How to Pay Attention, for Me.
Over the past week, while keeping an attention log monitoring my studying habits and tendencies I have learned a lot about myself and about how to stay. Most importantly I’ve learned easier ways to actually pay attention..
The first thing that I realized while keeping my attention log was that I have trouble paying attention. Whether its my self-diagnosed ADHD or my poor, sugary, diet that is to blame, staying focused is a difficult task for me. It seems that the only time I am productive is when I study or finish my assignments last second. The sense of urgency that comes with doing school work late is the driving force, forcing me to focus. With that said, why don’t I take advantage of this and just do all my homework late? This method doesn’t work (trust me I’ve tried), for the sole reason that just because I’m focused doesn't mean I can do 4 hours of homework 45 minutes before class. My attention log helped me break down these patterns and helped me adjust my studying habits. Now, I force my self to have the sense of urgency that only doing homework right before it is due can ensue by giving myself earlier deadlines. Working with my schedule, I know assign study sessions and homework to breaks I have. This forces me to finish in a timely manner but, if I can’t complete my tasks, I now have plenty of time to finish later without taking a hit on my grades.
The next thing I learned from keeping an attention log is how to focus. Since I was taking the time to pay attention to how I pay attention, I experimented a little. Different types of music, different settings, different times of the day, etc. The ideal setting, I learned, was in a quiet area. The ideal music? None at all. And my best time of the day to do homework was almost always in the mornings, right after breakfast. Referring to my paragraph where I mentioned I have ADHD, whether self-diagnosed or not, it was hard for me to focus if there were any distractions presented. That is the exact reason why a quiet place with no music worked best for me. As for the time of the day, I always worked best and stayed focused better immediately after breakfast in the morning. For some reason I have more of a mental edge in the morning as opposed to night or lunchtime. Regardless of why or how, I now use this knowledge of how to study to my advantage. Knowledge that I would not have had without creating an attention log.
