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Hey everyone,
I was wondering if anyone had advice for how to improve focus/attention span for long periods of time. Sometimes during PTs I find myself having to read a question 3 times to finally focus and understand what it is saying, which is a huge waste of time. I feel like it was easier to get immersed into activities when I was younger, and now my attention span is floundering!
I exercise about 4 times a week, and have started to cut back on my phone apps that might shorten my attention span (rip tik tok and twitter). Any other advice is greatly appreciated.
Some extra info: My last PT was a 167 but I'm hoping to break 170 for the August test. I'm scheduled to take 16 more PTs before my actual exam (do you think breaking 170 in this time is possible?)
thanks!
3
6 comments
For LR and RC I am always engaging with the reading silently. At least I always try too... For example, with LR I'll be like "wow, okay! Why is that?" Or "Okay but can you prove that to me..." "Or hey dumbass you are forgetting to think about this.." Staying engaged really helps me.
Adding on to what everyone said, you should get into mindfulness/meditation. I think there's a section in the CC where J.Y mentions how practicing meditation can help in focus. It's certainly helped me, especially with panicking in testing situations.
@jeffwongkachi160 said:
The sounds stupid, but it works stuff in case you haven't already done it:
Sleeping properly
Cut out booze
Get rid of social media (sounds like you've already done this one, I got rid of FB since I found myself checking it all the time personally)
For question stems, sometimes it's a matter of just seeing the key words so you know what you're going through. I do find sometimes I need to re-read AP questions but usually I pick out the key words within a few seconds and know my task and just move back. Might need to drill that a little if you find yourself re-reading stems a lot.
If you're talking AC or stimulus, it's sort of a matter of getting used to the language. There are so many different ways to say "confuses necessary for sufficient" or vice versa but they all ultimately mean that for example.
I think 3 points is doable with good BR and consistent focus on weaknesses. Good luck.
Thanks for the thoughtful response! Sorry I wasn't very clear in my original post--I never have an issue identifying question stem, but sometimes it takes me a few rereads to focus on what the stimulus is saying. Especially right when I switch from another section to LR, takes me a while for my brain to get into LR mode.
And thanks for the encouragement on the score increase. Hopefully with increased focus during the exam I can test better too
@anthonypark157 said:
This is super basic but - do you think you are getting enough sleep every night? Undersleeping by even an hour every night can have a large detrimental effect on cognitive ability.
I’d also recommend devoting time to reading for fun every day if you don’t already
Thanks for your response! I sleep a decent amount but I am trying to fix my sleep schedule so I start studying by 8 am instead of 10 am which is what I do now.
I haven't read for fun in a while, but I'll start now. Just like with all other things, my attention span for reading was way better as a child where I'd read for 4-5 hours nonstop, but now I usually just read political science magazines where an article takes only 20 minutes.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond
The sounds stupid, but it works stuff in case you haven't already done it:
Sleeping properly
Cut out booze
Get rid of social media (sounds like you've already done this one, I got rid of FB since I found myself checking it all the time personally)
For question stems, sometimes it's a matter of just seeing the key words so you know what you're going through. I do find sometimes I need to re-read AP questions but usually I pick out the key words within a few seconds and know my task and just move back. Might need to drill that a little if you find yourself re-reading stems a lot.
If you're talking AC or stimulus, it's sort of a matter of getting used to the language. There are so many different ways to say "confuses necessary for sufficient" or vice versa but they all ultimately mean that for example.
I think 3 points is doable with good BR and consistent focus on weaknesses. Good luck.
This is super basic but - do you think you are getting enough sleep every night? Undersleeping by even an hour every night can have a large detrimental effect on cognitive ability.
I’d also recommend devoting time to reading for fun every day if you don’t already