What follows is some advice from someone who was until recently a career student (9 years Post-Secondary in Science and Economics).
The first thing to give yourself is that your brain is alive – yes, I know this seems obvious – but like “Onion in Shrek” there are layers to this conclusion. So what does it mean to be alive? Well, for our brain it means a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, and the healthier it is, the better it performs … maybe you see where I’m going now. To maintain a healthy brain, one that can learn and memorize things with peak performance, you need to maintain a reasonably healthy lifestyle. Therefore, hitting the gym twice a week, walking or cycling when possible, and getting a decent amount of sleep will help you get off to the best start possible to study effectively.
The second thing to keep in mind (pun;) is keeping up with a certain medium, for example, if you’ve been reading a text for two hours, switch to writing notes or talking about ideas or facts for yourself. Talking to yourself can seem strange to many people; it is something that many academics do to test themselves or to see if an idea makes sense or sounds good. It also engages another part of your mind and is actively interacting (retrieving information from) with your memory: it strengthens neural pathways and anchors information where it needs to be. Think of it as teaching yourself, as teaching tends to reinforce ideas and their retention. Another thing that works for me is to go for a walk and bring some notes, read them as I walk.
Now that you are thinking about your health and the different types of mediums you can study with and claiming that you can be in while studying, start thinking about the environment that best suits your needs. Personally, I like to play quietly or something classical in the background to drown out the little noises that you seem hypersensitive to when you’re getting on board (or looking for an excuse to start down that road). Something that helps a lot of people, including me when I was younger, is getting a Tutor. As they can give you an additional outlet to brainstorm or show you a different approach.
Hope this helps you get started;)
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