1. Timing - This comes in 2 parts.  First - set a timer.  I suggest you use 45 minute time blocks for because most people can hold their attention fixed on a subject for this amount of time and because you should not be sitting or stationary for longer than this.  The second aspect is to time block.  You have already set a pre-determined study time, now choose what type of work you will do in this time.  It may be broken up by subject, type of activity or any other way you choose.  Type of activity could mean you set one section of time for research, another for reading, another for writing, another for problem solving, social media.  You can set however many sections of time for whichever task however do only one task or type of task in that time period and only switch to a different task if you have finished everything you need to do of that task type or subject.  If you find you only need 30 minutes for a particular activity, consider setting that time block for 30 minutes every time.  This method keeps you focused, allows you to prepare your mind and day for what is to come and has been shown to be much more efficient than "multi-tasking" which actually involves switching from one task or topic to another and back again.

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3. Eat brain food and drink water.  If you have a glass on your desk - get up and fill it up every break.  Keep in mind that even slight dehydration affects your concentration and gives you brain fog.  Great brain food is good fat without high energy that will make you slump part way through your next session so nuts, cheese, meat, coconut oil, fish (ie. a tin of tuna), hard boiled egg and I always suggest you take in some vegetable or fruit matter with this as the vitamin C makes all the fat soluble vitamins better absorbed.  Too much sugar is also a known cause of brain fog and poor clarity of thinking as it stimulates the addiction area of the brain which tends to switch off the concentration and focus areas of the brain.

 4. Sleep - good quality and quantity both matter here.  It is said that when you sleep your brain reorganises the information you have taken in during the day forming new connections thereby making retrieval of this information easier.  It is kind of like you collect a whole pile of papers and files during the day and just throw them into a pile then overnight your brain works out where to file them for easiest and most efficient access and how they relate to things you already know. The brain also detoxes over night and the removal of these waste products allows for clearer thinking the following day.  That seedy hangover feeling after a late night and lack of sleep is the result of your brain not having washed itself properly.