You know the feeling; your motivation is gone, and you’re unable to focus on finishing your work.

You keep telling yourself that you’ll do it later, when you’re able to concentrate. Then, you just spin yourself in an endless cycle of worry and frustration.

Staying alert when studying can be difficult, but these 15 tips and tricks will help you fix this issue, and become a studying wizard!

#1. Avoid Your Phone

One of the biggest things that can distract people from staying focused is the internet and social media.

If having your phone or any other distracting technology around you can take your eyes off the prize, and keep you from finishing your work.

A good way to keep from going on social media is to set a timer for however long you like, and until that timer ends, you aren’t allowed to check or even touch your phone.

You can also find somewhere to hide it that will be hard to reach, or give it to a family member and make them promise not to give it back to you until you’re finished.

#2. Get a Good Sleep

We all know that a lack of sleep will make it harder for you to focus on your studies the next day, which is why the right amount of sleep is important for every person to get.

An adult needs an average of 8 hours of sleep each night, and children and teens need longer in order for their brains to function well the next day.

Create a schedule of when you should fall asleep and wake up, so that you’ll never run into this problem again!

#3. Eat Right

What you eat greatly impacts your energy levels. To become more focused (and have better overall health) be sure to only be putting healthy and nutritious things on your plate.

Make sure you get the right amount of vegetables, protein, and fruit each day, and soon enough you’ll be feeling happier and more energetic!

#4. Enough Exercise

Just like eating the right foods, having a healthy exercise routine can make you more energetic and focused.

In fact, exercising doesn’t just change how you look, but also how you feel, act, and perceive things!

Try to exercise every day, even for a short while, and eventually you’ll see a change in your body and your attitude.

Remember to incorporate different areas of exercise, like flexibility, cardio, and strength, to feel an overall change.

#5. Water, Water, and More Water!

Staying hydrated will increase your energy levels, complexion, and productivity.

The average amount of water a person is supposed to drink is roughly eight glasses per day.

Be sure to fill you body up with water to look and feel healthy, and to give you the energy to pay more attention to your work.

#6. Have a Workspace

Having a designated workspace will make you more focused when you have to do a task.

You know that when you sit down at this desk or go to that place, you’re meant to be working and nothing else.

Make sure that your workspace is comfortable, clean, easily accessible, and has all of the materials you might need.

#7. Look Over Your Work

Take a look through everything you have to do. Looking at what you need to study all at once can be overwhelming, so be sure to break your work into smaller tasks and work from there.

Once you see all of the things you need to do, you’ll have a clearer idea of how to get started.

#8. Create a Schedule

A helpful tip for studying is to create a schedule for you to do every day.

This can be a list of things you need to do each day or week, and also be sure to add a checklist of all the things you need to complete.

Having a schedule will help keep your time organized, and over time you’ll find it easier and easier to keep this habit.

#9. Take Frequent Breaks

Staying focused for a long time is really difficult, especially if you aren’t motivated in the first place.

If this is the case for you, I recommend working as much as you can for 45 minutes, and then taking a break for 15 minutes to take a quick walk, talk with a family member, or grab something to eat.

Breaks will help us stay focused for longer, since doing a task for a long time can tire your brain out and make you want to stop. Taking a break will make you excited to get back to doing your work!

#10. Always Take Notes

It’s so hard to focus when you have to read through pages and pages of information, so a great idea is to take notes as you read!

Get a designated journal for each subject or used lined paper, and write down all of the key points in bullet point form.

Taking notes forces your brain to actually think about the information that you’re learning while you’re writing it down. This way, you’ll be able to retain more information and stay engaged in your task instead of getting side-tracked.

#11. Work in a Group

This tip varies from person to person. Some people are more motivated working by themselves then working in a group.

Don’t decide to do your work in a group of distracting people, and only do your work with people that are motivated like you. The worst thing you can do is be distracted from your task by a friend.

Working alone is also a great option if that’s what you prefer, but working in a group can give you a bigger reason to do what you’re supposed to, since you don’t want to be the only one who’s slacking off.

#12. Look at Inspirational Quotes from Successful People

People that we admire can greatly influence our mood and preferences. Find someone of good influence and read some of their famous quotes!

When you learn more about how famous people got to be where they are, you can start to develop your own ideas for what you want to do and where you want to be.

Remember to only do this for a short while, since you want to get started on your work as soon as possible!

#13. Use Goals to Motivate You

When do you want to get these tasks done? Where do you want to be in a year, and how will completing this help you get there?

If you don’t do something that could help you in the future, there will most likely be a point where you’ll regret that choice.

#14. Record Your Progress

Have you become more motivated since yesterday? Have you done more work than you were expecting?

Write this down in a journal so that you can record your progress and see how your doing.

You should also record how you’re feeling each day, since if you’re unhappy, there could be certain things impacting this that you should start avoiding.

#15. Start Right Away

Without a moment’s hesitation, the best solution to starting something is to start right now. Telling yourself that you’ll do it later is not the answer.

Stand up, walk over to your workspace, and get started!

Image: Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash