5 Practical Tips to Stay Focused in Class

Are you having a hard time concentrating in class? Maybe you are wondering how you can focus better and stop getting easily distracted while lessons are going on.

Or, you’re one of those that keep listening but never grab a single thing. While others are busing taking notes, you can’t get what to write about so you keep staring. And, when it seems you’ve listened enough, you doze off.

Understand that focusing during class lectures will help you succeed in class and graduate with better grades. Getting distracted or not focusing in class will do the opposite.

So which would you choose?

I guess focusing in class, right? Great!

In this article, I’ll show you 5 tips that can help you focus better in class.

Let’s get started,

1. Always have a mental picture of your future

Now, this is very important, having a mental picture of your future will propel you to focus and perform better in class. Let the picture of your future be at the frontline of your mind.

Why should you concentrate in class? What are your goals when you graduate and how can your focus help you get there?

You can write down your reasons and paste them on your desk (If it’s permitted at your school) or keep it very close to you in class. It’ll help motivate you even when it’s very hard.

As you keep focusing, you’ll give yourself a pat on the back when you achieve your goals.

2. Get Enough Sleep

What you do the night before preparing for school the next day is important. Do you stay up all night watching Netflix or cartoons? Or, are you amongst those that can stay hours nonstop playing video games or watching youtube videos?

Let me ask you, how can you expect to focus in class when you aren’t getting enough sleep every night? When you practice healthy habits like getting enough sleep, your body will run properly which will help you concentrate better in class.

Take good care of yourself and give your body enough rest it deserves.

3. Remove distractions

Do you always have a nudge or two to check your phone during classes? Maybe you feel checking your phone for 5 minutes wouldn’t distract you.

In a bid to do that for just 5 minutes, you encounter a beautiful video and then you keep watching more of those till you cannot remember the last thing you’re teacher talked about or even what you’re learning.

Leaving your phone switched on in class isn’t a good idea. If you want to focus better, I’ll advise you to put it off and put off all notifications. You can also put your phone on airplane mode till you’re done with class.

Checking your phone isn’t the only distraction you might encounter in class. Maybe you sit around people or friends that discuss while a class is going on, the best thing to do is, change your sitting position to a better place where you’ll concentrate better.

Don’t feel like your friends might feel bad if you sit elsewhere, remember that this is your future, not theirs. Note that if they’re truly your friends with your best interests at heart, they’ll understand why you did that.

Another is, sitting close to a window. In a situation you get distracted by the noise and stare at the direction the noise is coming from. Or, the fresh air coming in from the window is so sleep-worthy that you can’t help but sleep off. Like I recommended changing positions previously, do the same here.

Also, your thoughts can distract you, so focus and be in the present. You are in control of your mind, your mind isn’t in control of you. Don’t give it that power.

Focus and do away with any distractions that come during class. You can do this.

4. Take thorough notes

Taking notes can seem daunting sometimes, especially with a subject you are very familiar with or even dislike. You feel that you don’t need to take the stress of writing it down on paper.

Whether you are familiar with a subject or not, taking notes will help you understand the subject better because you will write it in ways that you would. Taking notes will help you focus better so you are able to understand what the teacher is teaching, put it down on paper for review during tests and exams. Doing this can also help you remember faster.

Taking notes helps you concentrate actively because if you don’t, there will be no notes to write. So, always take thorough notes during notes.

5. Be active in class discussions

Here’s the thing, when you are actively participating in class discussions, it will help concentrate more, listen attentively because you would want to hear what other students are saying and respond to it.

If you’re not naturally outspoken, then this is the time for you to change that. Making contributions in class now and then would not only help you focus in class, it will also help you improve your confidence.

Don’t worry if your answer might not be the right one or think that your contribution might be off-topic or even stupid. Remember that you are in school to learn and while learning mistakes are bound to occur.

So make your contributions and ask your questions, no matter how difficult they may seem. Your answer or contribution might just be what everyone is thinking about. So, contribute before someone says it, and you end up saying to yourself “ I had this in mind".

