How to stay focused and survive your midterms in high school
“Homework. Assignments. Clubs. Chores. There is a whole mountain of responsibilities, and I just …. can’t focus. It seems almost impossible for some reason. I don’t know how I ended up in this predicament; I was just a little behind on homework. And now, the deadline is almost here, and I am scrambling to complete what feels like a never-ending ocean of tasks at the last minute. Honestly, I am stressed, tired, overworked, and overwhelmed. I don’t know how I will perform in my tests and assignments. I need help!”
Don’t worry. Many of us have been there at some point in our lives. So, the million-dollar question: Why can’t you focus?
You’ve written your to-do list, your computer is booted up and ready to go, and you have a mountain of homework that you’re responsible for. You want to get it done, but you can’t seem to get yourself actually to do it. So, you put it off. You procrastinate. You check what’s new on YouTube or distract yourself with the latest TikTok dance trends. For some reason, you would rather do anything and everything except your assignments. You’re looking for that momentary, fleeting feeling of relief only to be hit by the boomerang of stress again, only this time it is stronger and more pressing. What usually follows is frustration, guilt, and an inevitable frenzy of last-minute reading, brainstorming, and turning in whatever you can scrounge up.
This is something that many of our students struggle with, especially during virtual school, when students are left to monitor themselves and manage their own schedules.
Forcing yourself to focus doesn’t really work, at least not as a long-term solution. Focus is something that can be achieved by putting yourself in the right environment. You can’t expect yourself to focus on writing an essay when you are at a pool party with your friends. Your attention will be divided, and no matter how hard you try to focus, you will find yourself distracted. You need to put yourself in the right setting to encourage your brain to focus on the task at hand. There are ways to modify your environment to make it more ideal and thus more conducive to productivity. Here is how you can do it:
The Zeigarnik Effect
If I were to hum the chorus of a catchy tune and stop halfway through, most of you might feel a nagging urge to hum the rest.
We have the Zeigarnik Effect to thank for that desire to finish unfinished tasks.
Bluma Zeigarnik was a Soviet psychologist and psychiatrist plagued with meningitis as a child. Despite this, she went on to complete her doctorate and eventually published her work, “On Finished and Unfinished Tasks.” Her research would later give rise to what is known as the Zeigarnik Effect.
Essentially, the idea is that it’s harder to get incomplete tasks out of your brain than those you haven’t started. Unfinished tasks may end up using a significant chunk of our mental resources, even if these thoughts are running in the background.
What this means is that if you take even 5-10 minutes to start a project, it will be much harder to disregard if you notice that you are waiting until “a better time” to get started and finding reasons not to get started, set a timer for 5-10 minutes and complete a few simple, easily achievable tasks during this period. You will soon find that the assignment will turn into an unfinished project. The Zeigarnik Effect will take over the rest, pulling our brains to want to get it done.
Put up a Parking Lot
One moment, you’re going through the assigned practice problems, plugging in values, and finding critical points. You get into a rhythm. The next, your mind starts thinking about the titration lab assignment you have to hand in. Oh, and there’s the Indigenous culture presentation to work on. You get sidetracked and have trouble concentrating on the solutions for what you originally started working on.
One way to deal with these distracting thoughts is to “park” them until a brief and designated time later on. This parking lot can be a notebook, a Google Document, or a sticky note. When it’s more appropriate, you can go back to those thoughts that you dumped and stay on task.
Perfection is the Enemy of Progress
Hyperfocus is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a deep and intense focus that lasts a long time, possibly causing you to lose track of what is going on around you. This can come in handy when there’s a test to study for or an essay to complete. However, many students often make the mistake of obsessing over unimportant details. They lose sight of the bigger picture. They may end up getting stuck on a tiny detail and missing critical points. While it is true that the devil is in the details, we are not here for the devil, we want to get that assignment done, right?
While it’s important to go over the details and make sure you aren’t missing anything, students are generally better off focusing on their key tasks first — these are the ones that matter the most. There is nothing wrong with striving for perfection; you just shouldn’t obsess over it.
Distract Yourself… with Positive Distractions
I know, I know. Distractions are the enemy of focus, right?
Often, yes. But in some cases, some distractions — positive ones — can be beneficial in the long run if utilized correctly.
A few examples of beneficial diversions include taking a 5-minute break to walk around the park. We probably don’t need to tell you that physical activity boosts brain power and can help you sustain your focus more effectively when you sit back down. There are plenty of good examples of positive distractions, from study dance breaks to cleaning to a quick shower.
To avoid losing track of time, set up a timer!