Concentration is defined as the ability to focus on something you are doing and nothing else. Concentration also reduces with age, according to scientists. This brings me to how difficult adult education is, especially for adults who have been out of school for years. For many adults like myself who are going back to school for an MS or MBA, we are bound to struggle. Before going to school, we already struggle with our daily lives and the challenges they bring. Most of us decided to further our education for different reasons, mostly career development. When we add education into the equation of our lives, then the challenges roll in like never before. Some people find the journey smooth, and some fall by the wayside.
Based on my experience in the few weeks spent on this Lagos Business School EMBA programme, concentration seems to be my major challenge. The concentration on other aspects of my life appears to be suffering because of, my inability to concentrate on one key aspect of my life right now. There are days I am super efficient, and I wish I had more of those days. Sometimes I fear that if I focus on one thing too much, I will eventually lose interest, and this is not coming out of thin air. If I hyper-fixate on something for too long, I eventually lose interest. From my experience, I have observed some things that reduce my concentration. They include illness, menstrual periods (and everything that triggers hormone fluctuations), insomnia, environmental conditions (temperature, noise, etc.), anxiety, fear, distractions (the internet), work, and politics.
The workload of the EMBA session doesn’t seem to take into consideration people’s concentration patterns. I assumed this programme would take most of my weekends, but it’s taking my weekdays as well; the assignments, the group meetings, and the cases to prepare for eat into your weekdays alongside your work commitments. Speaking to some of my group members, I realised some have been overwhelmed as well, and they have been holding on due to the encouragement they get from our group meetings. I guess this answers one of the questions posed in my last post about why groups are necessary for this EMBA programme.
I recently considered quitting the EMBA programme, but I know that came up as a result of my hormone fluctuations. I am not one to quit easily, all things being equal. The fear of not meeting up and failing is so strong that it can be crippling. In a way, this fear is supposed to encourage you to do your best and power through to the end. However, in my case, it creates some sort of mental paralysis; the mind is clouded, and the brain overthinks. Once I get to this stage, I turn to distractions to help take my mind off the source of the fear. This in turn affects my concentration and productivity. I still do not have a permanent solution to this issue. However, I have noticed a well-rested sleep helps. I have read that mindfulness and self-motivation help, and from experience, they do help to an extent but not to a comfortable level, but I will keep trying.
Setting winning goals