Every student has struggled with remaining attentive in class. Nobody is immune to drowsiness, boredom, distracting thoughts, or electronic temptations. Here’s the trouble, if you are distracted at the wrong moment, you are certain to miss something important. This can result in momentary embarrassment, or it can result in failing to catch an important piece of information that will be included on a test or final exam. While it is impossible to avoid all distractions all of the time, you can definitely use these 8 tips to ensure that you stay on task as much as possible.

1. Know Your Body Clock

You are best able to focus and stay engaged in the classroom during the times of day that you are naturally alert. Whenever it is possible, try scheduling your most challenging classes during the times in which you feel the most awake and energized.

2. Get Enough Sleep

Yes, this does seem painfully obvious, but it is absolutely true. Sure, you may need to lose sleep to finish a homework assignment, or to work a late shift at your job. But, do you really need to stay up all night catching up on your favorite web series or catching up on Tumblr?

3. Be an Engaged Student

One of the best ways to maintain your focus in the classroom is to actively participate. Raise your hand, answer questions, and ask questions. This small amount of physical activity, along with responding audibly can help you to increase your level of awareness.

4. Caffeinate if Tolerable – but not too Much

There is nothing wrong with using caffeine as a natural pick me up, as long as you can tolerate it. Just don’t overdo it with highly caffeinated energy drinks, or by drinking more coffee than is healthy. It’s hard to keep focus if you are drowsy or distracted, but it’s also hard to keep focus if you are too jittery or restless due to too much caffeine.

5. Eat Breakfast

Starting your day with a small meal that includes protein, a whole grain, and a fruit or vegetable will help you to avoid crashing later in the day. This may not provide the burst of energy you might receive from a cup of coffee or energy drink, but you will have ongoing stamina throughout the day.

6. Learn to take Focus Cues from your Instructor

If taking notes is causing you to lull off to sleep, try to listen for certain phrases. When you hear them, this is your cue to pay attention and take notes. Here are a few phrases you may encounter:

- Write this down

- This will probably be on a test

- Put down your phones and pay attention.

When your instructor begins engaging other students in conversation or questions, this is probably a good indication that you should start taking notes.

7. Go Ahead and Check Your Phone

Don’t do it all of the time, but the occasional indulgence in a distraction can help you stay focused the remainder of the time.

8. If an Assignment is too Boring or Distracting – Get Help

Don’t struggle through a semester in a class that you don’t understand, or that you need help with. You don’t need the distraction, and you don’t need to waste energy that you could use in other classes. Use a paper writing service such as ghostprofessors.com for the help that you need. Writing services like these are capable of helping you out with the projects that you don’t have time for. Having less pressure and stress will allow you to finally focus on your lectures and the subjects that matter the most to your chosen field of study.

9. Write as much as you can in your notes.

The activity of writing, especially using your pen and paper, can serve as an exercise that will help you focus more in class. Not only that, you can write your notes in any way you want. Use your writing imagination for a better grade, like taking down notes using pneumonics, different writing styles, etc. If you’re not sure how to do write notes in a creative way, here are some tips to defeat writer’s block.

10.  Practice mindfulness in the classroom.

One thing you can do to improve your focus is to perform mindfulness exercises, such as meditation, breathing exercises, and focusing techniques. Even if you don’t succeed immediately, you will gradually see the changes as the semester passes by. By the next year, you will have improved your focus greatly. This, in turn, will make you an efficient student that can achieve any type of grade you want.

Focusing in class is quite easy, especially once you get used to doing these routines that we’ve outlined above. Unless you are suffering from clinical ADHD or ADD, these methods will work out well for you. There is no more need to worry about your grades. Just focus on learning how to focus and you will be golden.