How can I keep myself from getting distracted?

Allocate a certain amount of time for work, and allow a certain amount of time for distractions. Start small at first. Say, 5 minutes of work followed by 5 minutes of rest. Then increase that to 10 minutes of work. Then 15. And so on.

I also find it’s easier to become distracted when you are working on something that is difficult. If you have any easier work to do, start on that first to get you into the flow. It gives you something easy for your mind to concentrate on.

Even if you are not ADD/ADHD, the same coping mechanisms should work for you, because they are basically cultivating good work habits.
Organize and plan your work – for each project, make a list of what needs to get done. Break it down into what you can accomplish in an hour. When you sit down to work, focus on doing just that one thing. Be task-oriented.

“Write the paper” is overwhelming and because of its size allows for distractions. “Find information out about x” is more doable. “Add references to bibliography” is more doable than “write the bibliography” which is in itself more doable than “write the paper.”

Once you finish one or two things on your list, take a break.

I agree with @chocolatechip and @BarnacleBill. Whenever you are studying or doing school work, you should stop and take a break every hour (10 or 15 minute break). During that break, get up, go get a drink, and take your mind off of what you are doing. This allows you to come back with a fresh perspective and can help you retain more information and be more productive. I am also a list person. I make a list of everything I need to get done and cross it off the list as I get finished. Seeing each thing on the list crossed off seems to give me more energy to focus on the stuff remaining on the list.

Martial arts helps people focus. Read this study on martial arts and school performance. Try doing the practical stuff as suggested above, but do consider enrolling with a good martial arts studio. Although this article is about students with ADHD, since you are complaining of an inability to attend to a task, you should get the idea. I think it would help you. Keep us posted.

Listen to music while doing other stuff if you can manage.

simplynoise.com

barnacle bill is providing the best advice, but I find being able to completely drown out other things that can steal my attention helps a little bit. When I’m doing something painful (like writing a paper), even the odd oscillations of computer noises are enough to distract me, haha.

I’ve found that techno helps, with its highly predictable melody. J-pop is good for when you want words but can’t afford to be distracted by them.
I’ve also gotten a lot out of spinning in an office chair while doing my thinking, but I don’t know if that would work for you at all.

I make it a point to keep some little project sitting on the side when I have a lot of work that requires concentration. When I was in school, studying for finals, I would have a little repair or construction project set up in the next room so I could have something to focus on when I started to fatigue on the textbooks and notes. When I wanted to take a break, I’d go work on my side project for 20 minutes or so, giving me an alternate focal point for mental activity. It always worked.

These days, in my programming job – I’ve got Fluther. Now it’s time to get back to my broken makefile.

I’ve tackled large amounts of to-do’s in two ways. One way was to get the smaller tasks out of the way first—clear the decks for the big ones. It was like when I was paying off my credit card debt. I got rid of the smallest ones first, then applied those monthly payments to the bigger debts. It really worked, just like the credit card counselor said.

Sometimes, however, I got the biggest, hardest chore out of the way first, knowing that when that was finished, the smaller ones would be easy to finish.

Energetic music without words is good for helping yourself focus. There are “brain games” that supposedly help with focusing (try luminosity.com). “Binaural beats” can apparently help as well.

The fact that people seem to ignore when considering attention problems in school: IT IS BORING!

The brain naturally resists things it finds are boring and is drawn to things that it finds are beautiful and mysterious. You can either beat your brain out of this natural tendency and into an evenly measured block like a “good student,” or you can find a way to fill your life with interesting things. The more you satisfy your brain with awesome things, the more tolerant it will be of the boring things. The best learners are those who allocate plenty of their time and energy to exploring the things school wont assign for them. Keep an understanding of the differences between “learning” and “memorizing” that education traditionally neglects.

If you’re bogged down with too much homework, talk to your school councilor. They can be very helpful sometimes, if you’re honest about your problems.

@zophu, school is boring, but learning is not. Learning can be overwhelming, confusing, poorly presented, but never boring.

@BarnacleBill Yep. And schools are becoming more about learning and less about conditioning all the time, thanks to teachers. But there’s still way too much regurgitation-based education out there, the drudgery of which turns more students off to actual learning than it helps. What’s scariest are the “star students” who can make high grades on any exam, but are unable to teach anyone else what they supposedly know. They memorize and memorize and memorize, but they couldn’t tell you why what they memorize is valuable or how it relates to nature. They’re never encouraged (or given the time) to make the connection. Good teachers combat this constantly, but it surprises me how tolerant most people are to flaws in the education systems. It’s the most important element of society, yet it’s also the last to be questioned. Because so few ever feel qualified to do so, I guess. No one wants to end up wearing the dunce hat. unless you’re like me and find it stylish

Try taking up a meditation practice – there is a good CD set on Insight Meditation that is a good way to start. It will help you to focus and understand the chatter that might be going on in your mind!

hiya!
Well that is an intresting thing. I wouldn’t know very much about what that’s like because I think I’m able to focus pretty well. Some things you should try are…
* reading a problem over and over until you find yourself fully consumed in the problem.
*plug your ears for a minute a repat something over and over again( this helps me block stuff out and it’s pretty funny.
* look at your work for a while
* sometimes( actually most times) when I can’t concentrate, I’m too hyper. So your gonna want to calm down first. I usually just stare at something until I get bored.
WHATEVER YOU DO DON’T THINK“focus focus focus, i gotta focus, gotta get this finished” THAT’S THE WORST THING TO DO!
well i hope I helped
-Luv Chickidee