Losing Focus

[brettb]

One problem that I'm running into is maintaining my focus. I often find that I'll read a Stimulus then read the Question Stem and realize I have no idea what the stimulus said. I'll then have to re-read the stimulus, but I'll often try and read it faster to make up for my lost time and then I'm more likely to miss a key element, word, or detail that causes me to miss the problem. It then transcends into the next question and it's almost like a vicious cycle.

I had previously been practicing untimed prep tests and was missing maybe 6 LR questions in a section. Since I started doing timed I had a section I missed 9 questions in a row (questions 7-16) and missed a total of 14 in the section. This seems like too drastic of a drop so I'm wondering if anyone from the PowerScore team has any suggestions to help me better maintain my focus? I'm thinking more practice will no doubt help, but is there any kind of mental prep or drills I can work on to better maintain focus? Or should I just try and get an adderall script... haha..

[Clay Cooper]

Hello Brett,

I love, love your question. I think it is my favorite of all the questions I've ever answered on this forum.

It seems to me that you have observed in your own prep a phenomenon that affects most test-takers, but that only a few of whom (in my experience) ever give any serious thought to or try to address: the ability (and specifically, inability) to concentrate.

It must be said first that proper nutrition (protein, slow-burning carbs) both the night before and the morning of the test are vital to the ability to concentrate. Sleep, obviously, is crucial as well; without sufficient sleep, you will be fuzzy and unfocused. You may already be aware of these aspects of your preparation, though.

Perhaps some others will want to weigh in on the topic, but I do have one further bit of input.

In my experience, it is certainly possible to improve your ability to concentrate within a section and overall on the test - beyond just eating and sleeping well. However, it is not easy. I would recommend researching and practicing mindful breathing techniques and mindful meditation. I realize you may have just rolled your eyes at that suggestion, but I can't stress enough how important I think it is. Mindfulness as a practice (it's really, really hard) is the only tool I've ever found that has had any real impact on my ability to focus, outside of nutrition and sleep.

If you are interested, the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA's medical school is a great resource. Check it out: marc.ucla.edu.

Thanks for your question and good luck!

[brettb]

Hi Clay,

Thank you for your response. I'm definitely all over the eating healthy. I try and get as much sleep as possible. Easier said than done, but definitely something I'm aware of.

I will definitely look into more. Thanks providing the link to the website. I think improving my mental focus would help tremendously so I really am appreciative of your feedback.

Thanks again,

Brett