What do you guys do to cure "zoning out"

[lordrrr]

So my honors geometry teacher pulled me aside yesterday and told me he notices how I zone out a lot during lectures. How can I fix this? As an INTJ, what keeps you from zoning out?

[ElstonGunn]

Are you doing poorly in this class? If not, tell the teacher to buzz off and mind his own business (maybe not in those exact words, though).

[ssfanatic]

I have no cure. I have the same problem. I just teach myself out of the book. I have a history class taught by an INTJ, at least thats what i think he is, and i stay focused the whole time. I dont think it matters, as long as you understand whats going on. Of course this may not be good is you dont have a math brain :)

[lordrrr]

Are you doing poorly in this class? If not, tell the teacher to buzz off and mind his own business (maybe not in those exact words, though).

No I got a 95. I think he's pissed that I ask questions that he JUST explained.





lordrrr added to this post, 1 minutes and 54 seconds later...

I have no cure. I have the same problem. I just teach myself out of the book. I have a history class taught by an INTJ, at least thats what i think he is, and i stay focused the whole time. I dont think it matters, as long as you understand whats going on. Of course this may not be good is you dont have a math brain :)


Yeah I'm not the best when it comes to math. Philosophy/English/History/Science is more my thing because there's room for questions, and I'm like the king of questions lol. With math, there isn't too much room for questions besides "How can I apply this?" so It's really hard for me.

[ssfanatic]

No I got a 95. I think he's pissed that I ask questions that he JUST explained.

I just thought about this. and last year i took Geometry and got a 98 in the class. I zoned out in class and would score bad on in class work and score over 100 on the tests. So when i asked if she would recommend me for Honors Alg II, she says no bec i dont learn things the first time. Wow was i angry. Sorry lady, next time ill make sure i get a 100 in your class.





ssfanatic added to this post, 2 minutes and 6 seconds later...


Yeah I'm not the best when it comes to math. Philosophy/English/History/Science is more my thing because there's room for questions, and I'm like the king of questions lol. With math, there isn't too much room for questions besides "How can I apply this?" so It's really hard for me.

I like English, its my favorite class, but math comes easily. But like you said, i like to ask questions, i get in 1 on 1 conversations with my Lit. teacher over analyzing stories in the middle of class. :p

[AgentofGaming]

I suppose it happens because you're bored.
Well if you find your teacher/subject boring what can you do? switch teachers, maybe tell the teacher to make it more exciting. lol

[eMachine]

I suppose it happens because you're bored.
Well if you find your teacher/subject boring what can you do? switch teachers, maybe tell the teacher to make it more exciting. lol

I always found it difficult in classes with teachers who expected me to take notes while they talked, simply because they would say one thing and I would be connecting it with other things in my 'memory bank' so I would miss the next few things they said.

I've had a couple English teachers, a History teacher, and a Biology teacher who would let me sleep in their classes when they were going over material that they knew very well I already understood but they had to explain it all again for the 'slower' students.

I think as long as you have a good grade in the class, the teacher is probably just personally offended that you don't seem to be paying attention to him. Imo, that's his problem, not yours. I would find out how much your grade can 'legally' be reduced for behavior though, because he could probably resort to something so petty if he continues to feel insulted by you.

I don't know of any technique to control zoning out.

[Lagawrd]

I zone out about 15 minutes after something gets boring. The fifteen minutes are spent fighting with my consciousness. The only reason I someone gets bored or I get bored is because I know the outcome or this has already been processed. If it is not necessary to repeat it is not necessary to listen. The fifteen minutes are also spent trying to see if there really is a need like a new idea or a new concept. There is no cure for this, just pay attention to one thing that is important to where you are.

[AgentofGaming]

I always found it difficult in classes with teachers who expected me to take notes while they talked, simply because they would say one thing and I would be connecting it with other things in my 'memory bank' so I would miss the next few things they said.
Expected you to take notes? that isn't too bad.
In Gr. 10 Science I got a detention for taking ugly notes, and I was forced to re-rewrite them again except nicely. :thinking:

By the time I reached I high school I was already aware that if I took notes I'd never look at them again, but detention is a bit absurd to encourage study habits.

[fasterthanu]

dude I have the same problem and I'm in college what usually keeps me focused is if I have something that makes like an annoying noise and I use it through out the day to help me focus because:
a) I will try to keep a rhythmic clicking going
b) the noise keeps me in the "real" world

If you don't want 2 make the noise you should have something twirl in your hands. This is what I do the beautiful thing about college is that no one can tell you what you can and can't do so I will have my zippo lighter in class opening and closing like 20 times a minute for no apparent reason other than to keep me focused and it works

[Zilal]

Heh... yeah, I'm tempted to suggest you tell him to liven up his lectures a bit. Some classes just aren't that interesting and do promote a lot of zoning out. I find myself drifting rather more than I'd like in some classes.

