I’ve posted a bunch in the past about focusing on how you study not just how long you study for. There’s a big difference between the two and I thought it was time to look a little more into this in-depth.

Think of your ability to concentrate and focus as a currency when it comes to your studying. You can tell yourself that tomorrow you’re going to study for 15+ hours but let’s be realistic here. It’s not going to happen.

Our goal here is going to be increasing this currency (improving the amount of concentration you can spend) and the value of the currency (getting more done with the focus you have).

To start with I wanted to share some great advice from Thaddeus Asher Han:

There is ONE thing, one thing that people NEVER seems to get when it comes to concentration. Because they don’t understand this simple rule, their results and study session effectiveness often fall short of their expectations. This had come to my attention during the hellish two years of my IB journey, and god it’s been bugging me non-stop till today when I see students still struggling with this issue. You see, naive and unaware students like us think there are a million techniques and rules to follow to obtain the best grades. Perhaps this common herd mentality is a product of the linear, uniform education system that we all go through, but that is another debate for another day. You’ve heard it all: Eat the right foods for peak performance of our brains. Sleep eight hours so we don’t feel lethargic. Sit in the front row of the class so we grasp every nitty gritty detail of what the lecturer is trying to say. You’ve probably done some of them yourself. And yet, you still fall short of your expectations. You still fail. Do situations like these sound familiar to you? Heck, you might even be one of them! You might be in situations where the million and one study techniques that you tried never seemed to work. That is because you aren’t aware of this one tip. From my experience in the IB Diploma Programme, it is this one thing that differentiates the top scorers and consistent high performers from the rest of us average performers. There’s no magic formula to study success, but boy is there one principle to improve your concentration. It is this: Concentration Quality = Environment Quality The quality of your concentration is directly correlated to the quality of your environment. You see, you MUST HAVE a conducive environment to have maximum concentration. Not only must this environment be conducive, but conducive for YOU. The Starbucks that your best friend deems most conducive for her might be hell on Earth for you, because the background music she sees as motivation might be your biggest distraction. If this premise is not met, you can stop reading here because all the additional study techniques I’ll share with you below to boost your concentration will go to nought. So stop. Take a moment to think about what environment makes you focus the most. Then read on. When I was still an IB student, I would travel over an hour every day on the train to the National Library in Singapore. You might think I’m crazy. After all, why would I spend so much money and precious time just to travel all the way? Because I knew that my highest levels of concentration arrived amidst the deafening silence between the bookshelves lining the library’s walls. Inspiration struck when the rustle of the crinkly pages of books entered my ears. Momentum was built from the murmurs of other students around me as we all strived towards a common goal of attaining academic excellence. Yet, as Bruce Lee once said, “Knowing is not enough, we must apply.” Understanding what our optimum study environment is barely suffices in helping us increase concentration when studying, but it is THE first step. There are techniques that must be undertaken in this very environment that helps us achieve optimum study effectiveness. In the National Library, this would be my study routine: Upon finding a seat, take my journal out. Journaling my top priorities for that study session allowed me to focus on what I needed to accomplish during that session. With a clear focus on my goals, full concentration on achieving them was a no-brainer next step.

Editors note here. If you don’t already do this then don’t forget you can download the ultimate student journal printable (free): The Ultimate Student Organizer Pack ←- click or tap there.

Unless you’re actually meant to be studying at the moment. In which case save it for later because you’re going to have to set it up.

After listing out my to-do tasks, eat the frog. If you haven’t heard, Eating the Frog is a phrase coined by Mark Twain. It means to conquer your most challenging task the first thing in the morning (or when your session begins). At the beginning of your study session, your mind is at its peak, and so is your concentration level. I would highly suggest you begin your study session in the morning to capitalise on your alertness and high concentration level. By committing to, and then, eating the figurative frog at the beginning of your session, you would also build momentum to complete the remainder of your to-do list, thus ensuring concentration of productivity. Having eaten the frog, I would practise solving other problems. With my most challenging task conquered, I would focus my attention on solving other less complex problems. This ranges from routine Math practices for weaker topics or writing Literature essays for my HL Literature class. With the momentum gained from eating the frog, it was not difficult to maintain that concentration to accomplish less demanding activities. Following a productive session of being in a flow, I would rest and refuel myself. After completing all my important tasks that will drain most of my concentration, I will take a break. You see, concentration is akin to fuel that your body uses in order to focus. Like fuel in your car, it is finite and is bound to run out. Taking breaks after completing the most important tasks of the day is paramount for you to refuel, and for your body to continue performing optimally in the long run. Eating the right kinds of food (food either from the ground or things that have a face) is also vital in helping you refuel your concentration level. I know this answer is long, so I won’t drag on by summing my main points up. Instead, let me ask you a final question. Have you ever been so engrossed in a computer game that you barely notice how time flies by? Did you realise how much concentration you could actually exert when you’re in the state of flow? You see, in a world full of distractions, it’s easy to think that concentration has become a lost art. Yet, we still do it all the time. As young students, we do it on social media, in computer games and in movies. To improve our concentration levels in our studies, we just need to harness this flow to our advantage, at the right times. You and I all have that ability to focus within us. We just need to take the additional step to finding the right environment that is most conducive for us to be productive. After that, put those study tips — the million and one techniques you found online that didn’t seem to work — into action, and watch your concentration ability rise.

