More and more, I interact with people who think they might have ADHD. They list a couple of symptoms, and claim they might have it, and suggest that maybe they should consult with a doctor. I am not a doctor, but in my opinion, I believe that more times than not, these people do not actually have ADHD.
While I do think that the United States has sensationalized ADHD a tiny bit, I do recognize that there are people out there who genuinely do have undiagnosed ADHD. As a disclaimer, the following tips work for me to cope with ADHD symptoms, but they are not one-size-fits-all. There might be people who don’t find these tips helpful, and that’s okay. There might be people who find that these tips are too extra.
For this, I’ll say that ADHD is a learning disability. It’s not a quirk you should say you have to be unique. It’s serious and hard, and sometimes you have to be that extra to deal with these symptoms. However, because ADHD is an attention disorder that encompasses so many different symptoms that might affect someone’s ability to do school work, I think/hope these tips can still be helpful for a majority of the people who read this article if not all of them.
Since coming to college, I’ve realized the best thing you can do to be prepared for lectures is to take your notes beforehand. This means reading the assigned material beforehand. Sad face. But it also means that when a professor has prepared a slide show, write down those notes before class. They usually have them on Canvas, and if not I don’t think it’s too unhinged at all to pester them to upload them before class. It’s not annoying, it’s inclusive. Duh.
Then when I get to class, I write any information down that wasn’t already written on the slideshow in a different colored pen. Handwritten is best in my opinion. Scientists say that handwritten notes are better for memorization, and if there is ANY chance I’ll remember something better with a specific technique, I tend to implement it. I don’t like to take second chances when it comes to recalling information!
Something a little extra I do that is to record myself talking about the course material so that I can listen to it at a later date. It’s actually quite funny to listen to as well. One popular study technique is to teach the material you’re learning to someone else so you can recall it and explain it well. I do this while talking to a voice recording. Then, I listen to myself when I drive to work every day. The best way I find that remember the information I’m talking about is when I’ve made my recording funny and simple. As long as I know the basics with my recordings, I can follow up with more detailed information later.
I think a lot of people think I’m crazy for this one, but I actually can’t listen to anything at all when I study. I have to have total silence when I’m trying to learn new information. There’s always a random song stuck in my head at all hours of the day, so I think I always get overstimulated when I listen to music while trying to focus. Because of this, I got some good headphones that have noise cancellation. I use these when I study in public, or when I’m at home and can hear someone in the kitchen cooking. They are such a blessing, and if you hate listening to music while studying, too, then I would invest in some headphones with noise cancellation. It might be weird, but it’s what works.
Finally, I think this last one is the most important. If you struggle with getting work done at certain parts of the day, you need to evaluate yourself and recognize what time of the day you are most productive. I can’t stress enough how much easier doing homework got when I planned my schedule around when I was the most productive, instead of trying to force myself to do the work when I knew it wouldn’t be done well. Use whatever calendar device you can. If you’re able to, pick a class schedule that will adhere to productivity levels. Write down daily tasks you need to finish, and try to plan out what part of the day will be best in order to accomplish each task. It sounds simple but time management is really the thing that helped me the most when dealing with ADHD and trying to get through tough classes.
These are my most important tips for navigating school with ADHD. I think that even if you don’t have this attention issue, it’s always good to try these tricks out. I really recommend anyone who struggles with school to give these a go if you haven’t before because they really have changed my relationship with school since implementing them. I hope you can try them out and they help with any struggles you might be finding yourself in as well. <3