Fight For Your Right To Concentrate

By Lucille Farrell

Friday: 5:00 pm....The Elusive Research Paper sits before me, word document blank. So, we meet again. My name you ask? Farrell. . My mission? To finish you. Let us begin…

Still Friday: 5:30....My roommate walks by eyebrows raised. I’m just staring at my screen.
“So. Do I want to know how far you’ve gotten?”

I tilt my laptop around showing her the pretty cover page I’ve just made.
“Well…at least it looks nice.”

I nod and close my laptop as she puts a movie on. Tonight is just not the night for productivity. My mind is in a million other places and no part is concentrated on Stonehenge and its mystery.

Well hello there fellow bloggers,

I’m sure this problem has happened to you before. Not necessarily a lack of motivation to write about Stonehenge, but a lack of concentration all together. This happens to everyone, no need to get too worried about it. There are ways to help conquer the parts of you that refuse to focus and I’m here to point a few out.

One thing that has worked for people who needs to stay awake, as well as those who try to quit smoking, can work for you as well. Chew gum. Funny, but true. Believe it or not some high schools were encouraging students to chew gum, specifically peppermint gum, as part of a study they were testing out. Apparently chewing the gum increased concentration rates. Now you might ask, why peppermint? Aromatherapy is a therapeutic use of aromatic plant extracts or essential oils. It has been used to help treat insomnia, depression, and anxiety disorders. Peppermint is one of the scents used to increase concentration and help with mental clarity. Now this isn’t to say you need to chew gum if you are opposed to do so, or having braces (let’s face it nothing is more annoying than chewing gum with braces on). Try lighting a candle or finding a body lotion. Bath & Body Works actually has an aromatherapy line I rather enjoy (My personal favorite is the mint and eucalyptus blend for stress relief). Also peppermint isn’t the only scent that can be used for concentration. There is also bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, and basil. Go my little bloggers and search!

Two: Know thyself. Funny, but true. There are so many little things you do for yourself to keep you going. We all have our little habits. I know friends that use one color highlighter when studying for one subject and another highlighter for another to keep their notes color-coded in their mind. When prepping for a big paper you can hear classical music blaring from my headphones to get me in the mood to overcome a giant task. For the record I’m usually listening to Wager’s Ride of the Valkyries. Judge if you must, but when getting ready to write a 15-page paper you need epic music. We all have little habits. Maybe you use a fun font to type up a paper or rap vocabulary words. I remember in high school hosting Jeopardy style study sessions after school ended at a coffee shop nearby. The point is to keep your work fun. Know thyself my friends, know thyself.

Three: Know when to walk away. This is one of my own rules. There are some points when you need to take a break and walk away from your paper. If you try doing a marathon of writing your words will start to blend together and you will hit a stone wall. Get up, move away from your computer, and get out of your room. If you’re the athletic type go for a short jog. If you’re the artistic type take a break and doodle. Surprisingly it has been shown that doodling is one of those little habits that can increase productivity. So if your teacher sees you doodling in your book just smile, your brain is actually helping you process information. Personally when I walk away I got outside for some fresh air, even if it’s raining. While my room isn’t stale, after a while you just need to feel a change of environment. You need to jump up and down and just get your body moving to wake yourself up. Grab a snack, dance to music, do whatever it takes to bring a smile to your face. I’ve been known to start cardboard tube sword fights to keep the creativity flowing. Of course I’m a writer in my spare time, so I’m just weird.

Fight the procrastination demons my friends!!!

If you’re looking for any more information of have any questions for me to answer, PLEASE e-mail me or leave me a comment! My inbox is so empty it’s quite sad. Seriously, I promise shout outs and my attempt to answer all questions.

Peace, Love, and Cougars!

Luci


Lucille Farrell is a junior Organizational Communications major with a minor in Anthropology. She is originally from New Haven, CT and is involved with the Honors Student Advisory Council, Student Government Association (SGA) and Anthropology Club.Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.