My ADHD Study Tips

This blog post will be slightly more personal than normal so buckle in! I was recently diagnosed with ADHD which was incredibly eye-opening as it explained many of my ‘quirky’ personality traits. ADHD is most associated with a lack of attention and hyperactivity, and therefore generally doing badly in school. I am somewhat of an anomaly in that sense as I loved school and learning and generally did well in it, but as I later realised, I had simply developed coping mechanisms to deal with my ADHD to help me focus. I am going to share those with you as I think they would benefit everyone as study tips and ways to focus, and I hope that if they were effective for me as someone with ADHD they can help all of you, neurodivergent or not. 

Body doubling

This is something I have unknowingly been doing for a long time. It is essentially when you work with someone present, regardless of whether they are working with you or not. It provides you with silent support, can act as a reminder to do things or put just enough pressure on you as you are aware of someone with you to stop procrastinating. Even if you sit downstairs with your parents as they do something else and work or with a friend as they read, the presence of someone else has a huge impact. There are also websites which means you can work with strangers on the internet, but remember, if you are doing this you need to be safe online and follow e-safety rules.

Having people hold you accountable

This idea is similar to the body doubling in the sense that there is someone else involved that puts pressure on you or holds you accountable in some way. I have a tendency to start many things and never finish them, or do too many things at once as my brain searches for dopamine. Having someone who is working with you to hold you accountable is a great way to stop the procrastination or simply not finishing. If there is nobody to hold  you accountable, figure out some form of reward system to hold yourself accountable e.g. if you complete this chapter’s notes tonight, you can watch that movie you’ve been wanting to see. A very important thing to remember, however, is to use positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement i.e. a reward system instead of a punishment system. There is nothing wrong with not being able to focus - everyone’s brain works in a different way, so you should not be punishing yourself for something out of your control.

Make it fun

The thing that makes my brain different biologically is that I have lower levels of dopamine, the pleasure and reward hormone, so I am able to focus best on tasks I actually enjoy. Studying and doing monotonous work is often not one of them, so making work as fun as you can is a great motivator. Do it with people, make notes into songs, use games like flashcards - whatever works for you.

I hope these study tips, whilst not necessarily the regular ones you may come across, are helpful and highlight that whilst everyone can give you advice, it is most important to find what exactly works for you.