Losing Focus When Studying

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #181353
    Study Monk
    Member

    Hello guys,

    I was wondering if anyone has came up with any ideas on how to focus better when studying. I think this might be due to a combination of me having high speed internet and to much caffeine, but I sometimes have serious focusing issues. I will be studying and then something will come to mind, and before I know it I am on some web page.

    I might be looking into masters programs, amazon purchases, and topics on this site. I think this sight helps a lot with feeling like your part of a community, but I think I need to have rules on how frequently I check it.

    I have been doing all my notes in google drive, so I always have the internet up. Perhaps there is some kind of program that can give me messages when I try to change websites?

    I know that for the most part I just need to make strict rules for myself, but this post is mainly a “first admit you have a problem”post. I think I will start by laying off the caffeine a little bit and by trying to get control of my ability to focus. Does anyone else have any ideas?

    I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

    "Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
  • Author
    Replies
  • #462134
    RTFQ
    Member

    A friend of mine told me about this site, https://getcoldturkey.com/ I haven't tried it yet, but she said that it worked for her! Basically you just block yourself from certain websites for a specific amount of time. I plan on using it quite a bit for AUD, I just get sooooo bored and get lost on the net….

    B- May 2014
    A- 96
    R- 90
    F- 90

    #462225
    RTFQ
    Member

    A friend of mine told me about this site, https://getcoldturkey.com/ I haven't tried it yet, but she said that it worked for her! Basically you just block yourself from certain websites for a specific amount of time. I plan on using it quite a bit for AUD, I just get sooooo bored and get lost on the net….

    B- May 2014
    A- 96
    R- 90
    F- 90

    #462136
    TDKR
    Participant

    If you keep losing focus like that, you're losing your efficiency. Studying for the exam is not fun at all and you don't want to spend 2 hours sitting there and only get 1 hour worth of studying.

    Try this: keep a to-do list close by. Every time that something came up to distract you, write it down so you can take care of it after you're done. You have a long journey ahead of you, any good study habit you can develop now is going to help you down the road and vice versa.

    REG - 72, 72, 81
    BEC - 77
    FAR - 70, 81
    AUD - 74 "so that's what it feels like." Round 2: 79

    Passing the exam is not impossible task. GIVING UP is the only way YOU can make it impossible!

    #462227
    TDKR
    Participant

    If you keep losing focus like that, you're losing your efficiency. Studying for the exam is not fun at all and you don't want to spend 2 hours sitting there and only get 1 hour worth of studying.

    Try this: keep a to-do list close by. Every time that something came up to distract you, write it down so you can take care of it after you're done. You have a long journey ahead of you, any good study habit you can develop now is going to help you down the road and vice versa.

    REG - 72, 72, 81
    BEC - 77
    FAR - 70, 81
    AUD - 74 "so that's what it feels like." Round 2: 79

    Passing the exam is not impossible task. GIVING UP is the only way YOU can make it impossible!

    #462138
    LSNYC
    Member

    I try to study in small windows. Example i will do 30-45 min of reading, or questions, or sims then a 5-10 minute break, then another 30-45 min then 5-10 min break. I use it as a reward. I feel like I get distracted when I am doing poorly on MCQ or when I sit for to long.

    I usually try to do 2-3 hours of this then I take a bit of a longer break, maybe 30 min run an errand, fold laundry ect. Trust me folding laundry will make you want to study!

    A - 61, 91!!
    B - 78!
    F - 76!!!
    R - 71, 73, 74, 69, 77!!!!

    Finally done!

    This is my 2nd attempt at the exam, I had two parts passed (failed many) and I stupidly quit, big mistake. Now I'm back and with a vengeance!

    #462229
    LSNYC
    Member

    I try to study in small windows. Example i will do 30-45 min of reading, or questions, or sims then a 5-10 minute break, then another 30-45 min then 5-10 min break. I use it as a reward. I feel like I get distracted when I am doing poorly on MCQ or when I sit for to long.

    I usually try to do 2-3 hours of this then I take a bit of a longer break, maybe 30 min run an errand, fold laundry ect. Trust me folding laundry will make you want to study!

    A - 61, 91!!
    B - 78!
    F - 76!!!
    R - 71, 73, 74, 69, 77!!!!

    Finally done!

    This is my 2nd attempt at the exam, I had two parts passed (failed many) and I stupidly quit, big mistake. Now I'm back and with a vengeance!

    #462140
    Study Monk
    Member

    @RTFQ I ended up getting leachblock for my firefox browser which basically allows me to turn off sites for specific hours. I had a little more productivity out of today as result of it.

