Wine in the afternoon

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This time of the year always means I’m struggling with getting all my grades up, studying for exams, writing papers, doing copious amounts of homework and not having time for myself. Yesterday I came home early from college and spent hours reading my economy textbook and trying to really understand it, and after I was done with it (not exactly done, actually, there are still two chapters to go) I had to plan the documentary I’m doing for my Communication & Art class with a friend.

On a side note, I’m actually really excited about the documentary: It will be a mini-doc (about 4 minutes long) about bass players, and we’re interviewing some of our friends who play the bass. Today we’re shooting, and we’re going to edit it on thursday, after I’m done with my economy test (finally!). Wish me luck, lovelies. If it turns out well I’ll put it up on Youtube for you to see.

But, coming back to the important stuff… I always find it hard to study. I’ve never been a bad student, I go to a great college and all, but actually sitting down and studying and getting work done is always very difficult for me. Over the years I developed some methods, so to speak, to improve my concentration, but they’re not perfect. I get easily distracted, and sometimes I just totally doze off while reading whatever it is that I’m supposed to be reading. So I thought I’d share some of my tips with you, and ask for a little help.

• Music: I know a lot of people can only concentrate when it’s silent, but silence creeps me out. I always listen to music when I’m studying, preferably things I like but don’t know the lyrics to. If I know the lyrics I’ll inevitably start singing and get distracted. Jazz, electronic and classical music are good for studying purposes.
• Food: I’m hungry most of the time. If I start studying and I get bored, I immediately get hungry, and then I stop studying in order to eat. So I have a small snack before starting to read, and I keep a glass of water and/or fruit juice and something to snack on during my reading. I like getting crackers, small fruits (like berries and grape) and peanuts. Chocolate is also good because it keeps me awake.
• Finding the best time: I study well during the afternoon and during the night (and when I say night I mean after 23h). My mind just doesn’t work in the morning, and in the evening I’m usually tired and want to get some rest reading a novel or watching a movie.
• The best place: I have to be comfortable to pay attention. Therefore, I usually study sitting in my bed. But, depending on my mood and on the weather, I might study in the porch, or in the living room’s table, or sitting in a park bench.

What about you? What helps you concentrate?

Miss Sofia

This entry was posted on terça-feira, novembro 24th, 2009 at 1:04 pm and is filed under Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.