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1. Try a mindfulness walk or exercise
How do you get back on track? When you know you'll be studying with your screen all day, try a mindfulness exercise or a mindful walk .
✅ Re-boot your ability to concentrate
✅ Focus for a longer period of time
✅ Memorize more information
✅ Manage stress
Photo by Matt Bradford-Aunger on Unsplash2. Work around your distractions
First, do a brain dump of your frequent distractions. Things like:
Online shopping
Music with lyrics
Texting with your friend
Scrolling through feeds
Taking pictures
Snacking
Roommates/family/partner
Then, make a plan to convert these distractions into a strategy to focus.
❌ Can’t stop singing to your new favourite album?
✔️ Schedule time to listen after a block of studying time.
❌ Still need music to focus?
✔️ Make a playlist of your favourite genre with no lyrics — classical or lo-fi beats are recommended!
Did you know?
3. Make the most of your device’s accessibility features
Have you explored all of your device’s focus-friendly features?
Browser extensions such as website blockers and personalized home pages can help you stay on track. You can even save a whole session of your browser tab rabbit hole for later.
4. Have a reward system
Have you heard of the Pomodoro method?
The Rumie community on Discord uses this timed method of staying on task with an automated Pomodoro bot, but you can also use any timer you have on hand. The method alternates both studying and short breaks to make exam prep more manageable.
The best part? You can build rewards right into your study plan!
This means that during Pomodoro breaks you (finally) get to:
Go online shopping
Take a nature walk
Listen to that new song you’ve been putting off
Have a TikTok session
Time to try it for yourself 🙂
Here are the steps to the Pomodoro method:
📝 Choose a study topic
⏱️ Study for 25 minutes
🚨 Take a 5-minute break after the alarm goes off
⏱️ Repeat this schedule 3 more times
🎮 Take a longer 30-minute break
⏱️ Then, start again!
Quiz
While studying, you remember that you want a new pair of sneakers. What should you do?
Distractions are a natural part of life. The key is to regain control of your focus. Browsing for that new pair of sneakers or buying them immediately will knock you off your focus. Instead, save the shopping session for a break period as a nice reward for your studying efforts.
5. Rewatching a lesson? Try a fidget activity
You may be thinking: wouldn't fidgeting be more distracting?
Not necessarily. Similar to any physical activity, fidgeting increases activity in the brain. Mind-body connection expert John Ratey, M.D. even encourages patients to see movement as a power generator for memory, focus, and productivity.
Ready to make fidgeting a practice? Try any activity to keep you busy with your hands, like:
✏️ doodling
🧶 knitting
🌈 multicolour pens
👐🏿 focus cube
Photo by Kreeson Naraidoo on Unsplash6. Join a structured online study group — or start your own!
A study done by The American Society for Training and Development revealed that your chance of successfully reaching a goal rises to 95% when you commit to a recurring appointment with an accountability partner.
Some call this co-working, and in the ADHD community, this is often called body doubling.
Photo by Chris Montgomery on UnsplashWhat is body doubling?
A body doubling session is when two or more people work together to focus on any task (work, chores, errands, studying etc.) for an agreed length of time.
Why should I study with someone?
Not only will peers cheer you on to the finish line, but the mirroring effect of working together gives you a shared sense of structure that motivates folks to concentrate on the task.
Photo by Brooke Cagle on UnsplashHow does body doubling work?
You meet with one or more people in person or on a virtual platform to work together in sprints.
You begin with each person stating their task(s) verbally or in a chat function.
Together, everyone tries to complete their task(s) by the end of the work sprint.
At the end, you discuss your wins and strategies to improve 🙌
Who can I body double with?
Friend(s), family, student peers or a virtual group.
Take Action
Next time you lose focus while studying online, you can:
This Byte has been authored by
Laura Clark
Content Writer