Written By: Geetanjali Goel; Edited By: Aaliya Ashwin
In the lazy noon lull, the glaring sun accompanied by a slight breeze, I entered my classroom, with a belly full of food, feeling lethargic yet content to learn. I opened my notes and my laptop, ready to think, ask and question for the next two hours in my most awaited class of the week. It began with vigour, as the professor started the discussion, but somewhere in the middle, my eyes started to glance continuously towards the clock as I felt restless within the first half hour. The session was going great, and even the discussion was making sense. But my eyes travelled like a pendulum from the white board in the front, to the clock in the back, every five minutes. My hands started doodling flowers on my notebook, waiting for a break. As we reached the one-hour mark, the professor indicated a 10-minute break. I was the first one who rushed from my seat towards the Nescafe downstairs for a coffee. Soon, half the students in the class had joined me.
This story is not just about me, but all of us. We are often unable to pay attention to classes after a while, even though they interest us. We get distracted, tired or just basic information overload makes it impossible to continue further on. A lot of us sometimes can’t even wait for a break, and end up taking a breather outside the class. This is due to our shortening attention spans. There are several studies which have focused on finding the attention span of students, some say about 8 seconds, while others claim 20 minutes. TED talks are usually 18-minutes long since people CAN only pay attention for 18 minutes for any ‘‘serious’’ discussion.
Going through all these studies, I only felt a sense of accomplishment, listening to professors for 2 hours at a time. My thirty-minute attention span seemed quite a feat considering everything. However, my sense of achievement did nothing for me as I struggled to understand concepts after 30 minutes. I wanted to run away from class. So, I found a small technique that helped me persevere through the two-hour struggle between me and my mind. The Pomodoro Technique—study for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. I started doing this in lectures, I would learn for 25 minutes and then zone out for 5. It’s not important to keep it as 25 minutes, you can adjust the timings and breaks according to your individual learning style. Active learning works wonders too—ask questions, take notes, or explain concepts to a friend. Finally, stay hydrated, sleep well, and don’t forget to move! Short walks or stretches during breaks can reset your focus, keeping you sharp and engaged.
The long lectures don’t help our attention spans, whereas we can!
