floatingthroughmatter

[floatingthroughmatter]

As a neurodivergent student who could never commit to the pomodoro timer, I think realising that most of the time I open social media or streaming just out of habit without really knowing what I want to watch was a big part of stopping myself from getting distracted.

So I started setting this rule for myself: if I was studying and had the sudden urge to close my book and open up youtube? Nothing specific, just youtube? No. Back to work. But if I was in the middle of studying and suddenly had the strong urge to watch Walter the cat? Then, fine. I can do that. I'll open up youtube and watch some Walter videos. I would sometimes get distracted again by going from youtube short to youtube short, so on and so forth. Not because three cat videos weren't enough and I really really really need more, but just out of inertia. To remedy this, I give myself about five youtube shorts and then it's back to work. I tell myself that if the strong desire to watch Walter persists, then we'll open youtube back up and watch him some more. But if not? Back to studying.

If I hear about a new show that I felt an urge to check it out? Then yeah, I can spend some time doing that as long as there isn't an exam happening tomorrow. After watching half an hour's worth, I'd pause and ask myself if I really have to continue watching right now. If the answer is "absolutely, I just watched a guy get stabbed and it is imperative that I find out if he survives"? Then okay, I'll watch more. But if it's just a mild "yeah, I'm having a good time" then the rest of the show can wait till I'm really, really feeling it, or I'll play it during my family's evening bonding time.

Of course, I do let myself scroll without purpose sometimes. I need to know what's out there to even have an urge to watch something. I typically do this during transport time, or while waiting for stuff to finish baking. Basically when I know I'll be soon interrupted from my endless scrolling.

There are also times when I have to take breaks between studying even though I don't really have something fun I want to look at or watch. I use those times to walk around the living room a bit, look at the plants, cut up a fruit snack for myself, etc. Something that would be hard to get addicted to.

Anyway, yeah, this worked better than putting a set limit on screentime. Obviously not applicable to everyone, but try it out if you're struggling with something similar.

[floatingthroughmatter]

Study tips as an adhd student

I've just finished a major national exam pretty successfully and thought I'd share some tips since I struggled a lot and got a lot of useful suggestions by scrolling through this community over the years. Every person is different but I hope this is useful to someone!

Do what works for you, even if others disagree: i've seen dozens of studytubers swear off 'copying the textbook' or 'rewriting notes'. And I don't blame them. Technically you're doing nothing other than transferring notes from one place to another. But putting my hands to physical work is something that keeps me focused on what I'm reading (and copying). So yeah, I'll keep doing that even tho it's technically 'inefficient'.

Tricking yourself into thinking the deadline's earlier: this really worked for me. I don't always get everything done but since it's only a fake deadline it still helps a lot in the end.

Listening to music/doing something like bracelet-making while reading notes: this technically takes about 40% of my focus away from my work, but it does keep the jumpy part of my brain satisfied for hours at a time. And yeah, absorbing content with only 60% of my brain is still a win for me if the other option is procrastinating all day and cramming for ten minutes before my bedtime.

Get out of the house and leave what distracts you behind: A serious problem I have is that I get distracted by my laptop (you know, the same place that I keep all my notes in) instead of my phone. So I go to the nearby library without my laptop to study and take notes by hand if need be, even if I prefer typing over writing. It's better than swiping to an irrelevant tab after five minutes of studying.

Teach the content to someone: a more stimulating experience than just reading notes and thus it's easier for me to focus when doing something like that. It can be a 'fake deadline' situation (yes the test is in one month but you've got a friend to teach tomorrow so you've got to learn the content now!) or you could figure it out as you teach while you've got someone else to keep you on track

Be ok with not performing up to your expectations. Set realistic goals. It's ok to only be able to finish studying some of the content. It's better than nothing.