With exam season rushing around the corner, and revision beginning, almost every student is looking to study and retain as much as possible.
But why is it just so inexplicably hard to do so for some people; seemingly impossible to focus properly? Is it simple laziness, as parents often label it, or is it something much harder to identify?

Millennials often get given a bad, self pitying reputation by the wider media, but it actually turns out that it might be harder than ever before for students to properly focus.
A recent study by Microsoft Corporation has found that the human attention span has shortened from an average of 12 seconds to 8 seconds in the past decade alone, another 2014 study of OMD finding that the average person switches their attention from laptops, to tablets to phones, around 21 times in just one hour. 
Not only this, but other forms of entertainment and distraction are ever harder to avoid, thanks to smartphones: A new Netflix series, a new funny instagram post or even a text you simply have to reply to.

In this day and age, there appears to be no escape from these distractions, from these gadgets ingrained into our homes, our schools, practically everywhere we go.
Thankfully, however there are ways to combat this issue.

Firstly, accepting these shorter attention spans is key; studying in small chunks rendering itself far more useful than attempting to study for hours at a time.
In addition, it has been suggested that associating certain places with actions, such as revising, aids in creating focus when it is time to work.
Rather than studying in your room, which is a multipurpose, sleep, relax and study area, instead move revision to Wimbledon Library, Morden Library or any other one of the excellent libraries within the borough. 

These study environments are free, and created purely to help you, providing a separation between ‘work and play’ and ensuring higher levels of focus and motivation.
Student Amelia Currie said “ Utilising the Library at GCSE really helped me improve my grades and I’m hoping it’ll serve the same purpose at A Level too”.
So next time you’re finding it hard to revise, rather than getting frustrated and blaming yourself, instead try out some new revision methods, or visit a local library.