I have always felt a little different to others. I’m a bit of a scatterbrain, I lose things constantly, I am easily overwhelmed - but at the same time when I get in a flow I am unstoppable.
I got through all my education finding my own way to get through my studies (I loved the excitement of exam seasons weirdly enough!) and I really thrived - graduating with a First Class MSci degree in Physics from KCL.
However, I certainly found having children left all my coping mechanisms in the dust - extra plates to spin lead to me dropping many. I wondered what went wrong - I was always fine! Then it struck me - I had ADHD. I got diagnosed in 2021 and although I haven’t pursued medication I now understand what I need to do to function better and embrace the way my brain works!
Over the years I developed many ways to study better with ADHD (even though I didn’t realise it at the time!). Here are a selection of my favourites - let me know some of your below.
1. Find Some Study Buddies
At university this was the turning point for me getting top grades. The accountability that comes with a study group can be life changing. My ‘study buddies’ and I (thank you so much Alex, John, Clare, Nathan and James) would hijack an old, empty lecture theatre, get out the latest problem check and get to work - we wouldn’t leave until we have mastered it. Together we keep each other going, had fun along the way, and ultimately learnt so much more than we ever would have before.
2. Keep it Interesting
Us ADHDers can get bored quickly. If a task isn’t exciting or stimulating our brains take us off to another land and that is simply a fact - we can change this.
However what we can do is try to make revision more interesting. Some of my favourite ways to do this are below:
- Turn flashcards into quizzes
- Draw Pictures to explain concepts
- Make games about of revision
- Watch a YouTube video
- Do short bursts and race yourself to finish a task
3. Embrace the hyperfocus
Hyperfocus is defined as ‘a phenomenon that reflects one’s complete absorption in a task, to a point where a person appears to completely ignore or ‘tune out’ everything else’ - and it is a very common ability of people with ADHD.
While for many neurotypicals a timetable of 1 hour of one subject, one hour of another may be helpful - for those with ADHD this can really break the hyperfocus and then result in a struggle to concentrate on a different task.
For this reason I would recommend that instead of forcing any topic change - if you are in a moment of hyperfocus and truly still absorbing the information - use it to your advantage and continue with the task you are on. Feeling bored though? Now is time for a break or to switch topics.