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43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Tips on maintaining concentration

Concentrating while studying

Concentration: the ability to direct your thinking

The art or practice of concentration, no matter if studying biology or playing pool, is to focus on the task at hand and eliminate distraction

We all have the ability to concentrate — sometimes. Think of the times when you were “lost” in something you enjoy: a sport, playing music, a good game, a movie. Total concentration.

Great tips that are useful way beyond studying—really for any kind of work that requires your mind not to wander off on its own. The “Best Practices” section in particular has some useful ways to learn and address the sorts of things that cause you to break concentration. I don’t think I’d ever really thought about firewalling time for worrying, but it’s certainly an interesting idea.

If you like stuff like this as much as I do, definitely check out The Now Habit, a book that’s full of interesting ideas for beating procrastination and maintaining focus and concentration. A little hippie around the edges, but the basic premise of discovering when and how you get led astray is sound, do-able, and very helpful.

bob's picture

Picked up "The Now Habit"...

Picked up "The Now Habit" this week, after seeing it here. Read it on the planeride to Atlanta today, and added a couple pithy sayings from it to my stack of 3x5 cards. Liking the idea of choosing to just start and that there's "no perfect place to begin." just do it, eh? One of these days I'll give myself permission to fail ....

 
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