Lately I have noticed that I am losing focus. I solve one EOC and take 10 more distractions before starting another…
Is this sign of being burnt out?
Note - I am not lacking motivation. I am always studying but its not effective somehow… If I study for 3 hours, I have hardly acomplished one hour worth of study. My mind always runs around different thoughts before coming back to topic.
Anyone else facing similar problem? Any ideas to help focus?
^ Sachin, a bit of exercising and/or meditation would help. Go for a short run, long walk, some yoga, swimming or weights - whatever form of exercising you like. And this is quite normal
IMO you need to separate the physical part from the psychological part :
I take a day off every 2 weeks or so. I find it an effective way to “rinse” my mind, and it is necessary IMO. I come back the day after refreshed, motivated and concentrated. This is what I call the physical part. You have to know your limits and know how your body and mind function and decide for yourself if and when you need a break.
As time passes and given what we have been through in the last few months, I am feeling increasingly fed up, however, as well as slightly exhausted. This is the psychological part. My tolerance for this part is far from depleted, but I am feeling the first signs of exhaustion. This is normal.
All in all, try to differentiate the two aspects and know when to give yourself a day-off for physical (cerebral) recuperation. When you hit a plateau and can’t concentrate anymore because your mind is tired, take a break and refuel. As someone who started studying early, you have that luxury at this point ; a couple of days-off until the exam could very well have an overall positive effect.
For the psychological part, however, man the fuck up. You knew exactly what you were getting into. Our lives are not going to improve in the next 45 days. In fact, our lives are going to suck shit, but 45 days is not a very long time. Then I bet you we are going to enjoy summer more than anyone else.
I’m having the same issue as Sachin. What I do is I set a timer on my phone (which is on airplane mode) and study hard and focused for 30 min. Timer goes off and then I take a five min break. What ends up happening often that my break extends to 1 hour before i get back to it again. But I think the idea of using your brain as a muscle (sprint for 25-30 min, take a 5 min break) makes it more effective and I look forward to the break where I can start trolling on the interwebs.
Maybe you need to change your study surroundings. I found it distracting to study at home so I study at work, showing up early and having my coffee in the conference room, and at the library Also turn your phone off to remove that from the equation.
I have been dealing with this for sometime now. It is taking unusually long time to even complete one chapter.I think we are stressed out and need to take time off studying.
I am going to try few things differently over next week and see if it helps… in worst case will try to take one week off sometime next week if I don’t feel confident enough.
The NBA and NHL playoffs aren’t helping either.