Endeavor to participate actively in class discussions.

Let’s recap

5 tips to help you focus in class:

• Always have a mental picture of your future

• Get enough sleep

• Remove distractions

• Take notes

• Be active in class discussions

Focusing in class is more like one of the steps you have to climb to the top of your ladder (future). So, don’t play with it or lose yourself to distractions. When stay focused, you’ll graduate with better grades or turn to be the best in your class. And when you achieve that, you’ll be proud of yourself and your parents will be proud too.

7 sure-fire ways to Beat Procrastination & Concentrate while studying (For children and teenagers)

Everybody procrastinates.

Children… Teenagers… Parents...

EVERYONE!

Me too. sometimes.

Surprised? Don't be!

So, understand that you're not alone. However, that doesn't mean it’s a good practice. Believe me, it’s not!

Procrastination is an enemy of success. It is a thief of time. You wouldn't want one minute of pleasure to steal an hour or two to add value to yourself, would you?

I guess not!

So, I understand why you're reading this and I know you're ready to take a leap of faith to get rid of this thief of time. In this post, I'll show you the actionable steps I take to beat procrastination while studying. I believe it will help you too.

Ready??

Let's go!

1. Set up your study environment

Let's say you're planning to study in the sitting room, and then you remember that your favorite show will start in 10 minutes. And you're like, “The show is just for 30 minutes, it won't hurt if I watch for a little time”

You feel you have all the time in the world to still study. And then, you sit and start watching, before you know it, you watch till you doze off. Guess what? No more studies, then you postpone till the next day.

Procrastinating starts…

Or maybe, you're in your bedroom, you sit for a while and keep staring at your bed. Then, sleep comes and you dive comfortably on it.

This is to tell you that your environment matters when you study. You need to get rid of anything that'll make you think twice about doing the task at hand. If staying in the sitting room or bedroom will prevent you from studying effectively, please leave and find a place suitable that can help you stay focused. A serene and quiet environment will help you focus more and study effectively.

So, sit properly and face your book.

2. Ask your “WHY” question

Most times, it's important to understand the reason for something so that it can help you when you feel less motivated or in cases where procrastination wants to set in.

Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this” Why would I want to study maths at this time”

Understand the reason why you want to do it.

For example, your reason might be “I want to study maths so that I will be the best in Mathematics in my class”

“I want to study hard so that I'll be recognized as the best English student”

“ I want to study so that I’ll graduate with the best grades in high school”

“I want to pass with distinctions in all my subjects”

In cases where you aren't doing well in a subject, your reason can be “I want to study so that I can improve in statistics this term”

Whatever it is, know your “WHY”. Your reason for studying will motivate you and help you get rid of procrastination.

Once you're aware of your reason, don't think and leave it. Write it down!

Look at it whenever you want to study and say it loud to yourself before you proceed.

Also, in case you're procrastinating already, for example, you're watching a youtube video. Ask yourself, “ Why am I watching this YouTube video? Is it going to help me attain my study goal?”

When you ask and your answer is No (which will be, most times) Leave it and study!

3. Set targets and Reward yourself

To study effectively and stop procrastinating, you have to set targets.

What's your target? What are you trying to achieve and when would you want to achieve it?

Make it specific. Remember to do it the SMART(Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) way.

For example,

Don’t say, "I will read my statistics book this week" - that's vague and unrealistic

Rather say, “I will read from pages 1-10 of my statistics book this week”

Set your deadline and stay committed to it. When you achieve it, reward yourself. You can reward yourself with watching YouTube videos for an hour, playing video games, or watching your favorite show or movie series. Whatever gives your body so much pleasure, do it as a reward. You deserve it.

4) Get rid of distractions

Okay, this one sounds a bit familiar to the first one. But, I'll be very specific here.

Getting rid of distractions means removing or staying away from anything that'll prevent you from studying at that particular time.

Be it your phone, television, bed, Video games, iPads, or even your thoughts! Yes, your thoughts can distract you too. You don't have to pluck your brain from your head to stop it from distracting you.

