If
you are a student who is trying to get better grades, there
are a number of tricks that can help you to increase your
ability to focus your concentration, retain the materials
that you study, and recall it during a test without
suffering from mental blocks or test anxiety.
These
are the basics of how to establish good study habits:
(1)
Set aside a place for study and study only! Locate a
quiet place that will facilitate concentration without
distractions. Some possible examples would be a library, a
vacant classroom, or your bedroom.
You
want to create the habit of studying when you are in this
place. So it's best to not use this place for other
activities like daydreaming, conversations, or playing
games, etc.
Make
sure that your study place has:
(a) A
comfortable chair, but not too comfortable
(b) A desk
(c) Good
lighting
(d) Ventilation
Make
sure
that your study place doesn't have:
(a) Distracting
views of other activities
(b) A phone
(c) Loud music
(d) A big screen
TV
(e) A companion
who talks a lot
(f) A
refrigerator filled with snacks
(2)
Divide your work into small, short-range goals.
(a) Set small
highly specific goals like, "I am going to study my
math from 2 PM to 3 PM. Otherwise you will only set yourself
up to fail.
(b) Set a
reachable study goal for the amount of time you've set
aside. (For example: finish reading chapter six in my
history text, or complete a rough draft of my English paper,
etc.)
(c) Set your
goal when you you are ready to study but before you actually
begin.
(d) Set
reachable goals. You might do more than reach your goal but
set a reasonable goal even if it seems too easy.
(3)
Test Anxiety
(a) Some people
mostly experience physical symptoms, like nausea, feeling
hot or cold, headaches, or faintness, etc.
(b) Other people
experience mostly emotional symptoms, like feeling
irritable, crying, or getting frustrated quickly.
(c) The main
problem with anxiety is that it can cause one to have a
memory block. Or
it could trigger thoughts that are racing out of control.
(d) Although you
may currently feel some level of anxiety when taking exams,
you can learn to greatly diminish that anxiety, or even
completely eliminate it!
(e) Anxiety and
the resultant stress are usually the main causes of a lack
of ability to focus concentration. Stress can also cause a
mental block when one tries to recall information.
(f) Hypnosis
CD's can be utilized to relax your mind and focus your
concentration. As your mind calms down, your ability to stay
focused will increase. Similarly, a calm mind enhances your
ability to retain information, and recall it when it is
needed.
(g) Hypnosis
CD's can also be used to program your mind for the positive
expectation of peace and the ability to recall information
during a test. This is effective at reducing or eliminating
test anxiety.
(h) There are a
number of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) techniques that
can quickly eliminate a test phobia!
Copyright © 2007 By Alan B. Densky, CH. This document may NOT be re-printed without permission. All Rights Reserved. We are happy to syndicate our articles to approved websites.
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