<p>How do you get better focus? Coffee? Energy drinks?</p>
<p>theres this thing called the ethernet cable</p>
<p>unplug it</p>
<p>I really doubt caffeine will help... Self-control would probably be more useful. I don't think there's any sort of drug related miracle cure to being easily distracted (other than medicines for ADD, and I don't think that's what you're looking for...).</p>
<p>You get more focus by being healthy and sleeping properly.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>if I get off the internet, I will likely FAIL. </p></li>
<li><p>someone told me coffee is as good as any drug</p></li>
<li><p>yes, i am a healthy person who gets good sleep. I am not sleepy at the moment. I want want ultimate focus. I am not talking about "how do I stop procrastinating?" I am talking about focus -- your mind not getting tired.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Yep. I can't stand coffee or energy drinks - they both taste disgusting and do nothing too me (except Irn Bru, best hangover cure ever). Sleep and EAT well. Everyone forgets good food. Even some vitamin tablets every few days help a heap.</p>
<p>Oh, new post. For MIND FOCUS, let's call it, I'd just say take a break every time you feel it wavering. Drink of water, something to eat, back to work. Oh, and don't spend too long looking at the same screen ie. a computer screen or page full of notes. Mix it up. Try and find pictures (or graphs, for those law business people). Colour is the spice of life.</p>
<p>thankyou so much but i just drank some coffee for the first time and I cannot close my eyes. I am not sleepy I am not wanting t do nothing I am totally writting this freakin paper but th eonly thing is is if I start thinking of something else I cannot stop until I do it so I am going to go eat and pee now thankyou bye</p>
<p>dang a first time user, just wait until you hit rock bottom quitejaded</p>
<p>You get used to coffee pretty quickly. It seriously does nothing for me now and I'm not even in college yet and I don't even drink it for educational purposes, haha. Baaaaaad idea to base your focus on a drug. </p>
<p>Really. Work without doing 'fun' stuff like CC or Facebook. Or if you need to have a break, take a ten minute break but only do other things for those ten minutes and no more, and then continue your work.</p>
<p>The coffee worked for about an hour. I spent half of it working and the other half eating.</p>
<p>So now I am calmed down and back to normal. Interacting with people was funny beacuse I was just talking so fast and moving so fast.</p>
<p>But anyway, CC is not fun. I am only on here right now to see if people have advice for keeping focus. The problem is not that I am on CC or facebook or anything. That doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that I get so mentally tired when I'm writing this essay. I want to know how to not get that fatigue without drugs. I'm gonna work for a while and take a break like you said.</p>
<p>coming from someone with 1,484 posts and 146 threads :P</p>
<p>:).....CC isn't fun? aawwh.</p>
<p>LMAO I meant it is not fun right now!! When I have time on my hands it is fun.</p>
<p>Other things:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Change the scenery. Don't always study in the same place and/or at the same time. Try different places in your room, near windows, away from other people or with other people, in the library, outside, parks, study rooms, anywhere. To be honest, as un-ergonomic as it is, I always found studying on my bed to be the most comfortable. I could always move around to different positions, lie down, sit up, spread everything out. Plus, it was squishy.</p></li>
<li><p>Take breaks. A few teachers at my high school used to call cramming without breaks "study bingeing". Every hour or so take a five minute break, at least. I was always the kind that found it hardest to start but once I did I'd go for ages. After a few hours I'd realise that none of the information was being absorbed anymore and I was really just reading with no reward. I usually now do 1 - 2 hours then take a 5 - 15 minute break for food or a walk or something. DON'T get on the net during this time. :D</p></li>
<li><p>Try to enjoy what you're studying. Particularly in college you've most likely chosen a course that you have some sort of interest in. You may be studying the most boring aspect of statistics or neurophysiology but you will usually always be able find something interesting in it that will at least catch your attention and make you go, "Oh. Did not know that. Cool." Just so long as you don't go researching on Wikipedia because we should really all what that leads to by now.</p></li>
<li><p>Mix up your subjects. Don't try and do six hours of chemistry all at once. ie. do a few hours chem, a few hours math, a few hours history (taking breaks every so often).</p></li>
<li><p>Try different study methods. Some learn just by reading. A lot don't. Personally, that makes my eyes and my head hurt too much. Sounds ridiculous but try doing all those things your study counsellors advised in high school. Make up rhymes or acrostics. As much as you think you're wasting time trying to think of one, all that time you're really spending going over and over it. Some people learn by others talking to them about it or discussion - go to some study groups or extra lectures. This is going to sound so childish but when I used to study history I'd make up mini re-enactments of battles or political debacles, ie. each country would get it's own figurine or army of figurines and you put them into battle or have a debate with them. Yeah, it does sound childish, but it helped HEAPS. And was so much fun. You'd never forget the name of an army general or who won that battle or which leader kicked that one's a ss etc. etc. Perhaps take photos of important objects or structures. In high school (again) I used to build different chemical structures out of fruits and lollies and chocolate (also keeps your belly satisfied). If you find you "learn more by doing", go DO something. Even if you can't physically do anything (like build the chocolate chemical structures thing), try recording your notes and going for a jog. Passing a ball with someone as you recite different facts or figures. You get the idea. Try and be creative and it'll be easy to keep yourself occupied, focused and sometimes amused.</p></li>
<li><p>CC isn't fun? Pfft.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Caffeine is good for staying awake, not necessarily particularly good for studying. For studying, you want methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta), or mixed amphetamines (Adderall XR is best). That is, assuming you're willing break the law, haha. Those give you ridiculous energy (but in a really straight-awake way, unless you combine with caffeine or take way too much, in which case you're going to go a bit Tourette'sy), but also make you really, really focused.</p>
<p>And really, really annoying, hyperactive, irritable and most often drug-dependent. Good luck with that.</p>
<p>Make sure you get plenty of regular exercise--that way you won't get antsy. Also take fresh air breaks while studying--go for a quick walk or jog for a few minutes, even while thinking about your subject. Keeps your brain fresh and sometimes a few minutes of reflection away from the books helps topics fall into place.</p>