No!

Just don't fantasize or start thinking about random things. The only thing you're permitted to think or visualize at that moment is your book.

If leaving your phone switched on would distract you, you can put it on airplane mode for the time you've set to study. Switch off your television sets, leave your bedroom if your bed keeps screaming for you to lie on it.

Remove or stay away from all distractions and focus on studying.

5) Break down your study goals into small chunks

Don't overwhelm yourself with a huge study goal. Break it down into small actionable study goals.

If you don't, you will see it as a huge one and delay starting which will lead to procrastination.

Let's look at an example

You have a goal to study your maths textbook for 1 month.

Then, you write “I’ll study my maths textbook 3 hours daily for 1 month”

Before now, you've never studied for 1 hour. Here you are already aiming for 3 hours.

Don't quote wrong, I didn't say it's not good to aim high or challenge yourself. It's absolutely okay to do that. But to accomplish your task and stop procrastinating, you have to break it down. You can start from 1 hour and climb to 1:30 minutes and keep climbing till you get to 3 hours.

The same goes for aiming to study a book and finish it in 3 days. You can start with studying and finishing a chapter and keep climbing higher.

When you set huge a study goal without breaking it down, you will either get tired easily when you start or you don't even start at all. Then, the greatest opponent of success(procrastination) sets in.

Don't be like that. Set your study goals and break them down into small chunks.

6) Remove the perfectionist mindset

A perfectionist always wants to make sure everything he or she does is perfect. When you cultivate a perfectionist’s mindset, you will either start and not finish or you won't even start at all.

Most perfectionists are very good at procrastinating. When you want to study, don't be like a perfectionist. You might want to do all and end up doing nothing.

Start first, then focus and stay committed to your studies till you hit your target.

You'll thank yourself for doing this.

7) Use the Pomodoro technique

Ever heard of the Pomodoro technique? It's a technique where you set 25 minutes to perform a task with a 5 minutes break in between. It helps you to stay focused without distractions.

I use the Pomodoro technique and it has helped me a lot. I call it “my procrastination remover”. Sounds funny right? I guess so.

Using this technique, you can set out 25 minutes for a focused study and have a 5-minute break after each study section. After 4 Pomodoros, you'll have a long break of 1 hour to yourself. And then, continue.

This technique will help you stay focused and reduce the chances of procrastination creeping in and conquering you.

Let's recap

Here’s what you can do to beat procrastination $ Concentrate while studying:

1. Set up your study environment

2. Ask your “WHY” questions

3. Set a target and reward yourself

4. Get rid of distractions

5. Break down your study goal into small chunks

6. Remove the perfectionist mindset

7. Use the Pomodoro technique

Remember that this would not be an easy ride. With focus, determination, and commitment, you can beat this!

You can do it. I’m rooting for you!

Am I too Young to Love? My Honest Thoughts!

Love! Love!! Love!!!

I hear our young ones ask different questions about love. I’ve been asked questions about being in love at a young age.

However, the few questions that hit me whenever I'm asked is, “Am I too young to love someone?”, “Is falling in love a sin?”, “Can I find true love at a teenage age?”.

As a teenager, you might have these questions lurking around in your head. If not, you won’t be reading this.

Let me tell you this

Sincerely, love is a beautiful feeling. It’s one of the purest feelings one can ever have. It’s not bad to love someone, neither is it a sin to fall in love. In this post, I’ll tell you WHY. So, make sure you read to the end.

Let’s begin with…

Am I too young to love?

Before we get started, let’s define love.

According to the Oxford dictionary, love is an intense feeling of deep affection.

“Love doesn't care how you look like. Love doesn't try to control you. Love sets you free. - Urban dictionary.

“Love is a total respect, acceptance, and admiration of another,” says Ann (a contributor on Quora).

In very simple terms, Love is accepting someone as they are; their flaws, excesses, and you’re okay with them.

