In today’s world of technology, multitasking and never-ending distractions, we are constantly bombarded with things that make it difficult to concentrate and remain focused.
As someone who identifies as neurodivergent, or as someone who supports a neurodivergent teen or young adult, understanding small, but meaningful tools to improve focus and attention is important.
Self-monitoring is one of those tools. These strategies contribute to the development of academic and social skills by helping individuals track and reflect on their behaviors and performance. Importantly, self-monitoring requires that the student be an active participant in the intervention, ensuring they are directly engaged in their own progress.
In this post, we’ll share some of the best self-monitoring techniques you can use to enhance your concentration and focus.
Click here to jump to the TL;DR summary.
Introduction to Improving Concentration
Improving concentration is a crucial aspect of academic and personal success. One effective way to achieve this is through self-monitoring, a technique that involves paying attention to one’s own behavior, thoughts, and actions. By using self-monitoring tools and strategies, individuals can identify areas where they need to improve their focus and develop targeted interventions to address these challenges. Effective self-monitoring requires individuals to measure their behaviors and compare them to predefined standards, fostering independent functioning. Self-monitoring is an essential executive functioning skill that can help students overcome academic issues, such as difficulties with homework assignments, math class, or writing assignments, and improve their overall academic performance.
For instance, a student struggling with paying attention in math class can use self-monitoring to track their focus levels during each class period. By identifying patterns and triggers for distraction, they can implement strategies to stay on task, such as taking short breaks or using visual timers. Collecting baseline data is a crucial step in the self-monitoring process, as it provides a starting point for measuring progress and identifying effective interventions. This proactive approach not only enhances their concentration but also boosts their confidence and academic success.
What Do We Mean By “Self-Monitoring”?
Self-monitoring involves the act of paying attention to your own thoughts, behaviors, and actions. It’s how we observe and understand our own reactions to external stimuli.
By engaging in self-monitoring, we can better manage our emotions and behaviors, outside of needing external supports. Self-monitoring strategies help address behavior by improving awareness of actions and their impacts on others, promoting pro-social behaviors and fostering independence. The practice of self-monitoring can occur in many settings including classrooms, homes, and workplaces, making it a versatile executive functioning tool.
For those of us who are neurodivergent, self-monitoring can provide a sense of control and stability. We often have unique sensory experiences that can be overwhelming and anxiety-provoking. But by paying closer attention to our own reactions, we can develop coping strategies that help them regulate their behavior and emotions.
Self Monitoring Examples
Here are some concrete examples of self-monitoring in action:
- At the end of the day, journaling about situations that triggered a negative reaction, and learn how to prepare yourself for them.
- Keeping a record of your thoughts and behaviors in a smartphone app.
- Chart progress on successful quiz scores over time and make adjustments to study schedules to help the scores improve.
- Documenting moments during the work day when you become easily distracted. When a pattern arises, implement solutions such as breaks or time limits to help sustain focus.
- Using an audio tape to review class participation, providing cues to help manage attention and performance.
- Utilizing a beep tape to signal intervals for recording behavior during structured activities like seatwork.
Benefits of Self Monitoring
Among all the other tools you can give your neurodivergent teen or young adult to progress towards their goals, why does self-monitoring continue to rank high among parents, teachers, AND students? Because it has so many benefits backed by decades of executive functioning research.
Some of the many benefits of using self-monitoring include:
- Getting immediate feedback – Your teen doesn’t need an adult to let them know they’re on the right track. By giving them self-monitoring tools, they can provide themselves with immediate feedback and make changes faster than a teacher or parent might do.
- Engages teens in their learning and personal development – Ever feel like you’re working harder than your teen to keep things moving forward? Self-monitoring puts the responsibility back on the learner to achieve and maintain success. Successful programs show high rates of engagement and motivation from teens.
- Facilitating communication – With self-monitoring, your teen is observing their behavior, and there’s often a product (graphs, data collection forms, app reports) that you and your learner can examine together. Rather than pointing fingers or telling your teen what they did or didn’t do correctly, the data guides communication. Self-monitoring helps in identifying and promoting appropriate behavior by allowing students to recognize and modify their actions in various scenarios.
- Focused on individual performance – No need to compare your teen to others in self-monitoring. Instead, they’re simply looking at their performance and how it improves over time.
This increased awareness on one’s own performance allows individuals to develop strategies that both suit their individualized needs and optimize performance.
