Concentration

As a millennial, you have some distinct advantages: you’ve grown up in a home with a computer, you’ve got access to information that used to take major trips to the library to discover, and you can stay connected wherever you are, twenty four hours a day.

The disadvantage: you’re blipped out. You’re the sound byte generation. You can’t focus. You bore easily. You’re antsy. You’re not very likely to read this article in its entirety.

This all puts you at a natural disadvantage for surviving the mega tests that are the SAT and ACT.

So what do you do? Well, I’ll tell you, but you’re probably not going to like it. The best thing you can do for your concentration is to get away from the computer. Seriously. Stop obsessively checking your friends’ Facebook statuses, leave Twitter alone for a while, and press the pause button on YouTube. Step away from the screen. Moreover, once you’ve done that, don’t head for the television; head outside.

Ride your bicycle. Play sports. Start a weekly yoga regimen and stick with it.

Read a book for fun, and don’t put it down when you notice your mind wandering. Go back and read the section you missed again. Keep it up! Work up to getting absorbed in a book for one to two hours at a time.

Seriously? Yes. Seriously.

You will probably also want to take a look at what you’re eating. While low carb eating was a big fad ten years ago, foods with a low glycemic index are definitely the way to go. If you’re loading up on sugar and refined carbohydrates (cheap sugars that make your blood sugar spike and plummet throughout the day), you’re certainly in the ruthless cycle of sugar rush and sugar coma. I’ve got news for you: the words “coma” and “great test taking” aren’t used in tandem very often.

Specifically regarding studying: you’ll want to keep your desk area neat and clean. Turn off the radio. If you’re one of these people that can’t stand the quiet, you may want to check out Simply Noise, a web site that creates white noise to drown out distractions (I like the brown/red noise, personally).

Also, don’t wait until 11 o’clock to do your homework, because that’s when you’re tired. While you most likely would rather use your free energetic time after school to tool around hanging out with your friends, you’re far more likely to focus on and remember what you studied during those times. These are the harsh realities.

Concentration on Test Day

The thing about Test Day is that you’re not likely to turn into Captain Focus if you haven’t been training beforehand. Nevertheless, there are still a few things you can do:

1. Plan to take a mind clearing breath after a predetermined number of questions. If you know you’re someone that loses concentration or tends toward what I like to call the “I’m Never Getting Into College Freak Out,” you need to plan to take a deep breath every few minutes. It loosens you up and gets oxygen into your system. Yes, remembering to breathe helps.

2. Have a mantra. While your mantra doesn’t have to be “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and…,” it certainly can be! Your mantra needs to be something special to you, something personal that reminds you that you are prepared and you are smarter than the SAT. Even “I AM prepared” works. Pick something useful.

3. Take a snack. Just like your brain needs oxygen, hence the breathing, your brain needs fuel too. Since we already talked about the horrors of sugar addiction, you probably know I don’t want you to take a donut along. Take a banana and some peanut crackers (or some version of that) that you can eat quickly that won’t upset your stomach. Think a balance of carbs and protein (for energy) and fat (so that you’ll feel full and not obsess about lunch while doing the double reading passage.

4. Don’t Drink a Red Bull…unless you drink Red Bull every day, in which case, please do. The point here is don’t eat or drink on test day that you wouldn’t normally have. I know those no-crash energy drinks seem alluring, but Test Day is not the day to experiment.

If you’d like more info on the low attention spans of the millennial generation in particular, please check out this great book review on Salon.com.