We have different types of love. Like, playful love - the kind you feel when you have a crush on someone, romantic love - where one gets emotionally and physically involved, love between friends, love for everyone - otherwise known as agape love, long-standing love - which focuses more on staying in love than falling in love, love of the self - otherwise known as self-love, and family love - which is love between your family members.

Here’s a sweet way the bible talks about love:

“ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; It is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things; believes all things; hopes all things endures all things. Love never ends. (1Corin.13:4-8a)

Love is an amazing feeling that everyone should experience and also give. To be a giver of love, everybody is expected to show love to themselves, their families, friends, colleagues, etc.

That is to say, nobody is too young to love, including you. No matter your age, there is no age limit to love. You are required to show love to everyone. The two greatest commandments of God are; Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And the second is to love your neighbor as yourself.

Yes, I know that sometimes It’s not easy to love your neighbor, especially with their flaws. But, you have someone that can help you - GOD! He loves us even while we’re sinners. Now, ask yourself, who’s the better person to show you how to love if not him? So, If you’d want to succeed in love, Bring God in to guide you.

The next one is...

Is Falling in Love at a young age a sin?

I understand that society has formed us to believe that falling in love at a young age is a sin, or maybe you are too young to fall in love.

Parents are scared of their young ones, especially the girls being in a relationship at a very young age because of the stigma of getting pregnant, or their boys accepting responsibility at a young age. They wouldn’t want their child delaying or ruining their destiny. Hence, the strict rule of not being in a relationship at a young age until they have reached a certain age or level in life.

On the other hand, many teenagers mistake lust and infatuation with love. The truth is, you don’t just wake up one morning and fall in love with someone. Love is a gradual process that takes time and effort.

It’s important to discern if it’s love or lust. Sometimes, what you feel that is love, is actually lust. It’s quite rare to fall so fast in love genuinely. It might be lust, co-dependency, or infatuation. Check the biblical explanation of what love is. If none of them exists in yours, then know that it is not love.

However, if the love is genuine, real, and true, then it is not a sin to fall genuinely in love with someone at a young age, as long as you’re following the biblical principles for relationships.

Falling in love is not planned, it’s a feeling that can start growing at any time. You need to understand that God has to be in the center of your relationship. Having God in your relationship guarantees it a higher chance of survival for the long term as long as you both are committed to putting in the work.

Do it God’s way and not the world’s way and he’ll direct the affairs of your relationship.

Understand that you aren’t perfect and might make mistakes in the process, maybe by loving the wrong person. You don’t need to kill yourself for it. God is always there to walk with you through heartbreak. This is one thing that most people don’t know.

Lastly,

Is teenage love true?

Well, It depends.

It’s difficult to know if teenage love is true or not. Understand that true love is not always about how you feel, but how the other person feels. It’s about being dedicated to this other person. How you would know a love that is true; it is strong and unshakable.

True love sure exists with teenagers. Some high school sweethearts sometimes end up married and still crazy in love, while many others don’t. Mostly, it depends on who you’re with, who you are, and what you both are bringing to the table of your relationship.

Are you both committed to working things out in your relationship? Remember that for the relationship to work, both parties have to commit to making it work.

Also, bear in mind that God should be the center of your relationship. That is the surest link for any relationship to work.

Finally,

You are not expected to rush falling in love. At this stage of your life, you should concentrate on yourself, your education, your family, and everything that concerns you.

And if love finds you, great! But don’t chase it or go around looking for who to love you. First, you need to love yourself so much that at the right time when that special person finds you, you are able to love that person easily. Know that you cannot love another if you don’t love yourself.

If you’re already in a relationship, don’t lose yourself. PLEASE DON’T!

Don’t lose your morals or values. You should never compromise your values to prove to someone that you love them. The right person for you would respect you, your decisions, and your boundaries. So, do not lose yourself in the process because you feel you want to prove yourself to this person.

I cannot tell you this enough, whatever or whoever you are engaging with, let God direct you. He knows the end from the beginning. He will make the perfect choice for you!