I usually try to maintain focus by reminding myself that concentrating is more useful to me than daydreaming. If I let my mind wander it tends to keep going back to the same old stuff. But every time I practice concentration, I'm putting more skill in the bank that I could use someday for something I *was* interested in.

[PRBori]

I had a hard time focusing on certain subjects as well, specially algebra. I must have taken that class so many times I got bored and my final grade was always C; however, funny enough I enjoy geometry, got an A the first time.

Science, I LOVE dearly, but I actually hated HISTORY, specially everytime it cover wars, but was intrigue with history from Egypt and Spain, not sure why.

But overall, I think is normal to not pay attention if the subject is not of interest to you. One of the reasons I didn't understand why when I try to get into college they wanted me to take classes I had no interest on. I like everything to be straight to the point, no go arounds even when it comes to education.

[edalz]

I usually just let my mind wander, but if I absolutely have to pay attention to something really boring I pinch myself. At least then I'm annoyed enough to stay awake.

[lordrrr]

I had a hard time focusing on certain subjects as well, specially algebra. I must have taken that class so many times I got bored and my final grade was always C; however, funny enough I enjoy geometry, got an A the first time.

Science, I LOVE dearly, but I actually hated HISTORY, specially everytime it cover wars, but was intrigue with history from Egypt and Spain, not sure why.

But overall, I think is normal to not pay attention if the subject is not of interest to you. One of the reasons I didn't understand why when I try to get into college they wanted me to take classes I had no interest on. I like everything to be straight to the point, no go arounds even when it comes to education.

I love studying science but hate doing the experiments. I zone out a ton during the instructions and whenever I ask an important question they always point out the fact that "We just went over that" instead of telling me what I missed, so I always miss a step and do something wrong, like that time I spilled chemical Sudan all over my shirt :/

[elsdfr]

Concentration? If you want it bad enough you need to persevere.

[PRBori]

I love studying science but hate doing the experiments. I zone out a ton during the instructions and whenever I ask an important question they always point out the fact that "We just went over that" instead of telling me what I missed, so I always miss a step and do something wrong, like that time I spilled chemical Sudan all over my shirt :/

Hmm.. you hate the fun part... except disecting a frog of course, that was odd for me.

Again, I think it has to do with what you like and what you don't. In general, if you have certain goals in life that will revolve around a particular subject, I suggest that you try to focus on the area even if it doesn't seem to be interesting because it can affect you on your goals in the long run.

Like someone else said before, pinch yourself to stay focus if necessary. Grades are important for anything you want to do in the future.

[Antares]

My Geo teacher would never let me zone out. I usually don't listen in class and teach myself out of the textbook, but she won't have it. Is it because she felt disrespected? Because I can ace her classes with no problem. I would just stare at her and half-listen to pretend to be focused. I can usually know what her last words are, so no prob ;)

But of course, because I can half-listen, I have no problem with asking what they've gone over again.

Science, I LOVE dearly, but I actually hated HISTORY, specially everytime it cover wars, but was intrigue with history from Egypt and Spain, not sure why.

I love science too. To be specific, Physics. I suppose Chem is not bad, but I dislike my teacher to the extreme. *looks appalled* You hate history? It's all a fantastic story to me; a story which I get quizzed and tested on. And considering the history teacher is my favorite teacher yet (my whole life), I have no complaints. I love history when it deals with war (it's just too exciting), but I hate the diplomacy part (eg treaties)

[Homini Lupus]

The treaties part can get interesting when you understand it's still people struggling against other people with different means (or it's war wich is the continuation of policies with different means, in Clausewitz's terms).

The way our professor made it interesting was always asking us, after explaining a decision made by leaders, "why did they act that way and not the other?" and waiting for our answers.

But after all, it was my decision to follow that path of studies.

[nightengale]

dude I have the same problem and I'm in college what usually keeps me focused is if I have something that makes like an annoying noise and I use it through out the day to help me focus because:
a) I will try to keep a rhythmic clicking going
b) the noise keeps me in the "real" world

If you don't want 2 make the noise you should have something twirl in your hands. This is what I do the beautiful thing about college is that no one can tell you what you can and can't do so I will have my zippo lighter in class opening and closing like 20 times a minute for no apparent reason other than to keep me focused and it works
you know what? that makes perfect sense! i never really had an explanation for the reason i ALWAYS tap my foot, or pen when in class. But it really does keep me in the "real" world. huh...cool.

