If you’re looking for study tips for adults with ADHD, you’ve come to the right place. Not only am I used to coaching people with ADHD brains, but I’m also studying right now, so I get the struggle. In my case, I’m studying herbalism, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that the world still has a bit of catching up to do before it’s able to apply to all types of learning styles.
That said, here are some things that I suggest to help you study and to stay motivated. Of course, you can watch this, or listen to it below or wherever you listen to podcasts:
Spread out your study time
Of course, ADHDers tend to leave things to the last minute. That’s no secret. The problem is, leaving things to the last minute leaves us overwhelmed and under pressure to the point where we start putting it off due to sheer fear. And when it’s over a break of some sort? Forget it. We’d rather drag ourselves over broken glass and then a puddle of salt rather than try to catch up, which obviously haunts us later.
So…how do we avoid getting into this mess? It’s not simple, but it also kind of is: maintain control of what you can, and spread your study time out instead of cramming.
These two things are somewhat related, especially during breaks and vacations. Truth is, during those times, we can’t control much; people are taking time off, feeding you fantastic food, and the weather is usually beating you into a cold and gray submission. So the important thing here is to make sure that you’re taking control of the things that are under your control. This can be things like:
- What you eat
- How much sleep you get
- Who you visit, and…
- What you do with your spare time
That last thing is the thing you want to connect with your study time. Does this mean that you have to sit and read and think for hours on end when you could be having fun? Not at all. What it does mean is, you give yourself a few minutes a couple times during the week to take a look at the study materials you’ve got. The point is to allow this information to be a part of your routine, so that when things get more intense, this isn’t too much of a sudden info dump.
Truth is, we have a tendency to lose motivation when something seems too big, and splitting your studies into smaller bits will help to avoid that.
Apply what you’re learning
I don’t know if we should be blaming movies or what, but a lot of people think “studying” is sitting still, reading, and rote memorization. For some, that may be true. For us, though, it’s exactly what we shouldn’t be doing.
Studies have actually shown that ADHD brains do best when they can actually interact with the materials. This could mean making a practice test, teaching someone else what you’ve learned, or…I dunno…acting out the material maybe. The point is to push your brain to actually experience what you’re learning. Not only is that more likely to engage the parts of the brain that need to memorize, but it also promises to interact with other senses, which can come in handy in memory recall.
Study with others
I get it: a lot of us are introverts. That doesn’t mean, though, that there aren’t ways for us to study with others.
For example, I study with others mostly by regaling my husband with random herb facts that he probably doesn’t give two shits about. That’s okay, though, because this isn’t about him learning from me so much as it’s about me learning by that application I mentioned earlier.
You can also look into study groups or body doubling, both of which allow you to hold that responsibility without feeling overwhelmed. Study groups, especially, also allow you to pick up information in ways you might not have thought.
Study when you’re rested
I pulled an all-nighter only once. I was chugging Red Bulls and reading until 3:00 AM. The paper was in Biological Anthropology, which I’d totally thought was something else when I’d signed up. It was a bear. At some point, I happened to read over what I’d been writing for the last hour, and not a word of it made sense. I also didn’t remember a damn thing I’d read.
Such is the result if you study while tired. Despite all the movies you’ve seen that show otherwise, studying while tired is a terrible idea. You need sleep in order to absorb information; in fact, it’s suggested that studying a bit 10-15 minutes before bed will increase your chances of retention.
So sleep. It’s as important to studying as the content.
Ask for help
ADHDers struggle hard with a fear of rejection, and a need to people-please.
These two things together make for a rough combo, especially when you’re a student. Not only do you fear being seen as stupid or something for not understanding the material, you also want nothing more than to make your teacher happy with you.
Here’s the thing, and I say this as an educator: nothing makes a teacher happier than a student giving enough of a shit to ask questions. We want you to care enough about what we’re teaching that you do extra to understand.
And if you have a shitty teacher who doesn’t act like this, ask classmates, tutors, or the internet. Don’t be afraid to ask for more support when you need it; you can’t do everything by yourself.
Of course, if you’d like my help, reach out to me so that we can get you started. One-on-one coaching is going up in price in 2023, so if you want that lower price, now is the time.
