What to know about focusing the mind for college

Distractions pop up everywhere. From phone notifications and work deadlines to doctor appointments and home repairs, how are aspiring students supposed to focus their time so that school, work and their personal lives all get enough priority?

To understand why focusing the mind can be so hard, it helps to look to the recent past. In the 1970s and ’80s, when kids were bored parents wisely offered them some (productive, value-adding) chores to do. After weighing said chores, children — also wisely — usually remembered a friend to call or a project to start.

The fix for boredom, in other words, was pressing through the boredom. Today, it may look like picking up a smartphone or tablet or turning on the TV — none of which is recommended for focusing the mind.

To be fair, tech isn’t totally to blame. The term “scatterbrained,” meaning one who is incapable of “serious, connected thought,” dates back to the 1700s. And many prolific historical figures, such as author Victor Hugo and composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, were thought to struggle with attention and focus long before technology became a scapegoat.

But, for those who follow these things, including one researcher who studies the impact of digital media on people’s lives, attention spans have shrunk in measurable ways. In 2004, for example, time spent on any one screen was measured at two and a half minutes. By 2012 it was 75 seconds. In more recent years, half of all people have an attention span of 40 seconds or less. According to research, the “switch cost” (reconnecting with a task after switching from another) of this is high. So is the measurable stress that comes with constantly moving from one task to another.

Meanwhile, the same researcher found that people do have peak times of engagement and focus. So, when it comes to focusing the mind, especially for college, the key it seems is to find those peak times of focus and plan to do high-productivity tasks during those times.

Yet some students embark on college without giving a thought to focusing the mind. “I’ll figure it out as I go” or “I’ll just do what I need to do to get by” are common strategies — except these aren’t strategies at all.

Some students know this, and they draw up a plan for how they’ll limit distractions and stay focused. They may even tie the work to a values-driven “why,” which helps to identify the motivator that will power them through big papers and long nights. This can be virtually anything, from wanting to create a better life for one’s family to simply proving to oneself that earning a degree is possible.

Such plans might include:

• A time-boxed schedule that assigns specific hours for work, schoolwork and engaging with kids or loved ones
• A predetermined time to work on school every day
• A distraction-free work environment that is clutter-free, well lit and well stocked with supplies like pens, paper, a computer charger, noise-canceling headphones and so on.
• Time limits on apps or websites (many smartphones have the capability to send alerts or block access when preset time limits are reached) 

One good tip for students is to work their plan before actually starting school. For example, if the plan is to get up at 5 a.m. every day to work on assignments, try waking up at 5 a.m. every day for a month before starting school. If 5 a.m. isn’t working, it’s better to find out before classes begin and your grades depend on it.

If it’s more ideal to work on homework at the same time as the kids, introduce a trial period before school starts. The parent can work on reading up on trade- or field-related trends while the kids learn to work quietly and save homework questions until a timer goes off. This can help train them in focusing the mind, help create quiet work periods and help minimize the “switch cost” mentioned earlier.

Similarly, if reading in long bursts is a challenge, ditch the social media scroll in favor of reading a short story every morning for a week. A slim book might be next, followed by a thicker book the next week. Simultaneously, students can grow accustomed to time limits on their apps.

As a result, it helps to periodically come up for air and ask:

• How’s the plan working?
• Am I making the right trade-offs?
• Where do I need to make adjustments?
• Do I need to ask for help?

Daily distractions will always be a factor when it comes to focusing the mind. A child gets sick. An unanticipated problem emerges with a work project. A tire goes flat on the way to work, and from there, the entire day starts 90 minutes behind. That’s just life.

The key is to not allow avoidance to creep in. Also known as procrastination, this is a habit that can cause unnecessary stress (like waiting until the eleventh hour to complete a weekly assignment) or even missing a deadline if an unexpected event arises as you’re also procrastinating.

Some distractions can be minimized through techniques such as these:

• Dock smartphones in a separate room when doing schoolwork.
• Set clear, doable goals (e.g., “finish one discussion question during lunch today”).
• Silence or turn off all digital devices.
• Work on a task in 25-minute bursts, then take a five-minute break (called the Pomodoro technique).
• Lengthen focus time. If 25 minutes of focus time is a challenge, start with 10 minutes and add a minute or two per day.
• Eat a healthy diet (both for brain health and to minimize snack runs to the kitchen).
• Get outside for a brisk walk. Beethoven was famed for taking long, countryside walks, which were said to inspire creativity.

Not everyone will have the luxury of working like poet Maya Angelou, who, finding her house too distracting, wrote in tiny, sparse hotel rooms to help with focusing the mind. But most can take small steps to minimize distractions.

Part of the reality of focusing the mind for college involves guarding the mind. In weak moments, when friends are posting their vacation photos while you are stuck at home, the temptation may be to sulk, quit or scroll.

By all means, a student should watch 30 minutes of cat videos if a season of being too task-oriented is pushing the person to the brink of burnout. But one should also set an alarm — and when the timer goes off, it’s time to focus. After all, those students who set up their environments, schedules and minds for success will be that much closer to achieving it.

Explore the degree programs available to focused students who want to learn career-relevant skills. Or request information about how University of Phoenix can help you pursue your educational goals.