DEVELOPING CONCENTRATION (2) Concentration is a master skill that affects everything you do. If you have good concentration, you will learn more during study, and perform better in your daily life. But what is good concentration? You don’t get it by trying to concentrate, but by focusing on what you are doing. You can learn and perform well in spite of anxiety, if you have a positive action focus. Instead of worrying about negatives (what you fear, dislike, or want to avoid), focus your full attention on the positive of what you want to accomplish and the action you’re taking to reach that goal. Using your Time: For you to master good concentration, you must learn how to use your time effectively, little wonder Benjamin Franklin said; “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.” Three ways to use your time more effectively are: Wise planning, Good timing and Increased Efficiency. For you to fail or succeed in anything you do in this life is dependent on these three factors. Wise Planning: The foundation of planning is knowing yourself and what you want to do with your abilities and opportunities (this doesn’t necessarily mean having a specific career goal). Wise planning is choosing daily activities that help you make progress toward your long-term goals. When you have planned well on both long-term and short-term levels, then goals and activities fit together. Most if not all of the activities specified in short-term plans will contribute to the realization of the goals specified in long-term plans. When should you Plan? In the evening (so you can review the previous day and plan for the next) or morning (when you’re well rested and ready to go), or at any time during the day when you ask question like “what is the best use of my time now?” A useful time-management tool is a daily To-Do list. First think of all the things you might want to do, then set priorities… it is very important that you do certain activities to day (so be sure you do them), others would be nice to do but they aren’t necessary, while some probably shouldn’t be done at all (cross them off your list). Then use this prioritized list to plan your activities for the day. You can use a time schedule, or just improvise as you go. The ideal amount of scheduling structure depends on your personal preference and the situation-but always remembers to leave some flexibility for surprises. The purpose of planning is to use time effectively. A little time invested in planning is a great investment. If you ever feel too busy to plan, consider it a reminder about the importance of planning… you don’t have enough time to do everything you want, so it is essential that you decide how to use your limited time wisely. When you set priorities, consider urgency and long-term importance. To find out if something is urgent, ask “what will happen if I don’t do this today?”, urgency tends to demand action, but non-urgent activities can be just as important because their effects are cumulative… for example, brushing teeth, nutrition and physical fitness. Be sure to do non-urgent yet important activities on a regular basis. Good Timing: Good timing lets you take advantage of opportunities while they’re still available. Timing is an important part of planning, you are deciding what to do and also when to do it. But planning doesn’t always lead to doing. A valuable time-use tool is the ability to convert planning into action at the proper time. Increased Efficiency: To get more done, you can Waste less time and Work more efficiently. There are 168 hours in a week, if you use 50 hours for sleep 17 hours for classes/work 21 hours for study and 10 hours for meals. Then you’ve succeeded in using 98 hours. Where did the other 70 hours go? Occasionally, to keep things in perspective, stop for introspection, orientation and long-term planning. Re-think your present situation (where am I now?), values and goals (where do I want to go?) and time use (are my activities effective in bringing me closer to my goals?).
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 17:37:21 +0000
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