#adhd study hacks

[ineedfairypee]

Breaking it down doesn’t make the task any easier but starting it usually is 🥰

[anthroamazed]

tips for stem majors in math and science courses (spoonie + neurodivergent friendly)

hi y’all! my nameis lila and i’m a 28 year old physics and anthropology major who’s about 2 years through college (in the US)! as we’re coming up on the start of the fall ‘23 college semester, i thought i might share some really solid hacks for fellow STEM students taking science and/or math courses that i’ve basically built my college academic career on. and! these study tips are spoonie and adhd friendly! as a matter of fact, a lot of these are tips/methods that specifically work for me as a neurodivergent spoonie (i have pretty severe adhd, as well as POTS and ME/CFS), but that i think non-disabled/non-spoonie and/or neurotypical students could also benefit from using! so with out any further ado, here are my 7 tried and true study hacks for college math and science classes…

1) discover your learning style and tailor your studying towards leveraging it.

you’ve probably heard of visual, audio, and kinesthetic learning styles, but did you now there’s actually way more learning styles than just those three? i’m personally a “social learner,” meaning i learn best through discussion and socialization with 1+ other people to interact with. this could look like teaching other classmates concepts and methods that we’ve learned or discussing ideas with classmates and/or professors until i fully understand the concepts at play and how they connect and can reflect them in performing analysis and application, etc. honestly, figuring out my learning style was hands down one of the most helpful things i’ve done in college. it has allowed me to choose professors who i will mesh better with in terms of how they teach, as well as to adapt materials and methods to my style of learning in order to master them quicker and more effectively.

2) rewrite your notes after lecture, for the love of god.

this tip actually comes from my high school IB Math HL teacher, who told me to do this when i originally left high school for college. even if you think you’ve mastered the basics of the topic covered during the lecture, rewriting those notes after lecture helps really hammer in the knowledge that you’ve already established and also helps to get the wheels turning on pieces of information you might have less of a grasp on. try tp set aside at least 30 - 40 minutes after class to just rewrite your notes and try to really digest the information.

3) body doubling is one of the most beneficial things ever to be invented even if you’re not adhd, and i WILL die on that hill, thank you very much.

“body doubling” or “having an accountabilibuddy” are interchangeable terms in the adhd community that mean you have one or more consistent study buddy/buddies who you do all the homework and/or studying with in person on a regular basis, even if you’re just working next to each other in total silence. this does a couple of things. first off, it forces homework/assignments/studying to become a concrete social obligation you need to regularly show up for, rather than a nebulous obligation based on an invisible deadline. second off, it gives you 1+ partners to work out your problems concerning course topics with. third off, it allows you to build a network of peers where you feel comfortable helping each other with course material (this is especially great because it’s likely you and your classmates have different strengths regarding course content). tbh, body doubling is the other method that i, personally, have found most useful in college and i highly recommend trying it, even if you don’t have adhd.

4) teach others/your classmates the analysis and application methods you’ve learned, even if those methods aren’t 100% solidified for you (trust me on this).

the goal of stem courses is never memorization, but rather being able to understand a topic well enough to analyze a similar situation and apply the what you’ve learned creatively. this is where teaching others comes in. in order to teach others a concept and its related analysis and application well, you have to have at least a fraction of a decent understanding of these things yourself, and, further, often time in teaching these things you also learn to grasp the concepts/aanalysis/applications even better than you did before with each new teaching session. basically: teaching others is a creative way of also teaching yourself. you get the benefits of repetition, of thinking about a concept/technique/analysis and application in a new way, and of getting to apply the concept/technique/analysis and applicatioin to a new scenario each time. plus, you’ll typically make friends quickly in the process! there’s really no downside to this tip imo ;-)

5) utilize your college’s tutoring center/program(s), even when you don’t think you need to.

