Ten tips for college students to increase concentration

Are you having trouble concentrating on your studies? Well don't worry – it happens to the best of students. Here are the top ten tips from experts to help you concentrate at college.

1. Start assignments with some curiosity about the material and a positive attitude toward learning.

2. Designate a place where you go only to study. Use proper lighting.

3. Identify your distractions. Find ways to decrease them or to postpone them until study breaks (e.g., taking the phone off the hook).

4. Decrease noises around you while studying. If you need some background music it should be soft. Keep the TV off.

5. Use "active study" techniques: sit straight in a chair at a desk, start out with questions about the material, outline chapters, underline key phrases after reading a section, write notes in margins, ask yourself what you have learned.

6. Divide your work into smaller manageable tasks that can be completed in a short period of time. Push yourself to complete one small task, then move on to the next task. Focus on one small task at a time.

7. Use times of peak alertness for studying difficult or less interesting topics. When you are tired or hungry concentration will be lowered.

8. When your mind starts to wander come up with some cue words to say to yourself (e.g., "Focus." "Get back on task.") to focus your concentration again.

9. Take breaks when you have completed tasks or when you feel concentration has decreased. Breaks should be approximately 10-15 minutes.

10. If you have other assignments or issues on your mind write them down on a "to do" list or take a small step to deal with them. Then get back to focusing on the task at hand.

The fine range of facilities that include the well-stocked & spacious library, clean and airy hostel rooms, large open green spaces, and more at MIDAS offer B.Arch and M.Arch students the perfect atmosphere to concentrate and study. Explore more at bit.ly/MIDAS_Admissions.

Coming soon! World’s highest rail bridge over River Chenab in Kashmir

An engineering marvel will connect one of the most remote parts of the country in Jammu and Kashmir with the mainland. It is being built on the Katra-Banihal railway line at village Kauri in the Reasi district.

Here are some interesting architectural details about the bridge.

1. The 1.315-km long bridge is being built above the Chenab River at a height of 359 meters, 35 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

2. 63 mm-thick special blast-proof steel sourced from the Bhilai steel plant is used to withstand any major blast.  

3. The concrete pillars include a 1.2-meter-wide central verge and a 14-meter-wide dual carriageway. It would withstand explosions, earthquakes, and wind speeds of up to 260 kmph. It is painted with a special corrosion-resistant paint, which lasts for 15 years.

4. The arch is two-ribbed and fabricated from large steel trusses.

5. The girder plates are eight-meter-long each. A total of 161 specially fabricated girders will be used.

6. Around 24,000-plus tons of steel will be utilized for the construction.

7. An online monitoring and warning system will also be installed.

8. The bridge will also have cycle trails and footpaths

9. Sensors on the bridge will check the wind velocity: as soon as the wind speed exceeds 90 kmph, the signal on the track will turn red, preventing train movement.

10. Self-compacting concrete is being utilized for filling steel boxes as well as for ends of plate girders.