“Don't be
afraid to study hard. Knowledge never exhausts the mind.” (Eraldo
Banovac)
1.
Break up your study time into chunks: The
thought of studying for hours at a time can be daunting. Study in 30-minute
intervals. Set timers and be conscious of how long you are studying for.
Studying for 30 minutes straight followed by a 5-10 minute break before
restarting will benefit you more than studying for longer periods of time.
2.
Explain What You’re
Studying:
This may sound silly, but pretend to teach the material (out loud while looking
in the mirror) as if you were the professor giving the class. By doing this, it
will help you to see if you can explain the information well enough to teach it
to others. If you did clearly retain and master the material, it will determine
if you need to study any more. Do this in the mirror, so you have two visuals
in my mind come test day (your notes and yourself teaching the class).
3.
Identify what distracts you: Does your mind wander in utter silence? If so, avoid the
library. For some ADD/ADHD students, a quiet room with the occasional sound
like coughing, sniffling, eating noises, loud breathing, or whispering is more
distracting than a noisy environment where they can tune everything out. If
this is you, find a restaurant, café, or coffee shop that has Wifi and study
there. Only, make sure you are respectful and buy something. Do you need utter
silence?
Find a private
study room in the library. If you have a hard time sitting still, a private
study room will allow you to pace while you study without feeling like other
people are looking at you. Do you find yourself remembering other tasks? If so,
studying in your dorm may not work well for you. The key is to figure out what
distracts you, and avoid those environments. It may be a trial and error
process, but keep trying different settings while evaluating your productivity.
4.
Make lists:
Studies show that the ADD/ADHD brain has a difficult time prioritizing. Sit
down and make a list of everything that needs to get done. Don't worry about
the order. Go over your list a second time, and number the tasks in order of
importance. If you have a large assignment, write out all the steps. This will
help divide the task up into manageable chunks so that you are not overloaded
with everything all at once. This will help you set realistic goals for
yourself.
5.
Move around:
This is a particular problem for those with ADHD. Sitting still can be hard.
When studying, find a place where you don't feel self-conscious moving around.
Repetitive movements, like pacing back and forth or rocking in a chair can help
you to concentrate and better retain information.
If you are attending classes in person, talk to your
professor at the beginning of the semester and explain that you might need to
stand at the back of the room occasionally. However, avoid doing anything that
will distract the other students, like tapping your pencil or sitting in a
squeaky chair if you have keep changing position.
6.
One week before an
exam:
Starting early helps to alleviate anxiety that comes from waiting until the
last minute. Procrastination is a problem for people with ADHD so plan ahead to
avoid scrambling the night before a big exam or presentation.
7.
Repetition: Re-write your
notes. Write them once on lined paper and a second time on note cards. The more
you study the same material. The more it will stick in your memory. By the time
the exam comes around, you will be ready to conquer the questions.
8.
Save the best for last...or maybe not: There are two
opposing strategies that work well for students, ADD or not. The first way is,
if there are multiple assignments of equal importance, do the ones you like least
first. Starting is often easier than finishing for an ADD/ADHD student. After a
certain amount of time, your attention will wane. If you are heading toward an
assignment you want to do, it can help you stay focused.
The victories you earn as each assignment is completed will
fuel you to keep going. You may be more productive if you save the best till
last. On the contrary, some student’s
find it best to start with the easiest tasks first. It may very well be the case that you cannot
concentrate on the less appealing tasks because your mind keeps going back to
the more favorable assignment. If you struggle with this, do what's easiest
first.
9.
Talk to yourself or others: If you are an auditory learner, don't be afraid to read
information aloud to yourself. If you retain information better by talking
through the concepts, study with someone else from the class. You can pace your
study so that you alternate personal study with discussion.
10.
Use your smartphone:
Smartphones are built with every organizational tool imaginable. At the
beginning of the semester, put all the important dates into your calendar and
use the alerts to remind you in advance. Set reoccurring alarms to wake you up
or remind you to go to class. ADD
students have the unique ability to hyper-focus. As such, you run the risk of
finding yourself so caught up in a task that you completely miss your 2 o'clock
class. Set alarms for everything. Also,
when studying put your phone in airplane mode to minimize distractions like
emails, texts, or social media pushes.
11.
Write down stray thoughts: Our natural instinct is to find an escape route from
unpleasant tasks. Boring things like thinking about returning an email, or
wondering what your dog is doing at home, pop into your mind, and it is a
temptation to do them “real quick” so that we don't forget. Don't fall into the
trap. Write down the fleeting, distracting thoughts.
The brain is programmed to keep things that we don't want to
forget in the forefront of our mind, which crowds out the information you are
trying to learn. These thoughts can easily bounce around, and distract you from
the task at hand. Any stray idea that you feel the need to address, just write
it down. Get it all out. It'll clear your mind so that you can concentrate on
your work; if it's written down, it won't have to stay on your mind.
“When you are studying any matter or
considering any philosophy, ask yourself only: what are the facts, and what is
the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted by what you
wish to believe, but look only and surely at what are the facts. “(Bertrand Russell)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“10
Study Tips for ADD/ADHD Students” by thebestschools.org
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