attention span—especially when it comes to studying—is to curate a distraction-free environment for more productive studying:
- Turn off notifications. Before sitting down to study, turn off notifications on your phone or computer. Better yet, leave your devices in another room to avoid temptation.
- Take care of mental distractions first. Before studying, complete any “urgent” tasks that may otherwise distract you, like paying a bill or replying to an important email.
- Gather together everything you need. Snacks, water, coffee, books, laptop, chargers, tissues, stationery... make sure everything you need is within arm's reach so that you won't need to get up again for anything.
- Use noise-canceling headphones. If you’re easily distracted or don’t have a quiet, private space in your home, noise-canceling headphones can make a big difference.
- Avoid listening to music with a melody and lyrics. Music is proven to distract the brain from deep focus. Lo-fi, binaural beats, or white noise are preferable.
- Let others know not to disturb you. Notify the members of your household when you will be studying so that they can keep noise and interruptions to a minimum.
- Find a new environment to study in. If your current environment is too distracting, try your local library, coffee shop, community center, or an empty classroom at your school.
Exercise 2. Keep a notebook handy to capture the distractions and take them out of your head
You know how those urgent but unimportant thoughts always pop into your head when you're trying to study or focus on something? Or you feel overwhelmed by the enormous amount of work you need to accomplish?
This is where a little notebook will come in handy. Instead of allowing these thoughts to derail your focus, make a to-do list or use Notes or Reminders on your iPhone to capture them.
This will take them out of your head—where they're distracting you and causing you anxiety—and put them on paper (or your phone) where you can see them all lined up neatly, ready to be taken care of when you're done studying.
This will help you to focus better.
Exercise 3. Build your mental resilience with... cold showers?
There’s been some interesting research on the health benefits of exposing your body to cold for controlled periods. The thesis of the mental benefits of cold showers is that they help build mental and emotional resilience, which is closely linked to your ability to focus and do hard things. (This makes sense considering how much discipline it takes to stand in a cold shower!)
So take a cold shower for a little bit longer each day, and delay your gratification of getting a nice hot shower afterward. Alternatively, end your normal shower with an increasingly longer cold one. (I've tried cold showers myself and it was hard but I was triumphant afterward.)
Exercise 4. Use meditation to improve your focus
The benefits of meditation are well documented so we won't hammer on them here. Rather, we'd like to connect the dots between meditation and your ability to focus. You see, meditation is one of the most effective ways to train your mind to be still. If you can train yourself to do that, you can easily and intentionally apply that discipline and focus to your studies.
Of course, telling you to "meditate" is easier than just doing it. You will be distracted at first. You will annoy yourself with the amount of thinking you do when you shouldn't be thinking at all. Over time, though, it becomes a rewarding and relaxing exercise, the benefits of which spill over into every other aspect of your life.
Exercise 5. Move your body! Exercise is a great stress reliever
Exercise is another activity most people don’t feel like doing beforehand but feel great after. Inverting this “before vs. after” phenomenon is one of the greatest drivers of great focus, health, and happiness in life.
It takes mental fortitude to go for a run when you don’t feel like it. Every time you do, though, you’re building up mental stamina. You’re also helping your brain to function better. The combination of increased blood flow, oxygenation, endorphins, and mental resilience will improve your ability to focus on the other areas of your life.
Exercise 6. Hack your brain to increase your attention span
Oftentimes, our inability to focus is caused by having a tired, dehydrated, and even malnourished brain. Here are many ways you can ensure your brain is running at optimal capacity:
- Hydrate. Few of us drink enough water to keep our brains properly hydrated, which leads to fogginess, fatigue, and difficulty retaining information. Rehydrate properly first thing in the mornings and keep a bottle of water handy during your study sessions.
- Eat a balanced diet rich in lean proteins, greens, and fatty acids. The quality of the fuel you put in your body matters for clarity of thought, persistence of memory, and depth of reasoning. A diet of Big Macs and ramen noodles will not set you up for success.
- Consume sugar and caffeine in moderation. What goes up must come down! Relying on sugar and caffeine for energy will trap you in a cycle of energy highs and crashes. You get enough sugar from fresh produce. Drink your coffee slowly and within limit.
- Get enough sleep. Sleep is critical for brain health and brain health is critical for attention span, concentration, and learning. Getting a good night’s sleep before an exam is probably more important for learning than putting in those extra hours of cramming.
- Mix up your study methods. Varying the delivery of content to your brain—reading notes, watching videos, listening to lectures, studying flashcards, practicing problem sets—promotes robust learning, while preventing boredom.
Exercise 7. Use flashcards to study
One of the most effective tools for fast, efficient studying are adaptive, digital flashcards, which deliver information to your brain the way your brain was biologically designed to learn! (Via the learning principles of spaced repetition, active recall, and metacognition.)
Importantly, when learning is fast and efficient, it's infinitely easier to commit to longer and longer study sessions. Add to this the fact that flashcard apps like Brainscape are 100% accessible anytime, anywhere, and on any deviceand you've got a tool that will help you strengthen your attention span!
Exercise 8. Challenge yourself with good literature
Another way to build your focus power is to read difficult writing you're interested in (The Economist, Science, Dickens, etc.)
Keeping the cast of Crime and Punishment straight in your head as you work your way through this classic is the mental equivalent of running a half marathon wearing gumboots.
Reading difficult material successfully requires real concentration and determination, and your willpower will grow accordingly.
Exercise 9. Practice the skill of listening (and paying attention)
Listen with great attention to audiobooks or lectures. Focused listening is a life skill, one that can be applied in many areas.
It’s important to do your listening actively and single-mindedly, not while browsing Pinterest or playing Candy Crush. When you do this, you’ll discover that deep listening is HARD WORK and requires brain power. Take breaks when you find your attention wandering too much; however, try to stay focused for as long as you can.
Exercise 10. Practice sitting still
Do you remember being taken somewhere formal as a child (funeral, wedding, classical concert, presidential inauguration speech) and being told to “Just sit still for goodness sake!” Well, although you’re probably better at it now, it may be time to revisit this skill.
Try timing yourself to see how long you can sit absolutely still. (Combine this with our previous point on meditation.) You’ll find it’s not that easy. If you have kids, it may make you sympathize with their plight a little more. Either way, it’s a great exercise to build up your focus muscle.
Exercise 11. Monologue with a ball
Huh?
Okay, hear me out: practice reciting all you know about a topic you're studying, while throwing a ball in the air and catching it. It’s difficult to concentrate on both actions but this builds your attention span and focus.
If tossing a ball in the air while you're trying to recite everything you know is too distracting, you could always pace your room or go for a walk. The study method of teaching aloud your subject in great detail, from the ground up, is known as the Feynman technique, and it’s a great way to consolidate your knowledge.
Exercise 12. Find your Why
Finally, one of the most powerful tools for building focus is to remind yourself WHY you’re doing something. Link your goal to something that’s part of your identity, and you’ll unlock a whole new level of mental energy.
Consistency is key!
“We don't rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training” —Archilochus, Ancient Greek poet and soldier.
At Brainscape, we believe this: preparation is the key to achievement and success. Focus is a skill you can nurture in yourself; the more you work on it, the more natural it will become for you. It takes effort, but the results are well worth it. And the better you can focus, the better you'll be able to study.
In other words, if you workout your focus muscles, like Arnie gets body-ready for Terminator 7 (or is it 8?), then, come judgment day, you’ll perform like a champion.
Hasta la vista, baby.