usually colleges have either set up a general “tutoring center,” on campus where you can find tutors for all different kinds of topics and courses available during regular hours for walk-in sessions and/or appointments free of charge or departments will hold regular weekly (or twice weekly) free on-campus tutoring sessions for specific courses. regardless of which of these options your college has, i highly recommend attending at least one tutoring session/appointment (ideally with the same tutor if/when you eventually find one you click with) every single week, even when you don’t feel like you’re struggling with the topic(s) covered in that week’s lecture. this will help you review topics and techniques covered in lecture, deepen your understanding of them, and, if nothing else, it’s an excuse to get homework out of the way while having someone else there who can help you if/when you get stuck. attending at least one session weekly also helps you get into a habit and routine of keeping up with your assignments, so you’re not left scrambling at the last minute before they’re due.

6) if you have accommodations, request access to record lectures. if you do not have accommodations, ask your professor if you are allowed to record lectures. IF YOU RECORD LECTURES, DO NOT FORGET TO REVIEW THEM!

okay, so first up for my fellow spoonies and neurodivergent peeps: when you apply for/renew your accommodations, make sure that “recordinng lectures” is on your MOA (memorandum of accommodations), because so long as it is, your professors legally cannot deny you permission to record lectures without risk of themself and the college being sued for an ADA violation. also, make friends with a classmate and ask them to record lectures and send them to you if/when you are absent (let the professor know that you’ve asked this classmate to record and send you the lecture if you are absent)

now, if you aren’t disabled, a spoonie, and/or neurodivergent, you aren’t guaranteed permission to record lectures. however. ask the professor if you can have their permission to audio record lectures (be sure to also let them know that such a recording would be for personal use only and that you don’t plan on distributing the recordings). i’ve found that many professors don’t mind you having an audio recording.

even if you aren’t an audible learner it can be really useful to have these recordings to review at a later point. oftentimes reviewing lecture recordings can be useful if you glazed over and missed a section of the lecture and/or if you can’t remember what a professor taught during a section of a lecture.

7) last but not least, on a related note, if you have accommodations, also request access to your professor’s lecture notes. if you don’t have accommodations, check if your professor posts their lecture notes for students to use.

having your professor’s notes can be extremely useful for review purposes, but they can also help you understand where your professor is going with course content and what they want to stress as important.

[perfect-snaccccccc]

current strategy for getting things done is considering how it would effect me if the apocalypse happened tomorrow

[turtlefordestiel]

So in my university study skills (class you get placed in when you do BADLY in a semester) it talks about time management and stuff and I'm like this is all well and good but my ADHD rejects a lot of this stuff. I use the skills BUT instead of doing it they're way, I change it up to work with my ADHD (put the shelf under the item not the item on the shelf). One of the first days she was talking about studying and not to cram right before a test. I was literally told by my academic officer to cram before a test because I did it and I got an A on the test (I was getting Cs mainly). She was like that's not good for long term. Lady I quizzed myself a million times between the night before the test and the morning before (2 hours before the test) and I still remember that shit. Spin me around to get me dizzy and give me a blank map without warning and I can accurately write the map in. I can recite the causes and the effects of the British-China war. It has been MONTHS (mid fall semester and it's early spring semester currently).

[apidae-ursus-arctose]

ADHD/AuDHD Study tips

I’ve heard that the few helpful things for studying with ADHD are reward and novelty. I’ve got the reward aspect down, but how are you supposed to include novelty? I can study, but I get bored really quickly. How do I keep it entertaining?