    @TDKR I thank you for your response and one of the main reasons I made this post is that I know I need to get my study habits down now and not later. I am hoping I will build endurance as time goes by(meaning tomorrow). I have many bad habits to break.

    @LSYNC I use that study method to, but the problem has been that I have been trouble keeping myself to the deadlines. I set myself of for a 45 minute session and at minute 28 i am purchasing something on ebay.

    Today went way better as I cut out caffeine and varied my study activities more. I think I just need to man up and hold myself accountable to my study schedule. I wish I could get one of those dog collars to zap me whenever I lose focus or change priorities.

    I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

    "Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

    #462231
    Study Monk
    Member

    @RTFQ I ended up getting leachblock for my firefox browser which basically allows me to turn off sites for specific hours. I had a little more productivity out of today as result of it.

    @TDKR I thank you for your response and one of the main reasons I made this post is that I know I need to get my study habits down now and not later. I am hoping I will build endurance as time goes by(meaning tomorrow). I have many bad habits to break.

    @LSYNC I use that study method to, but the problem has been that I have been trouble keeping myself to the deadlines. I set myself of for a 45 minute session and at minute 28 i am purchasing something on ebay.

    Today went way better as I cut out caffeine and varied my study activities more. I think I just need to man up and hold myself accountable to my study schedule. I wish I could get one of those dog collars to zap me whenever I lose focus or change priorities.

    I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

    "Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

    #462142
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    im the same way, i have trouble focusing. alot of the times im doing practice questions on cpaexcel and i notice i got it wrong not because i didnt get the concepts, its cuz i read the sentence wrong or misunderstood the question.

    #462233
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    im the same way, i have trouble focusing. alot of the times im doing practice questions on cpaexcel and i notice i got it wrong not because i didnt get the concepts, its cuz i read the sentence wrong or misunderstood the question.

    #462144
    Jennifer Wade
    Participant

    I struggle as well – ESPECIALLY at home. I was going to suggest the Stay Focused plug-in for Chrome, but it sounds like you've found something similar. I find I have to also physically remove my phone from the study area (normally my husband hangs on to it in case I do get an important phone call/text – and he deals with whether its something I need to know right away or can wait til my next break).

    I have to have enough caffiene to feel awake, but not so much that I'm jittery. I find that a can of soda gets the job done better than coffee. Too much caffiene and my brain goes into overdrive – jumping from topic to topic. Being a girl doesn't help wtih that. (Have you seen the meme that says a girl's mind is like 1,000 browser tabs open at the same time? That is an accurate statement for me).

    Early morning works better for me that late-night or even evening. My productive hours for anything are no earlier than 4:30am to about 11:00am. After that, I'm shot for the day. I discovered this weekend a change in study area can also make a difference. I think part of my issue is my “play” time on the internet is the same place as my “study” time. By trying to separate the two it might make a difference.

    I do worry about getting through the test on exam day…. and I've had focus issues for awhile in other areas of my life. I don't sit for my first exam until the beginning of Jan, but I think a conversation with my doctor about potentially having adult ADD may need to happen.

    FAR - 73, rematch in early April
    AUD - 5/14
    REG - 8/14
    BEC - 11/14

    #462235
    Jennifer Wade
    Participant

    I struggle as well – ESPECIALLY at home. I was going to suggest the Stay Focused plug-in for Chrome, but it sounds like you've found something similar. I find I have to also physically remove my phone from the study area (normally my husband hangs on to it in case I do get an important phone call/text – and he deals with whether its something I need to know right away or can wait til my next break).

    I have to have enough caffiene to feel awake, but not so much that I'm jittery. I find that a can of soda gets the job done better than coffee. Too much caffiene and my brain goes into overdrive – jumping from topic to topic. Being a girl doesn't help wtih that. (Have you seen the meme that says a girl's mind is like 1,000 browser tabs open at the same time? That is an accurate statement for me).

    Early morning works better for me that late-night or even evening. My productive hours for anything are no earlier than 4:30am to about 11:00am. After that, I'm shot for the day. I discovered this weekend a change in study area can also make a difference. I think part of my issue is my “play” time on the internet is the same place as my “study” time. By trying to separate the two it might make a difference.

    I do worry about getting through the test on exam day…. and I've had focus issues for awhile in other areas of my life. I don't sit for my first exam until the beginning of Jan, but I think a conversation with my doctor about potentially having adult ADD may need to happen.

    FAR - 73, rematch in early April
    AUD - 5/14
    REG - 8/14
    BEC - 11/14

Viewing 12 replies - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
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