From the course: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Staying focused

- Right now, I have two kids who are going to school remotely. My 14 year old daughter is really handling it great. She has a spot in her room that's her school. She shuts her door during class, takes the time beforehand to make sure everything is ready to go. My ten year old son, on the other hand, is having a much harder time. Regardless of the space we set for him and our attempts to get him ready, he just gets distracted. He's trying to get the dog on his lap or staring out the window, or asking me a question from the other room. Based on the level of focus they're demonstrating, I can clearly see the difference in how well they're understanding and thinking critically about what they're learning. The same goes for us. If you want to be the best critical thinker you can be, you need to make sure that you can stay focused. There are some best practices that can help you with doing that. Some of the most important steps you can take to stay focused is preparing ahead of time. This involves both physical and mental preparation. Physically, you should make sure you're well rested and sufficiently fed. Some of you are probably the type that get hangry. If so, I can say you're definitely not thinking critically when you're hangry. The mother of my children is this way, so she always keeps her granola bar at the ready to prepare to really pay attention. Or maybe you're the type of person that hits a slump right after lunch. If this is you, don't eat a big lunch right before an important meeting, or try to schedule meetings when you know you'll be fresh. You should also get yourself in the right head space. This includes removing these biases that we've already talked about, and preparing yourself to focus. One thing I try to do before a big meeting or an important lecture is to meditate. Even 10 minutes of meditation gets my mind ready to be present. Preparation isn't just about you though. Take a moment to make sure the space is conducive to you being able to focus. This includes removing any distractions, TV screens off, radio off, or anything else that will distract you. I let my kids know that I'm going into an important meeting, so they know to wait until it's over to ask me any questions. It also includes making sure that the space is set up well and that you have what you need. Is the seating comfortable, but not too comfortable? If you need to take notes, do you already have paper ready? Finally, have you created an agenda for the meeting or conversation? Have you made sure you understand the core issues at hand? And do you know what you think is important to discuss? Having a plan enables you to follow along and limits the chance that your mind will wander. Once you've prepared, it's time to actually focus on the meeting. Stick to the agenda you've prepared, but be flexible if in the process of discussion, something new comes up that needs to be added. Make sure that you don't digress from the main point and how it's supported, unless it's to explore other relevant viewpoints on the same matter. Occasionally, check in with yourself and even the other person to ask, are we on track? Is this helping us understand what we need to understand? Finally, check in at the end of the conversation to make sure you have a clear understanding of what was discussed and that the initial problem or question was addressed successfully. By preparing well and focusing your energies, you're going to be a more critical thinker who's able to solve problems more effectively.

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