this has only worked for me a few times but during lectures id open a Word doc and type out anything worth noting

I mean this is literally note taking but it took me way too long to figure out lol

also sometimes id focus so hard on taking notes that I missed the next thing my professors talked about ADHD strategies really are just a bag of pros and cons and its frustrating

By being stressed about finishing what I have to study by the given deadline. If said deadline is far away, there’s no hope.

Sometimes I’d break down what I have to do into a schedule that would span several days, or even weeks. I would then have this schedule as my goal: if I don’t do enough today to reach my goal, I won’t have enough time to finish what I have to study by the deadline.

I have had some success with Pomodoro timers. Honestly now that I am older I am resorting to trying to reduce my digital presence (which is funny because here I am lurking on lemmy avoiding work) and doing a lot on paper. Printing out worksheets, handwriting things, putting my phone in a drawer where I can’t randomly pick up and get distracted for an hour. Its a rough start but its helped a little.

When I REALLY struggle, I try the pomodoro timer, because then I can console my brain with the promise of a break soon. 😬

I have to literally isolate myself from anything that can distract me. I’ve noticed that pressure from a looming deadline helps, but that’s not very healthy. What really gets me is the motivation to actually study, but I have been getting some good results with putting those ambient music or sounds on noise canceling headphones. For motivation, it’s hard. The mindset of “might as well” seems to work but is hard to get into the habit of doing. I have long commutes to school and if I’m bored I might as well look over my notes on my phone then be bored. Sometimes I just have a “blah day”, which is literally a day I just won’t get anything productive done if I don’t have to. And that’s ok, we tend to burn out quickly so it’s good to listen to our bodies. But I hope this helps!

Adderall

there’s a lot of factors for me:

• diet, if i’m on a sugar rush or binge i can’t focus
• activation energy and flow state, if i can just start and make progress i know i can slip into a more focused mode. if i’m constantly flicking between work and distractions i’ll stay distracted.
• environment, i discovered i work much better in a cafe around others compared to just in my room. bonus points if there’s a friend who i can sit with.
• having a plan, just studying for the sake of studying doesn’t work for me. knowing what i want to achieve and having mapped out what i need to do to get there helps me focus. it lets me know how far i’ve come - and feel good about that.

hope that gives some inspiration!