Shut off the television and the IRC!
Stuff that distracts you has a much harder time of doing so when it isn't active around you when you want to focus on something else.
How to acquire and develop mental Focus
11–20 of 22 posts
Re: How to acquire and develop mental Focus
#12Here's an article on dopamine and information seeking - answers some of the 'why' we do this:
http://j.mp/38EhSy
Re: How to acquire and develop mental Focus
#13Hi, my technique to focus on learning a language is:
1.) Think of an interesting program that I would like to write.
2.) Write the program. As I write your program, I grep the documentation for stuff that I don't know. When I can't figure it out from docs, I grep the Internet.
I've never ever really been able to focus on anything that I don't find to be immediately relevant to a task that I want to accomplish. Some say this is ADD, I say it is pragmatism. Either way, I learn programming languages really well in this manner.
If you use this technique make sure that this program is something that will challenge you. Make it something in a domain that you maybe don't quite know, or at least have some interesting property other than the language.
Language is but a vessel for thought anyway, languages influence thinking, but once you know one language, you sort of know them all; (however, the really interesting languages can fundamentally change the way that you think).
Re: How to acquire and develop mental Focus
#14Maybe you are reading too much. Start coding asap - most tutorials do have examples in every chapter, don't they? Python has a REPL, so just play around with it while reading.
Maybe you can even think of small useful tools to program, that are possible to do without knowing all the ins and outs of Python.
Re: How to acquire and develop mental Focus
#15Practice things that require long-focus in all parts of your life. Read books instead of watching TV. Cook instead of eating out or warming up prefab.
If you have to read an article, before you start reading, remind yourself that you tend to drift away, so set a goal on how much to read before you allow yourself to take a pause.
This works well for me. It just takes a few days and I have stopped reaching for quick information kicks.
Re: How to acquire and develop mental Focus
#16Do not read documentation before you begin to code. Start some project first. Then if you stuck up - google and read. It will save your time, increase level of learning, because practice is the best teacher.
Launch fast and evolve - this is the mantra of this site. =)
Re: How to acquire and develop mental Focus
#17Here's an article on dopamine and information seeking - answers some of the 'why' we do this: http://j.mp/38EhSy
And I couldn't resist clicking on that link :)
Re: How to acquire and develop mental Focus
#18To some extent at least this can be blamed on the amount of distractions we have in this day and age.
Try the pomodoro technique. It has helped me, perhaps it will help you too: http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/
Note: you can try it even without buying a pomodoro (I use a countdown timer in my cellphone)
Re: How to acquire and develop mental Focus
#19Break your time down into 1 hour segments, and just think about what you want to achieve during that hour. Be strict: turn off all distractions until the hour is up. It sounds like you have time, but it's the knowledge that you have time that causes you to procrastinate.
Treat it like an important deadline. When you finish, enjoy the sense of achievement, take a break, then start the next hour. The goal ultimately is to be able to concentrate (productively) for 3-4 hours at a time.
Why not put a big countdown clock on the wall (that's what I've done!)
Re: How to acquire and develop mental Focus
#20It's quite likely you meet diagnostic criteria for ADD. Talk to a mental health professional. It's one thing to get distracted occasionally but it's a problem if your distraction is more pathological.
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