It is a beautiful Monday morning, you are fresh and rested after a good night's sleep, you have just eaten breakfast, and you are ready to begin studying for your upcoming psychology test. You sit down at your desk, open up your laptop computer, turn on your mouse, and begin typing your notes. You are very focused on what you are doing. Nothing, you believe, can ruin this moment--until you hear a loud steady beat coming from the apartment upstairs. It vibrates underneath you and rattles your windows. Suddenly your train of thought has been derailed, and there is no way to get it back until the noise stops.

Concentration is important for many people, such as students, writers, and others who need to be able to focus on their work. It is important to be able to concentrate so that you can do your best. If you are a student who is taking a test in a classroom with about fifty other students, the other students can be a distraction. One student may arrive late for the test, for example. The sound of the door opening and closing, the student talking to the teacher, getting his test, and going to his desk can break students' concentration. Other distractions that can happen in a classroom include a student dropping his pencil, shuffling papers, coughing, and sneezing.

When people cannot concentrate, it takes them longer to complete their work than it normally would. The work that they do manage to produce is generally of a lower quality than the work they produce whn they are able to concentrate.

Several things will help you to improve your concentration. First, know your material. If you are very familiar with the material on your test, nerves will be less likely to get in the way. Second, consider investing in a pair of earplugs. When you go in to take your test, get your test, go to your desk, put your earplugs in your ears, and begin your test. With the earplugs in, you will not be able to hear the distracting noises around you. A word of advice on earplugs, though: you may need to tell your teacher about them, so that when he sees you putting them in your ears, he will know what you are doing and will not accuse you of cheating, since the earplugs may be mistaken for technology associated with cell phones. Third, breathe deeply. Deep breathing often helps with anxiety. Now, take your test. You have studied. You should do well.