Reader Question: How to Concentrate and Focus on Your Exams

I receive questions from readers every now and then, and I might as well answer some of them here. Filip wrote me the following message:

"How to concentrate on my exams. There is always something more important than my studying. Please help."

Filip, like many of us, you are suffering from a lack of concentration. The good news is that it's very easy to change direction. I would advise you to do the following.

1. Use task lists

I've discussed this in the article on how to create a task list, and I recommend you read it first. I get the feeling that you don't give appropriate time to the different activities in your life.

If spending time with family is very important to you, then it should be assigned an importance level of "1" (read the task list article so you can follow along more easily), while studying gets a slightly higher number.

Now assign all your scheduled activities a number depending on their importance. (You have to have a schedule; a digital calendar such as Google Calendar works well.) Once you've done that, you will know what's important and what is less important.

You can now use a classic to-do list, where you put the most important tasks at the top of the list and work your way down.

2. Time is vital

Filip, it's good to always set a fixed amount of time for each of your tasks. Make sure you don't develop a habit of losing track of how much time you have left for a certain thing. To counter this, I recommend reading my article on using a timer to plan your time. A timer will make you much more efficient at managing your time.

Do you see how these techniques fit together like a puzzle? When used together, they make an excellent tactic against everything from procrastination to poor exam skills.

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