uch annoyance, but occasionally it
is, as is demonstrated at night when we take off a shoe with such a
sigh of relief that we realize in retrospect it had been vaguely
troubling us all day.

In trying to create conditions for efficient study, many bodily
distractions can be eliminated. The study chair should be easy to sit
in so as to reduce fatigue of the muscles supporting the body; the
book-rest should be arranged so as to require little effort to hold the
book; the light should come over the left shoulder. This is especially
necessary in writing, so that the writing hand will not cast a shadow
upon the work. The muscles of the eyes will be rested and fatigue will
be retarded if you close the eyes occasionally. Then in order to lessen
the general fatigue of the body, you may find it advantageous to rise
and walk about occasionally. Lastly, the clothing should be loose and
unconfining; especially should there be plenty of room for circulation.

In the overcoming of distractions, we have seen that much may be done
by way of eliminating distractions, and we have pointed out the way to
accomplish this to a certain extent. But in spite of our most careful
provisions, there will still be distractions that cannot be eliminated.
You cannot, for example, chloroform the vocalist in the neighboring
apartment, nor stop the street-cars while you study; you cannot rule
out fatigue sensations entirely, and you cannot build a fence around
the focus of your mind so as to keep out unwelcome and irrelevant
ideas. The only thing to do then is to accept as inevitable the
presence of some distractions, and to realise that to pay attention, it
is necessary to habituate yourself to the ignoring of distractions.

In the accomplishment of this end it will be necessary to apply the
principles of habit formation already described. Start out by making a
strong determination to ignore all distractions. Practise ignoring
them, and do not let a slip occur. Try to develop interest in the
object of attention, because we pay attention to those things in which
we are most interested. A final point that may help you is to use the
first lapse of attention as a reminder of the object you desire to
fixate upon. This may be illustrated by the following example: Suppose,
in studying a history lesson, you come upon a reference to the royal
apparel of Charlemagne. The word "royal" might call up purple, a
Northwestern University pennant, the person who gave i