Question

How do you guys stay focused during the day?!

I know that many of you are online students like myself and I was wondering how you guys manage to get anything done during the day. I can't stay focused most days for the life of me and I feel like I've tried everything.

Answer 1

Seriously, I've tried music, no music, schedules, time restraints, getting started earlier in the morning, taking breaks, etc. It's not even like I am getting distracted online either... I just sit there and realize half an hour later that I just haven't gotten anything done. I find myself being forced to rush through classes. I'm not usually falling far behind and I manage to get decent grades, but I feel like I don't retain much and my work day ends up being between 8-11 hours long.

Any suggestions would be great. And don't you worry mods, Ill close this soon ;)

Answer 2

You can try the 20/20/20 rule which is where after every 20 minutes, you take a break for at least 20 seconds and look at objects that are 20 feet away, or walk around for 20 seconds.

Answer 3

A variation on this^ While I have never had "online schooling" I have learned a thing or two about staying focused all day through my engineering time in college

That 20/20/20 rule is good advice. What I do is usually

Study Material I need to go over that day
->Break for a few
Attempt a problem or two, if it's not going well, write down the topics you aren't getting
->Break for a few
Go back and study just those topics, see if you can find that link you were missing in that problem and immediately attempt the problem again

*Trust me, walking away from a problem for a few and coming back to it can make you see something SO SIMPLE that you missed*

Basically don't sit there for hours on end thinking you're being SO productive because you aren't. You can only learn so much before everything else is just wasted time and words you have glanced over.

Answer 4

Also, when you take your breaks, don't just simply walk while thinking about your math problem that you're frustrated on. This will only tire you out more and waste a LOT of your energy in frustration. When you take a break, do something that will take your mind completely away from your homework, studies and frustration. Do something that will refresh your mind and make you feel renewed from the stress again. It can be just about anything, listening to music, jogging a little, playing ball with a friend for a few minutes, and simple things like that. Just be aware though, don't start any new project, like working on the next level of your video game, because that will not refresh your mind, but will only be another distraction. It will only add to the stress rather than removing it, because your mind will become focused on getting the other project done rather than your homework, which of course when you're aware of it, it will only make more problems and stress for you. So basically, when you feel tired or stressed or frustrated, renew your focus, and refresh your mind:) It will do wonders for getting schoolwork done. :)

Answer 5

Thank you guys. :D
I will definitely try some of these. I think being more active might help me honestly. I didn't do much before online school but at least I had Phys Ed. and walking between classes.

My only problem now is the spacing out. Maybe I just need more sleep or something.