Can I Successfully Learn with a Short Attention Span?

[Jacinta]

I have the attention span of a toddler and I can't function sitting down and looking at a book ("studying") for more than two minutes.

 

[phinds]

Then you should become a politician

 

[anorlunda]

Then you should become a politician

You could be President. [emoji1]

 

[symbolipoint]

You will have a longer attention span when you grow up.

 

[Jacinta]

You will have a longer attention span when you grow up.

So I should just give up and not study, fail all my tests and as a result not be able to go to any college until I'm 20 at least?

 

[Jacinta]

I've just tried to sit down and do my homework but I got distracted by Ben & Jerry's ice cream... yum

 

[Jacinta]

I've just tried to sit down and do my homework but I got distracted by Ben & Jerry's ice cream... yum

No regrets tbh

 

[symbolipoint]

So I should just give up and not study, fail all my tests and as a result not be able to go to any college until I'm 20 at least?

I've just tried to sit down and do my homework but I got distracted by Ben & Jerry's ice cream... yum

One may have a sense you are not too serious about motivation or lack of attention span. If you are serious about wanting to study, you will study, and save the ice-cream for later.

 

[Jacinta]

One may have a sense you are not too serious about motivation or lack of attention span. If you are serious about wanting to study, you will study, and save the ice-cream for later.

But the whole point of this post is wanting to study but getting distracted too easily?

 

[symbolipoint]

But the whole point of this post is wanting to study but getting distracted too easily?

So there it is! Patience and self-discipline are necessary. When young, certain authority figures make you do what is good for you regardless of when you want or not want. As you grow, YOU yourself need to make yourself do what you need (study, academic assignments) as needed, regularly. Rewards come to those people who are patient and put in regular hard work.

 

[Mmm_Pasta]

Do you have cognitive deficits? I also have huge problems with focus and I find it hard to function while sitting down as well lol. I went through a neuropsychological evaluation and had very noticeable impairments with attention and short term memory. For example, if you told me a short story of only a few sentences I won't be able to recall much of it. This same also applies if I read. I have to go through things a bit slowly and maintain steady pace through pieces of information. It can take me longer than others to do even simple tasks. A part of these cognitive deficits come from a traumatic brain injury I got a few years ago. Other come from things such as Tourette's where these sorts issues are very common.

Unfortunately, some people can get irritated when I have to ask for information to be repeated and when I go a third, fourth, or even fifth time when I try to get important things organized. However, over time people get adjusted and probably realize there are things that you have little control over especially when they see that you can do good work (it just may take you more time than others). My advice is:

Get evaluated for any cognitive impairments
Find habits that work for you - you may have to do things differently than others

Things that work for me:

I play with a toy in my hands such as a Rubik's cube when I study and read. It grounds me and makes me less likely to be distracted by the environment around me. I record things when it's a meeting for instance. Break tasks into small chunks and take a small break when a chunk is completed. I use a daily planner and categorize activities as: very likely to be done, can get a lot done, won't be able to work on as much. Then I do tasks according to which ones can be completed quickly, which ones are more important, etc.

I advise on getting evaluated only because you sound a lot like me lol. I thought these sorts of problems were normal and that I just wasn't as good as others. However, more and more people were pointing things out to me that I didn't notice and started to feel like things were off, inconsistent, or odd about me that didn't seem "normal". I thought it was normal to space out for 10 minutes, get out of chair and pace around every 2 minutes, not retain anything someone has said to me in the past minute.

I actually laughed a little while typing this because your posts resonate with me especially the ice cream thing. lol

 

[symbolipoint]

I was almost ready to make some comments like in post #11, but could not be sure if jacinta was serious or joking.

 

[Choppy]

I have the attention span of a toddler and I can't function sitting down and looking at a book ("studying") for more than two minutes.

I think it's fairly common for people to struggle with maintaining attention on their studies. I mean, we live in a world where there are so many things that are actively seeking your attention. Your cell phone keeps you connected to the online world regardless of where you do. Texts. Snapchat. Instagram. Facebook posts. You have video games that can essentially make you the star of your own movie. Click bait adds about the world's hottest sports celebrities, or what these child stars look like now. I went out for dinner with my family last night at Boston Pizza and there was a different television in just about every direction I looked playing every sport I could think of so long as it was hockey or football.

Tips on how to focus...