[gogurtdynasty]

What i've always done in situations where i really needed to listen (especially school and work) was to try repeating everything they said in my head word for word... it becomes like a little game and keeps you focused. I'm sure it sounds kind of boring but it really helps :)

[Homini Lupus]

Taking notes can help sice you have to sinthesize what they are saying thus processing it with your mind. Problem here is when one of the things you are being said becomes too interesting, you start thinking about it and zone out.

[MeV]

Recently, I read a website that said you should try to draw your lectures, but this can be difficult for math. It does keep me slightly more entertained for a while though because I am trying to figure out how to draw what my teachers are saying. Its not like it matters if it accurately depicts what the teacher is saying anyways because I never look back at my notes. Mostly it just keeps me tuned in because I try to pick up on things that are "drawable".
Also, half the time, I completely ignore lectures, but I find that as long as I can answer questions, the teachers figure I'm really listening, I just don't look like I'm listening. HA I say, HA! I also found that the more I answered questions, the more involved with the class I became and the easier I found it to stay focused because I was waiting for the next question. Of course, this only works for one of my profs. because she actually asks interesting questions. The rest of them just ask recitation of knowledge questions which tend to bore me.
I really like it when I only catch half the question because then there is a couple minutes where I have to try and figure out what the whole question was by picking up on cues form the other students. Its like a game.
anyways, thats some stuff that helps me.

[Chainsaw Dundee]

As an INTJ, what keeps you from zoning out?

Interesting things.

[jamescwade2]

So my honors geometry teacher pulled me aside yesterday and told me he notices how I zone out a lot during lectures. How can I fix this? As an INTJ, what keeps you from zoning out?
While I was in college there were only 2 things I did in relation to zoning out; self medication and total abandon.

1. Self medication: you know what this is, and I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, I was getting excellent grades in the class (all the while sleeping front row center, and pissing every last one of my class mates off to the Nth degree).

2. Total abandon: I just let my mind go where it willed, and READ THE &^%$!@ book! That's why I paid all that ridiculous cash for the &^%$!@ reading material! So I could read it.

Really, as long as I was/you are getting an "A", who can complain? Why are you in school in the first place? Perhaps the goals you have for yourself, are not the same categorically as your professors perceived goals... Let him complain...

Let YOUR agenda move YOU. Get the paper with your little name on it, and the Designation of your degree and then go make more money than all of your Professors COMBINED!

How 'bout that?





jamescwade2 added to this post, 5 minutes and 15 seconds later...

Nice... Now I know why I create rhythms in my head by clicking my teeth together in syncopation. No one can hear it but me. My wife would see it from time to time and assume I was grinding my teeth until she asked me about it once; I let her hear the beat by opening my lips and she never asked again.

I am a drummer, and the beat keeps me sane... almost.

[Agile]

Fasterthanu, great suggestion! :thumbsup:

I have the same problem. My advice: Hum to yourself, click your teeth, as james said. I'm a drummer also and used to play cadences in high school classes, it pissed other people off, but it kept me focused.

I used to hum in class, in elementary school, it pissed my teachers off though. When I learned to 'stop' that I started playing video games, (nintendo watch) etc, and of course that was 'bad' too. That's when I started to zone out. Between 5th and 7th grade I read books in class, alot. Teachers started to take my books/tell me to put them away (as they did my games, above), and then zoning out affected my grades. Like others have posted, I frequently take notes and never look at them again.

1. Self medication: you know what this is, and I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, I was getting excellent grades in the class (all the while sleeping front row center, and pissing every last one of my class mates off to the Nth degree).

Self medication??? Could you elaborate a little bit? Coffee and alcohol come to mind...but how does this help you? Does this work for studying after class?

[Jgib5328]

Just make yourself active in the class, think about what the teacher is saying and think about what it means. Try to relate it to previous concepts and make any sense of it that you can. If you have a lot of trouble, just repeat everything the teacher says in your head right after he/she says it. That greatly increases your comprehension and allows you to focus a lot.

[Fishfighter]

Just make yourself active in the class, think about what the teacher is saying and think about what it means. Try to relate it to previous concepts and make any sense of it that you can. If you have a lot of trouble, just repeat everything the teacher says in your head right after he/she says it. That greatly increases your comprehension and allows you to focus a lot.

That's a good suggestion, I'll use that (I'm in uni myself, and zone out during lectures). :)

[jamescwade2]

Fasterthanu, great suggestion! :thumbsup:

I have the same problem. My advice: Hum to yourself, click your teeth, as james said. I'm a drummer also and used to play cadences in high school classes, it pissed other people off, but it kept me focused.

