How can college students improve concentration and manage their time?

"17.4 Going to College Is an Opportunity of a Lifetime—Never Drop Out You have already had one of your dreams come true—you are in college. It is indeed a rare privilege because far less than 1 percent of traditional college-age people around the world get to attend college. You’re lucky! So make the best of it by finishing your degree and learning the following college skills. 7 664 Chapter 17 Your Career in Business This OpenStax book is available for free at http://cnx.org/content/col25734/1.7\n\nLearn to Concentrate Concentration is the art of being focused, the ability to pay attention. Without concentration, you have no memory of what you hear, see, and read. Concentration is a frame of mind that enables you to stay centered on the activity or work you are doing. You know when you’re concentrating because time seems to go by quickly, distractions that normally take you off task don’t bother you, and you have a lot of mental or physical energy for the task. You are ultimately in charge of how well you concentrate. Here are some ways to make it happen: • Choose a workplace . Avoid the bed—you associate it with relaxing or sleeping. Try a desk or table for studying; you will concentrate better and accomplish more in less time. You will also have a convenient writing space and plenty of space to spread out. Be sure to have good lighting. • Feed your body right. What you eat plays an important role in how well or how poorly you concentrate. Protein foods (such as cheese, meat, fish, and vegetables) keep the mind alert, while carbohydrates (such as pasta, bread, and processed sugars) make you sleepy. Caffeine (commonly found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolate) acts as a stimulant in low doses. • Avoid food . Food and serious learning don’t mix well. Think about it. When you try to eat and study at the same time, which gets more of your concentration? The food, of course. You will be more effective if you eat first and then study. • Listen to your own thoughts. Listening to anything but your own thoughts interferes with good concentration. Eliminating distractions such as music, television, cell phones, email and text beeps, and other people can greatly increase the amount of studying you can accomplish. Hold all calls, and let email and texts wait. • Make a to-do list. If you are trying to study but get distracted by all of the things you need to do, take time to make a to-do list. Keeping track of your thoughts on paper and referring to the paper from time to time can be very effective for clearing your mind and focusing on your task. • Take short, frequent breaks. Since people concentrate for about 20 minutes or less at a time, it would make sense to capitalize on your natural body rhythms and take a short break every 20 to 30 minutes. If you feel you are fully concentrating and involved in a task, then work until a natural break occurs. Learn to Manage Your Time There are two ways to make sure you have more time in a day. The first and most important way to gain more time is to plan it. It’s like getting in a car and going somewhere. You need to know where you are going and have a plan to get there. Without a plan, you will waste your time and take longer to get to your destination—if you get there at all! A weekly project planner will allow you to keep track of your assignments in more detail. It contains a to-do list specific to one day. It looks like a calendar but is divided into five one-day periods with plenty of space to write. Using a weekly project planner is an effective way to keep track of assignments and plan study time according to the school calendar. Free calendars are available at https://calendar.google.com . A second way to gain more time in a day is to do more in less time . This can be as simple as doubling up on activities. For example, if you have three errands, you might try to combine them instead of doing one at a time, making one round-trip instead of three. If you commute on a bus, on a train, or in a carpool, you can study during your ride. At lunch, you can review notes. Use your imagination as to how you can get more done in less time. Chapter 17 Your Career in Business 665\n\nExhibit 17.4 Personal digital assistants (PDAs) have morphed into sophisticated mobile devices that now include phone, internet, email, messaging, and other wireless functions. Putting even more computing power at consumers’ fingertips, mobile devices now provide users with personal information managers, to-do lists, calendars, and other functions to help us organize and manage our time. How might mobile devices help college students to accomplish more and make better use of their time when it comes to everyday activities and learning job skills? (Credit: Riaz Kanani/ Flickr/ Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)) Here are some ideas to help you master your time: • Prepare for the morning the night before. Put out your clothes; make lunches; pack your books. • Get up 15 minutes earlier in the morning. Use the time to plan your day, review your assignments, or catch up on the news. • Schedule a realistic day . Avoid planning for every minute. Leave extra time in your day for getting to appointments and studying. • Leave room in your day for the unexpected. This will allow you to do what you need to do, regardless of what happens. If the unexpected never happens, you will have more time for yourself. • Do one thing at a time. If you try to do two things at once, you become inefficient. Concentrate on the here and now. • Learn to say “No.” Say no to social activities or invitations when you don’t have the time or energy. How well do you manage your time? Take the quiz in Table 17.4 to find out."