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. 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 2. 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 to build mental and emotional resilience, which is very closely linked to your ability to focus and do hard things.
(This makes sense when you consider how much discipline it takes to stand in a cold shower but then also the huge sense of accomplishment you feel once you've done it.)
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 3. Try meditation to improve 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 you just doing it. You will be distracted at first. You will annoy yourself with the amount of thinking you do when you should, in fact, be NOT thinking at all.
Again, with time and practice, you'll become better and more relaxed. You'll start noticing it when your mind wanders, and then become skilled at bringing your attention back to your breathing.
Most people who try meditation for the first time are astonished at how hard it is to focus on just one thing for more than ten seconds. Over time, though, it becomes a rewarding and relaxing exercise that has spillover benefits into every other aspect of your life.
Exercise 4. 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 big keys to getting where you want to in life, and having a happier, healthier time while en route.
It takes mental fortitude to get out there and 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 5. Work on your memorization skills
Memorization is cognitively taxing. When you do it, you compel your brain to lay down fresh neural tracks and strengthen existing ones, which, overall, trains your brain to become more efficient and skilled at learning. As the saying goes, “the mentally fit keep getting fitter.” (Well, if there wasn’t a saying like that, now there is …).
It is therefore helpful to practice memorizing things, especially by using spaced repetition flashcards. Flashcard apps like Brainscape are great tools to learn more effectively if you struggle with focusing on your studies. The adaptive algorithm introduces new material at just the right rate so you’re learning optimally.
Studying with Brainscape can double the speed you learn, and it’s strangely addictive.
Exercise 6. 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 7. 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 8. 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 9. Monologue with a ball
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.
In addition, getting out and delivering a lecture on what you’re learning (even if you have an audience of none) is known as the Feynman technique, and it’s a great way to consolidate your knowledge.
Exercise 10. 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 work your focus muscles like Arnie getting ready for Terminator 7 (or is it 8?), then, come judgment day, you’ll perform like a champion.
Hasta la vista, baby.