I used to hum in class, in elementary school, it pissed my teachers off though. When I learned to 'stop' that I started playing video games, (nintendo watch) etc, and of course that was 'bad' too. That's when I started to zone out. Between 5th and 7th grade I read books in class, alot. Teachers started to take my books/tell me to put them away (as they did my games, above), and then zoning out affected my grades. Like others have posted, I frequently take notes and never look at them again.



Self medication??? Could you elaborate a little bit? Coffee and alcohol come to mind...but how does this help you? Does this work for studying after class?
I was in the habit of drinking or smoking a little before I would go to class. Nicotine actually has (scratch that) HAD a calming effect on me (I quit in January).

I am not suggesting that lordrrr take up cigarette (or any other kind of) smoking, I was just answering the question by explaining what I did. There are other less harmful things that you can do.

Adrenaline/Dopamine are EXCELLENT drugs and you don't have to spend any money to obtain them! Take a jog! They're free!

[capricornintj]

I zone out when I am bored and my environment is quiet. I've learned that sufficient background noise (radio, ipod, etc.) will keep me present. Blocking out the background noise takes some concentration, but otherwise I am able to focus on the task at hand. I'm fortunate that I can use my ipod at work, so I don't zone out as much as I used to.

Given that you are still in high school, that isn't an option, so my alternate trick might work: multi-task. If I am headed into what I am sure will be a long, boring meeting, I will bring another project to work on at the same time. I am half listening to the conversation, but otherwise engaged in a different project. Just to be sure to sit away from the main participants (or teacher), lest you be called out for not paying attention.

[Genuine]

Doodle. It will seem like you are actively participating in class, and then write down the notes that the teacher is writing on the board so you can study them later.

But my tip would be to put the notes page on top of the doodle page so you can hide them if she scans the class to see who isn't listening. Simply slide over the paper if you want to doodle again. Repeat.

[changos]

I was on the same situation. I started doing two things...

1. Taking books or magazines to school. I used to look at the pages and somehow pay attention. My problem was being asked to repeat what the teacher have said... I was able to. My attention was focused and "my excess of attention" was being directed to the magazine or book.

2. I took blank pages and started drawing horizontal lines and vertical ones to form something like a straight # I filled pages of pages while paying attention.

Both things were useful to relax me, pay attention and avoid saying sarcastic comments that made everybody laugh.

[alone]

ideas:

Ask the teacher for a simple outline of the lecture for that day. It could help you to figure out where you are when you zone back in.

Make a game out of it somehow. Make some notes on the topic at hand, then write all of the questions or implications that come to mind in regard to that topic. Then later you can go to the teacher's office hours or email him the questions. Don't let them BS you by throwing the questions back at you. Insist they give you some answers, at least at the high school level. If they make you go to a book for it and you don't find the answer, come back and say "the book at page x says "y". That doesn't clarify the issue for me because I still need to know z."

Try to find errors in the teacher's exposition of the material.

*** Translate the lecture into another language on the fly as you take notes. This is a really good one for me. It keeps me thinking about the subject matter in a meta- sort of way, but gives me enough of an extra challenge to occupy my extra brain cycles.

[sriv]

I zone out on multiple choice spanish exams. Thats about it. ROFL. I enjoy all forms of learning except reviewing and repetition. I know it is good for me and makes me more accurate, but that remains the only reason I do it. Well, on the things I do zone out of (the multiple choice spanish), I just force myself to concentrate. Repeat in your head concentrate whenever you finish a sentence. orangeCONCENTRATE.

[Slumberjack]

For me, it is usually either extreme boredom and inability to concentrate, or extreme interest and deep concentration in what the Professor is saying.

If I try too hard to concentrate, my mind will undoubtably go off on a tangent about something else. I have found that the best thing to do especially when you are not interested in the material, is to take really good, really specific notes. The neater your notes are, the more meaning there is to them, especially when you go back to study them.

Something that I have had for as long as I can remember is music playing in my head (whether I'm zoned in or zoned out). It's so detailed that I can focus in on every instrument and note articulation that is played. I can almost hear it in my ears. It's usually the song that I last listened to in my car on the way to school. Interestingly enough, when I get back into my car after a long day of school, the same song that I am listening to in my head comes on when I start my car. Does anyone else experience this as intensely as I do?

[ssrprotege]

I tend not to zone out in most school courses - but some courses that I am interested in. In math and chemistry I never zone out, but occasionally in physics I do. I zone out quite frequently in English and Spanish. The teacher talks incessantly, I get bored, I zone out. I don't think there is any cure. It's my instinct to mentally 'creep' to my inner self and be in my own world of fantasy.

[PillowSoup]

There's four weeks of school left for me. I've found that I've been spacing out a lot lately and it's become a problem because I am usually the one in class to answer questions and participate in discussion.
Who else has summeritis?