<p>Every semester I tell my self "Ok this time im gonna focus and do my work and get good grades" And for the first couple weeks I do. Then I find myself sitting in class surfing the net or playing halo with the guys across the hall. I rarely do any of my assignments until the absolute last minute ( i once did a programming assignment in 30 mins and got a D for 'unorganized code' LOL) And now I don't have a programming lecture this week so she assigned us 3 chapters which are due next Thursday and I haven't started because I keep telling myself I have another week to complete them. </p>
<p>Keep telling yourself if you screw up and get kicked out you will end up working at mcdonalds or you can go for the big bucks and become a prostitute.</p>
<p>I always tell myself if I flunk out of college Ill work at Schucks auto parts all my life. I hate my job So I figured that would be movtivation enough, But its not.</p>
<p>Try going to the library and get out of your room to study. You will have less distractions and be in a quiet place where you can focus more easily.</p>
<p>Another suggestion would be to pair up with others in your classes for study/work sessions where you can all do your work together and can't go off and do other things since you are committed.</p>
<p>Do something you enjoy doing. Chances are if you hate what you're studying, it'll be hard to focus. So pursue something that interests YOU. I echo LilyMoon's advice: completely isolate yourself from any sort of distraction or temptation. When you go to the library, know that your sole purpose for being in this large, quiet room all by yourself is to accomplish the tasks at hand. Don't bring an iPod, don't bring a laptop, or food. Bring the books and get to work. Give yourself a five hour window to learn. Read the material, but don't just physically glance at the words - understand and interpret the content as you're reading.</p>
<p>To add onto the breakfast, do you take vitamins and drink enough water? Until I started drinking 3-4 liters a day and taking a barrage of vitamins, I couldn't focus at all. I was also tired all the time so would rather watch TV or read a "fun" book (general chapters from a different class or way ahead of the reading I was SUPPOSED to do) than do my actual work. It's helped worlds.</p>
<p>Well- I'm a bit of a different case because I have health problems where I don't absorb vitamins and minerals correctly anyway. I take a multivitamin, calcium, magnesium (I'm allergic to dairy and gluten so I don't get calcium and magnesium from milk and fortified cereals), vitamin D, B12, and selenium. I also take melatonin to regulate normal sleep patterns, but due to a sleep disorder.</p>
<p>I also keep a very strict diet to reap the most possible nutrients from my food- vegan (because hormones in meat and eggs and grain fed meats make me spacey) except for fish, 8-10 servings of veggies a day, 3-4 liters of water (which can REALLY help with all kinds of ailments- headaches, fatigues, or lack of focus), and minimal starches (mostly because I'm sensitive or allergic to everything but brown rice and quinoa :P).</p>
<p>A combination of both supplements and diet makes me more awake, alert, and focused. If you're eating chips, pizza, and beer as your main 3 food groups and sleeping for 5 hours a night and staying "hydrated" on soda, you're going to be unfocused and fatigued all the time. For me, even one thing of fries will throw me off for days.</p>
<p>I agree, I do the SAME THING. I'm an art major but I don't like my art classes all that much (I don't like being forced to do things in the first place) I like doing my own thing at my own pace... which is like never. hahaha.</p>
<p>But for reading and studying, going to the library REALLY helps. (don't sit near a computer) sit in some corner, take your book and just read. I read 10 pages in my room in 3 hours. I read 40-60 pages in the library within an hour. YOu can just focus because of the environment!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Then I find myself sitting in class surfing the net or playing halo with the guys across the hall.
[/quote]
DON'T TAKE YOUR COMPUTER TO THE LECTURE IF YOU CAN! I learned this last year when I facebooked throughout the lectures/discussions. Just take pencil and paper and try to listen to what your professor says. You might fall asleep every now and then but your little short naps here and there will be shorter than you just playing WoW through the whole class.</p>
<p>eh, for one thing, willpower is extremely difficult to develop, especially in a short time scale. </p>
<p>it's hard to say. personally, i failed a number of classes before i finally was able to get myself to focus, but i had to develop an entirely new belief system and pretty much eliminate all sources of distraction by succumbing to them and pursuing them to the point that I couldn't stand them anymore. Now I still have CC, but at least I can manage to study for most of the day. that being said, i was in an unique situation since i was bored to hell with computer games. some people can manage to play computer games for hours and hours and hours and hours and still find them exciting.</p>
<p>but anyways my approach was weird, i wrote manifestos denouncing the entire public education system - which made me finally realize that i had to be fully accountable for my own actions (something I needed to do since I was going through a period of nihilism/relativism + misanthropism)</p>
<p>sometimes, doing something entirely different might help. maybe taking a break from university for a year. but that could be risky if you end up playing computer games instead. meh, it is a difficult issue</p>
<p>if all else fails, try adderall (if you can get it, that is)</p>
<p>my nephew had the same problem and was on academic probation his firs semseter</p>
<p>He gave my D this advice</p>
<p>DO your homework, and study as soon as class is over- don't go back to the dorm if you can help it, unless writing a paper- get it done while others are still in class- find a quiet place and just do the work-</p>
<p>He wished he had done that and had the discipline</p>
<p>He learned that it made his life so much easier if he did what he could between classes, before dinner and before all his friends were around</p>
<p>also, pick Sunday as the day to get caught up, ahead, etc</p>
<p>TO me, I can't imagine wasting college time playing a video game</p>
<p>Set you OWN deadlines- if the prof says Thrusday, then it is Tuesday for you</p>
<p>Do you want to fail out of college for just doing stupid things</p>
<p>If you do it is totally your own fault and you have no one to blame but yourself</p>
<p>Food, etc is a good idea, but you really need to change your attitude, you are really lucky to be in college but act like a total slacker</p>
<p>Yeah, I had to get organized. I use Microsoft Entourage to make a timetable of tasks I assign myself, since I'm pretty much expected to learn most of my material independently. It's a skill I'm still working on at 22, but it's necessary as you get older.</p>