1. Practice. Paying attention to something is a skill and skills improve with time and practice. You likely won't change yourself overnight. But the more you do something, the longer you'll be able to stay on task.
2. Block out as many distractions as you can. When it's time to study, put your phone away, close your laptop, turn off the television, and give yourself the room you need to study.
3. Take breaks. Don't expect to go from zero to being able to sit for marathon study sessions quickly. Start with fifteen minute intervals. Study for fifteen, then take a five minute break. If you know you have a break coming, it's easier to be productive in the time you have.
4. Set specific goals with your studying. Something ambiguous like "learning physics" is difficult to achieve because you have no idea when you've actually accomplished it. Your goals for a single night could be: (i) review the lectures for the day, (ii) do the first five problems on the physics assignment, and (iii) write out a plan for your history essay. You can also set weekly and monthly goals.
5. (More of a 4b) - planning and setting goals can count as study time.
6. Make sure you're taking care of yourself, i.e. getting enough sleep, eating properly, getting enough exercise, socializing, etc. Focusing on your studies is an "executive function" in your brain and susceptible to fatigue. If you haven't been exercising you could have all this pent up physical energy that your body wants to burn and this can make sitting still difficult.
7. Consider the people you're spending time with in general. Spending more time with people who value their studies, with similar academic goals to yourself, and who are generally positive can do a lot to help you move in a similar direction. Conversely if you're around party animals, it will be hard to block them out.

 

[DS2C]

I wouldn't go down the "I have ADD route" (not that you're saying you are). People are so quick to claim this and it's due to a garbage work ethic and lack of maturity. One guy I work with is taking Calculus I and Chemistry, and blames his terrible grades on "ADD" and is going through the process of getting medication. Kind of ironic because whenever he sits down to "study" he's always talking to friends and on Instagram. Then after about an hour he calls it good and heads home for the day as he seems to have earned himself some relaxation time. He's just a very immature and lazy person that will drop out soon.

One thing that I might suggest, is what's called the Pomodoro Technique. This is where you study intensely for something like 45-60 minutes, then take a 5-10 minute break to stretch your legs and grab a snack. Then you're back at it again for another cycle. Rinse, lather, repeat.
There is an app called Forest App, that times it for you. If you mess with your phone, like try to text or look at an email, it will cancel the time and you have to start over. At the end of the day and week, it will tell you exactly how much time you spend studying.

When you study, find a spot that is for studying. Not on the couch in front of the tv, not in your bed. Find somewhere that's designated for studying so when you sit down, you know it's time to work. When you're sitting here, you don't touch your phone, you don't stare at the ceiling, you don't tussle your hair. It's intense studying and that's it.

The main thing is that it takes a mature person to sit down and be able to do something that they may not want to do, but what needs to be done. No one can force this on you, you just need to grow up a bit if that's the issue. But try these things that I've suggested, they worked really well for me.

 

[Mmm_Pasta]

I wouldn't go down the "I have ADD route" (not that you're saying you are). People are so quick to claim this and it's due to a garbage work ethic and lack of maturity.

ADHD isn't the only cause of lack of focus; these deficits are common with TBI, Bipolar Disorder, Tourette's, and many other disorders - the brain is complicated. It could also be due to reasons that Choppy stated. That's why I gave a suggestion for getting a professional evaluation. An evaluation, which also includes an interview, is very extensive and would be able to differentiate between someone who is "lazy" and someone who actually has cognitive impairments. These sorts of evaluations are useful for noticing problems that commonly go untreated.

The things that caught my eye from the OP were "I can't function when I sit down" and "I just tried sitting down but there was ice cream yum". This describes me on a day-to-day basis. I would describe the experience as frustrating. I want to focus, but I can't. It doesn't matter if it is something I'm interested in or not. I can't focus when I read, and when I do read through an entire page or paragraph, I can't recall any of it. It's frustrating to know that I put in work to read through a page of material, but I can't recall much of it.

It is possible that the OP does not have any of these problems, but if they are like this on a day-to-day basis, then it could be useful to seek help. Choppy's advice is very good. It's usually a first approach to solving these issues, but in the case that it doesn't, an evaluation would be useful. A professional is more helpful for more severe cases. These problems go beyond "gets distracted by Facebook" or "I check my phone every five minutes". For me, I wish I would have gotten help much sooner, which is why I'm giving the advice that I'm giving.

 

[Apple_Mango]

Stop doing your homework at your house. I can never do my homework at my house(unless it's an assignment I can finish in 15 minutes) even when I have no distractions

 

[Posy McPostface]

I'm currently taking a Coursera class called, Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects.

It's available here free of charge.

I have ADD-PI, so maximizing the learning process given my short attention span is something I really need to get down if I want to do well in college, again.