With the pace of life touching the skies, thanks to technology, one can say that attention is the real asset to have in today’s world. If you have made it to this sentence of this blog, then I have some good news for you. You have an attention span longer than the average human (8 seconds!). This might make you feel a bit good about yourself but remember how you left your study table an hour earlier than your target duration? Of course, you do, because it was getting too boring.
Your short attention span can be one of the strongest reasons behind your poor academic performances. Studying at a stretch gets so boring that you often leave important stuff. So, you know the problem. But what is the solution?
Well, personally, music solves the problem for me and might do the job for you too. It keeps my mind active and prevents me from boredom. With music, I complete all the important tasks that I hate in a surprisingly short period of time. Now, don’t just plug in your earphones as soon as you read this. There is a process that you need to follow. Here it is.
1. Choose one and only one song out of your playlist. Better choose the one that is neither too fast nor too slow. It should have a tempo that you can match with your writing speed. You will find that writing things down is now less boring as your fingers move with the song. Play it on repeat mode while you write, and no other song must be played. The need is to keep the mind grooving and focused at the same time. Your mind reacts to change strongly, so any new song will divert it from your task.
2. Play the song on a speaker and NOT on your earphones. The song must be played at a distance. If you do not have a speaker, then you can play it on your phone directly. Sometimes, for some of you, earphones might work but you won’t be as effective as desired. They throw the song right into your eardrum which results in the mind focusing more on the song and less on the job.
3. Keep the volume low. Remember that music is supposed to prevent your mind from getting bored and help you focus on your work. Keeping the volume high will make you pay attention to the song and not on the job at your hand. So, the volume better be low.
PRO TIP: Gradually decrease the volume to a point where the song is just audible to you to the lowest limit. You’ll find that you can now hear it at a volume so low that you didn’t think you could. It’s a sign of an increase in focus.
4. Keep the song playing till you are done with a piece of your work. Set a target of a selected number of topics as per your desire. Don’t think about the time duration no matter how long it takes. Keeping time in mind will only make it boring and nullify the effect of music. So, keep the song playing till the completion of some selected topics. Take a break after that and then repeat this process with a new song if you wish to.
By following the above process, I have increased my attention span and focus while doing the tasks I find boring. To my surprise, during the past few weeks, I have done as much work as I would do in at least three months. This has worked for me very well and may work for you as well if you do it correctly. Let me know if does any good to you too or if you have some something similar or better to share. Good luck.
