How I Trick My Brain To Study Focused Everyday | overcome distractions
3 min readovercome distractions , 13 hours a day is the average time I use my phone every day for 30 days in May. In June, I was not able to sit and study for just 2 hours a day, and in the second week of June, I broke that cycle.
So how am I able to quickly remove all overcome distractions and start studying for hours in just 7 days? In this video, whether you think you are lazy or average, we’ll find scientific solutions that quickly make yourself focused on studies for 10 to 12 hours a day. Countless research points to distractions being a major factor for poor academic performance, so we’ll discuss simple and practical scientific tips to beat all distractions.
In today’s world, we have to depend on smartphones and laptops for exam preparation, so I will share five apps that will make it impossible to waste time on the internet during your study.
Why Do We Get Distracted?overcome distractions?
There is a concept in science that if you do something for 21 days, then it becomes a habit. Due to this, I lost control of my life. In May, I was hospitalized for 30 days, and my health was not getting better, in fact, it was getting worse every single day. I started using social media because I felt better and was watching IPL every single day. After 30 days, my physical health was fine, but when I decided to sit and study like before, I couldn’t. I forced myself to study for some time using Pomodoro, but beyond 2 hours, I started scrolling my phone, watching movies, and the T20 World Cup.
I realized that distraction is not due to a lack of focus; it’s due to overstimulation. Observe our life – we have Instagram, WhatsApp, cricket, movies – we are surrounded by things that give us stimulation. The chemical called dopamine is produced in our brain when we eat our favorite food, have sex, watch reels, or get likes on our Instagram stories, but study sessions are not as stimulating. So, I’m distracted not due to a lack of focus, but due to overstimulation.
Lifestyle Changes
- Meditation: Researchers found that those who meditate regularly have lower brain activity in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), which is responsible for mind-wandering.overcome distractions
- Attention Training: A simple practice of taking 17 minutes to sit and pay attention to your internal state can permanently rewire your brain to attend better.
- Sleep: A study showed that sleep-deprived students had difficulty refocusing when distracted, while those who had good sleep were able to quickly refocus.
- Avoiding Relationships During Exam Prep: I observed a friend who got distracted by a relationship during his GATE exam preparation, and it affected his performance.
Tackling External Distractions
- Quit Social Media: As per a former Facebook executive, the short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops created by social media are destroying how society works. Quit social media.overcome distractions
- Delayed Phone Use: I adapted the habit of not using my mobile phone except for calls until 12 PM, then gradually increased it to 5 PM.
Tackling Internal Distractions
- Planning: Plan your day before going to sleep, breaking down big tasks into smaller ones.
- Deadlines: Set deadlines for your tasks, as the problem is that you think you have more time if you don’t set deadlines.
- Time Boxing: Plan your day in hourly blocks, like how Bill Gates plans every 5 minutes of his day.
- Worry List: Create a separate ‘Worry List’ to address your concerns later, so they don’t distract you while studying.
Apps for Focused Study
- Minimalist Launcher: A launcher with no wallpapers or app icons to reduce mindless app opening.
- OffTime: An app that gives you a breathing exercise and asks if you want to open an app before allowing access.
- Focus Music: Apps like Endel provide focus-enhancing music.
- Beeper: An app that lets you connect all your social media in one place but only allows sending and receiving messages, not browsing feeds.
- LeechBlock: A browser extension that blocks distracting websites.
Remember, “a successful person is an average person with laser-like focus.” Take action and be laser-focused on your preparation.”
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