Understanding Executive Functioning Skills
Executive functioning skills are a set of high-level cognitive processes that enable individuals to plan, organize, and execute tasks. These skills include self-monitoring, self-regulation, working memory, and problem-solving. Self-monitoring is a critical component of executive functioning, as it allows individuals to track their progress, identify areas for improvement, and make adjustments to their behavior and strategies as needed.
By developing strong executive functioning skills, students can better manage their time, stay focused, and achieve their academic goals. Teachers and parents can support students in developing these skills by providing guidance on self-monitoring techniques. For example, using rating scales to assess focus levels, audio tapes to review class participation, or small notepads to jot down distractions can be effective self-monitoring tools. These strategies help students become more self-aware and proactive in managing their academic and social behaviors.
Identifying Target Behavior
Identifying target behavior is a crucial step in the self-monitoring process. This involves selecting a specific behavior or skill that the individual wants to improve, such as staying on task, completing homework assignments, or exhibiting appropriate classroom behaviors. The target behavior should be specific, measurable, and achievable, and should be aligned with the individual’s academic and personal goals.
For example, a student may identify “staying on task during math class” as their target behavior. To monitor this, they can use a self-monitoring schedule to track their focus during each class period. By recording instances when they become distracted and noting the circumstances, they can identify patterns and develop strategies to improve their concentration. This data-driven approach allows for targeted interventions and continuous improvement in their academic performance.
8 Self-Monitoring Techniques for Improving Concentration and Focus
Self-monitoring can help us be more aware of what triggers us to veer off track – and it can help us develop strong habits that we can take with us into any setting. Here are some of the best self-monitoring techniques to start you off on the right foot!
These techniques can also help students with behavioral challenges improve their focus and concentration.
1. Identify Off-Task Warning Signs
Help your teen take the time to identify their off-task warning signs. These are the behaviors or thoughts that take your teen’s attention away from the task at hand. Set up times to observe your teen doing work, or have them video record and watch a work session at a later time. Then ask, “what are the distractions?”
Once you’ve identified your off-task warning signs, you and your teen can take steps to avoid or limit them. Self-monitoring can enhance a child’s ability to stay organized and focused, helping them develop awareness and regulation of their behaviors.
2. Write a Script To Get Yourself Back on Track
Internal scripts are a tool that’s practiced and rehearsed outside of distracting situations and then applied when needed the most. Help your teen develop a script or statement that reminds them of the importance of staying focused. For example, “I need to finish this task now so I can play video games later.” Whenever your teen’s focus begins to drift, remind them to repeat this script to get back on track. Self-monitoring strategies help children learn to observe and regulate their thoughts and behaviors, enhancing their executive functioning skills and overall learning experiences.
3. Keep a Small Notepad While You Work
One of the most effective ways to improve your concentration and focus is to write down anything that distracts you and get back to it later. Encourage your teen to use an “inbox” or a notepad they carry with them throughout the day. When they begin to get off task, quickly jot down whatever is pulling attention away, along with any additional thoughts, and return the work at hand. While self-monitoring does not create new skills, it influences existing behaviors and contributes to more efficient classroom management.
4. Set Timers
Timers are a valuable self-monitoring tool that can help your teen focus on the task at hand. Set a timer for a specific amount of time and work until the timer goes off. (see our full article on The Power of Visual Timers for different techniques.)
This technique helps you stay accountable by establishing working intervals where you have to concentrate for a specific period. By doing this, your teen can increase productivity and maintain concentration and focus. Additionally, self-monitoring with timers aids in identifying and focusing on desired behavior, such as staying on task and completing assignments efficiently.
5. Try the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a popular self-monitoring method used to improve concentration and focus. This technique involves breaking your workday into 25-minute intervals, with a 5-minute break in between.
After four 25-minute intervals, take a more extended break of up to 30 minutes. This method helps you stay focused and engaged by keeping your brain fresh and energized. Additionally, self-monitoring can help reduce disruptive behavior, promoting a more productive and positive work environment.
6. Add Mindfulness or Meditation to the Daily Routine
Mindfulness and meditation are practices that can help with self-monitoring, along with reducing stress and anxiety, improving overall well-being and emotional control, and increasing focus and concentration.
Encourage your teen to set aside time each day to practice mindfulness or meditation, even if it’s just for a few minutes. If you’re a classroom teacher, start each class period with a 1 minute mindfulness activity. If you’re a parent or caregiver, use downtime like waiting in the drive through to turn on a mindfulness podcast for you and your teen.