[navigaviafanpage]

study tips for weird ass people

record yourself in a way you see yourself talking. don’t stop until you’ve said it all even -especially- badly

sign on a piece of paper all the times you feel like giving up with the lines of a prisoner with a life sentence. see the weakness you feel as a point you overcame, do not start over

if you’re super tidy and a procrastinator, mess your room intentionally and you’ll be so annoyed that your main focus will be fixing it up. to do each step you gotta study a paragraph or such

invent the study rhythm, a rhythm that calms you and that you sing when you’re inspired for studying. it will convince yourself you’re inspired even when you’re lazy. it’s like a dog training itself

if you really don’t feel inspired, stand up without your phone until you repeat the paragraph or your legs get numb

lemonade or other acid food

if it’s after 9:30 and you’re at your phone, telling yourself you’ll “do it later”, it’s the devil and it’s lying. go to sleep, you won’t do it later

study next to other people

[anthropomorphicspider]

GUYS I JUST REALIZE I STUDY BETTER WHEN IT’S LATE BECAUSE IN THE DARK THERE’S LESS TO DISTRACT ME THIS IS REVILUTIONARY

[smokedgastropod]

an underrated "i cannot bring myself to start doing stuff" hack is a "not to do list"

now it doesn't work if you do it everyday (breaking bad habits takes more work and also other behaviour changes) but it's really nice for one or two days when you do need to focus, because it blocks the most time taking impulses (for me and many others, scrolling) so it's easier to be self aware enough to start things you need to do

and it gets easier from there usually

[lesbian-disaster-academic]

fun productivity hack i learned recently!!

have someone profess their undying love and affection for you so that your intimacy issues kick in and you panic and throw your phone across the room. no phone = fewer distractions! badda bing badda boom ur welcome

[ineedfairypee]

Have you tried using a planner??? 🙃

[ramyeonpng]

The Pomodoro technique is a common time management hack, suggesting a standard 25 minute work period spaced with 5 minute breaks. My biggest hurdle was switching from the 5-minute breaks back to work.

#productivity

[leadlikeaqueen]

How to Stay Focused While Studying: Tips for ADHD

How to Stay Focused While Studying: Tips for ADHD. I failed, but you can learn from my mistake! Grab my study hacks, and share yours.

I failed, but you can learn from my mistake! You’ll see me slipping about 1.5 hours into this recorded study session. Want support with focusing on a specific goal and efficiently completing tasks to achieve that goal? Join me for a virtual session for about 1.5 hours, broken up into 25 minute segments called pomodoros. Here’s the latest recorded live #studywithme session. (You will see a timer…

[oscarwildeflower]

I don't know what post I probably stole this idea from but my best exam review practice for ADHD students is

1)Copy all of your class notes into a single document (or copy all the notes that are relevant for what exam youre taking). its important that this is a duplicate of your notes so you can mark it up freely.

2) Read through it with a highlighter, pen, and a large point black marker (I use sharpie flip chart markers)

3) Use the highlighter and pen to annotate whats important however that makes sense to you.

4) Use the black marker to cross out anything you already know/dont need to review. This is great for me because I feel like I'm making progress ("look at how many things I crossed out! I'm doing great") and also I don't get distracted re-reading things I don't need to be/it's easier to find what you do need to read.

Anyway hope this helps someone, wish me luck on midterms

[wow-an-unfunny-joke]

Not really sure if this counts but whenever I’m studying for something I find a way to make it fit my hyper fixation

Vocab words? I write little ficlets using those words

Math? Which characters would be best at this math? Which ones would be the worst? Why? I doodle them on my homework reacting to the math problems at hand

History? My blorbos in this time period. What would they do? What would change? What would stay the same?

Etc

[lastoneout]

Fun ADHD hack is that you're allowed to just go to the library and reserve a study room for a couple of hours and make all your phone calls or whatever adult shit you need to do but can't because your house is for House Stuff and for some reason your brain has designated "phone calls for doctors and other such things" as School Adjacent and therefore refuses to do it in an insufficently academic environment. Like it's free. You can just do that.

[nerdysweetskitten]

Can’t seem to focus lately? You’re not alone. If you’re looking for new ways to stay on task, especially while studying or working from home, this blog covers something that might actually help. ✨ Tools like Focusmate, Pomodoro technique ADHD, and more. ✨ Simple tips for better focus, whether or not you have ADHD. ✨ A surprisingly effective method called body doubling. Tap to explore how it works — and how to start using it.