I’ve spoken before about the idea (and the book) about eating the frog. Also about the idea (and the process) of either finding or creating an ideal study area.

We’re creatures of habit. While I will absolutely study in a coffee shop from time to time for a change of scenery (and if I’m honest — sometimes I just can’t walk any further until I’ve had my first coffee) I know it’s not my most efficient spot and when it’s crunch time I like to walk in my own corner of a silent library where other people will notice if I slack off and watch YouTube — but they won’t distract me when I’m actually in the zone.

Motivation is Bullshit. Hard Cold Concentration is Everything

I’ve spoken (read: ranted) a couple of times lately about all these motivational YouTube videos. I’ll be honest — if I’m trying to study or work 60+ a week then I’ll watch one from time to time when I’m really struggling.

But they can’t be relied on. Motivation can’t be relied on.

There have been TED talks given about it. Books are written on it. Motivation is a fickle bitch and will be outperformed every single time by pure hard concentration.

The ability to focus and concentrate is like the ability to use a muscle. The more you do it — the more you can do it. If you can sit down and start studying for 15 minutes today with proper focus — you can do it tomorrow for 20 minutes with less effort than it took today.

The more you focus the easier you’ll find it to focus.

I can’t give you a magic pill which is going to let you pull effective 10+ hour sessions overnight. Not even caffeine can do that one. Things like the printable student organizer can make your studies more effective for the time you put in but it’s still going to take some work to get you there.

I suggest the Pomodoro technique often for exactly this reason. It’s easy to start because you’re just working in very small chunks at a time and (with the right organization) it can still be highly effective.

It’s a lot easier to get yourself to study for 15 minutes than it is to try and study for over 10 hours.

You know what they say. By the yard — it’s hard. But inch by inch? Anything is possible.

Some More Study Hacks:

Retrace. Pick up a pen and a paper. Fast! Now, make a random loop something like this, given below.

Now, retrace it.

The same amount of concentration that you used to retrace the loop, is to be applied in your studies. Just keep this as a reference.

Drink elixir. The very major reason that you are not able to study is that — you don’t drink enough water. That’s correct, my friend. Ok….what is dehydration? Simply, lack of water in the body. So, whenever you feel thirsty, it simply means that you are already dehydrated. Your brain has already started to shrink. Drink enough water_@2–3 sips/hour. Don’t let yourself to even feel thirsty. This will boost your performance. I guarantee.

【Bonus tip: Sometimes, when you feel that you want something but you just can’t figure out that what you really want, at that time, you are dehydrated and you want water. Believe it. It’s true.】

Magic sessions. You loose your concentration when you study for long hours, continuously. But, you don’t have to do that. Instead of studying 10 hours continuously, study only 30 minutes. (Uh…….what?)

Scientifically, the average human attention span is about 25 minutes (maximum).

Google this if you disagree. :P

So, the trick is to study in sessions of 30 minutes. After every session, take a 5 minutes break. In the break, don’t do anything related to studies (otherwise you may loose your willpower, say scientists). In those 5 minutes, simply take a walk, do some push-ups or anything that moves your body.

After the break, continue studying in your next session.

See, if you study for 20 sessions a day (not a tough job!), you will be studying 10 hours a day! Isn’t it amazing?

10 hours of effective study.

You will be less or not tired.

Your productivity-time graph will become like this-

Otherwise (if you study continuously),

You are an advanced version of homo-sapiens. You can see the difference yourself.

Exercise exercising.

Sounds simple. You know it. But follow it too. Studying requires two strengths viz, mental and physical.

Whenever you feel sleepy during your study session, do cardio-vascular exercises. Cardio exercise is any exercise that raises your heart rate.

You will feel more active and energetic.

Above are the 8 best exercises. You don’t have to do all of them. Picking up any one of them and doing it is enough. The main purpose is to increase your heart-rate.

Healthy diet.

You already know what it means.

Don’t eat sugary food. Otherwise, your brain will crash down and you will fall asleep.

Don’t ever skip the breakfast. Never.

Cold shower.

Works like a charm.

Congratulations! The hacks are over.

What’s the difference between a smart person and a fool? Answer. A fool knows what to do but still doesn’t do. A smart person also knows what to do but he does it immediately.

Now, you know the clever hacks. Implement them. Increase your productivity while studying.

Thanks for reading! :)