Struggling to Study with ADHD?- Here are some tips

Studying with ADHD can seem like an impossible task. Distractions are endless and studying is tedious. Following other people’s study tips doesn’t work most of the time. It’s a real struggle to get through your assignments and prepare for your exams. Your education suffers as a result.

But there are ways to make studying easier for you. You just need specific tips that work with ADHD, not tips that work for everyone else. Those are harder to find. They might go against everything else you’ve ever been told at times, but they’re more likely to work. That’s what matters.

Set Aside Time to Plan

This might seem a little odd, but if planning and prioritizing aren’t your strong suit, then something you can do is to set aside time every week to sit down and plan how the next few days will go. It’s okay if you can’t instinctively identify what’s important and what isn’t. People with ADHD are more likely to struggle with that, but setting aside time to sit down and actively think about it can help you.

You may have to review your plan every morning to refresh your memory on what to do later that day. Sticking to your plan will be the hard part, but it’s okay if you don’t do so entirely. Sticking to your plan on two days out of five, for example, is better than none at all.

Break up Big Projects

Big projects always seem daunting. That’s why it’s harder for you to get them done and much easier to procrastinate. The best way to tackle them, in that case, is to break them down into smaller, more manageable steps.

The best part about this is that you don’t need to work for big stretches of time. You can do one step, then leave it and come back another day. That makes it much easier to focus in the moment. And if you do end up procrastinating until the very last minute, at least you’ll still have done some of the work beforehand. That will help more than you think.

Alternate Studying Techniques

If you have ADHD, it’s very likely that mixing up your studying techniques will be more helpful than only sticking to one. Does using pens of different colors to annotate make it more fun? Does leaving comments on the side of your notes help you remember things better? Do both.

Listen to recordings of your lessons when driving or walking somewhere, too. Try studying with someone else to help you stay on track. Mix and match different techniques, depending on what helps you best.

Don’t Fight Procrastination

It doesn’t matter how hard you try, sometimes fighting procrastination doesn’t work. That’s okay. When that happens, lean into it instead. You earn nothing by feeling bad about yourself for being unable to fight procrastination. Sometimes, you’ll only be able to truly focus the night before the deadline. And when that happens, you’ll find it easier to work on your assignment.

It will help if you try to do some of the work beforehand. Any research you need to do can be done beforehand, so on the night before the deadline, you’ll be able to do the rest of the work much faster. Usually, research takes far less time to do than writing an essay, for example.

Start Counseling

Sometimes you need external help to deal with the more difficult parts of your ADHD. That means seeking professional help. There’s nothing wrong with that. After all, ADHD is difficult to live with, and it can seriously affect your education. If seeing a counselor can help you deal with the worst of your ADHD, then why not make an appointment? You don’t have to deal with this alone.