Deep breathing exercises, guided meditations, or simply focusing on the present moment are all helpful ways to help you clear your mind and be more aware of your thoughts and feelings. These all ultimately build self-monitoring skills over time. Self-monitoring strategies can be particularly beneficial for students facing emotional and behavioral challenges, leading to significant improvements in their behavior and academic performance.
7. When You’re Stuck, Switch Tasks
Sometimes, no matter how hard they try, your teen just can’t seem to concentrate on a specific task. When you hit a wall like this, self-monitoring skills can help you recognize when it may be helpful to switch to a different task.
Alternating between high energy and low energy tasks can be a natural brain break from one particular type of task. Switching tasks can avoid frustration or escalating to a full-on meltdown. Teaching your teen to strategically switch tasks can help them avoid burnout and keep their mind fresh throughout the day. Self-monitoring strategies can also assist students exhibiting emotional and behavioral challenges by improving their behaviors and overall classroom management.
8. Monitor Physical Health
Self-monitoring can include tracking other behaviors that might inadvertently be impacting your teen’s concentration and focus. Helping your teen evaluate what might be contributing to their inability to stay on task. Are they consuming too much sugar or caffeine, consuming a poor diet, or getting insufficient sleep?
All of these factors can contribute significantly to your concentration and focus levels. By identifying alternative variables affecting the ability to focus, your teen can make necessary changes in lifestyle or routine. Additionally, self-monitoring strategies can help improve social interactions, leading to better social participation and a reduction of undesired behaviors in classroom settings.
One tool to evaluate your teen’s sleep is a sleep log. Check out our free .pdf download to help your teen self monitor how their sleep may or may not be impacting concentration and focus.
By applying the tips shared in this post, you’ll be on your way to maintaining a high level of concentration, achieving your goals, and increasing your productivity.
Remember, there is always room for improvement – and with consistent practice, you’ll develop the habit of maintaining concentration and focus without even having to think about it.
Maintaining Focus with Executive Functioning Skills
Maintaining focus is a critical aspect of academic and personal success. Executive functioning skills, including self-monitoring, can help individuals stay focused and on track by providing them with the tools and strategies they need to manage their time, prioritize tasks, and avoid distractions. Self-monitoring interventions are among the most flexible, useful, and effective strategies for students with academic and behavioral difficulties. By using self-monitoring techniques, such as the Pomodoro technique, individuals can break down large tasks into smaller, manageable chunks, and use self-monitoring to track their progress and stay focused.
Additionally, self-monitoring can help individuals identify off-task warning signs, such as procrastination or distractions, and develop strategies to overcome these challenges. For example, a student may use self-monitoring to identify the times of day when they are most easily distracted, and develop a plan to avoid these distractions and stay focused. By combining self-monitoring with other executive functioning skills, individuals can develop a powerful toolkit for maintaining focus and achieving their academic and personal goals.
By applying these self-monitoring techniques and strategies, students can enhance their concentration, improve their academic performance, and achieve their goals with greater ease and confidence.
TL;DR – (Too Long, Didn’t Read)
In today’s tech-dominated and distraction-filled world, maintaining focus and concentration can be challenging, especially for those who identify as neurodivergent or support neurodivergent individuals.
This blog post explores the concept of self-monitoring as a crucial tool for enhancing attention and managing emotions and behaviors.
Self-monitoring involves paying close attention to one’s thoughts, behaviors, and actions, enabling individuals to develop coping strategies and regulate their emotions.
The post outlines various self-monitoring examples, such as journaling, using smartphone apps, and charting progress. It emphasizes the benefits of self-monitoring, including immediate feedback, engagement in personal development, improved communication, and a focus on individual performance.
Additionally, the post provides 8 practical self-monitoring techniques for improving concentration and focus, ranging from identifying off-task warning signs to incorporating mindfulness and monitoring physical health.
The techniques aim to help neurodivergent teens and young adults progress toward their goals by fostering self-awareness and optimizing performance.
Further Reading
- IRIS Center at Vanderbilt University: Self Monitoring
- Rebekah Pierce: Quick Tips to Improve Self-Monitoring Skills
- Rebekah Pierce: The Power of Visual Timers
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Optimizing Attention: Self-Monitoring Strategies
- Harvard University: Tips to Improve Concentration
- Wikipedia: The Pomodoro Technique
- Amy Sippl: Building Emotional Control: Strategies & Supports For Diverse Learners