we all know non ADHD people can study or do boring things given any reason to do so.

we on the other hand, regardless of being reasonable men or women, can only study (do boring things) when driven by strong stimulus. studying at 1pm when your exams start at 2pm is an example. the last hour would be the strong stimulus driving us to cram.

i'm hopeless. i don't even know where this post is going. help! i got bimonthly exams coming this monday :(. i can only get myself to study effectively by monday morning.

i've tried jotting down notes, im not really gonna use, while studying to make it less boring. ya i could do that again hehe. good thing i remembered that :).

tricks to:
1. make study less boring?
2. stimulate impulse to work (fear, curiosity)
3. etc...

please share them!

The only thing that has ever helped me. Is I'm driven to organize it calms me. So, I alway's rewrite my notes time and again and organize them. Luckily my brain retained the information. My son however puts on music that get's him "pumped" as he calls it and dances around the room lol as he is reading his notes (I think I would hurt myself lmao).

I got excited and thought I was going to learn some tricks!!
I have to be under pressure unfortunately also. Thats how I clean the house by having visitors often, as if they could care, I pretend they do. It's really for me of corse. I do dishes by challenging myself with a clock. Well, I hope someone has some good tricks out there!!

I have been reading a few of your posts and would like to first say, "welcome to ADDforums!"

Their is a book that you need to get that I think will really help you with your studying:
Cole, David and Jonathan Mooney (2000). Learning Outside the lines. New York, NY: Fireside publishing.

It is written by two guys who attended ivy league schools, but are also diagnosed with Dislexia and ADD. They give a lot of really good tips and advice on studying and school in general. The book really helped me get back on my feet academically after my diagnosis and has allowed me to begin the process of getting to where you are (Med school). I hope this is helpful.

Another tip is to utilize this board often when you are in need of help and are frustrated. The people on this board are wonderful and very supportive! Tap into that resource and let us help you get motivated to study more or just shoulder some of your frustration.

MM

As of lately, I have actually tried (well, I've been truly desperate, haven't I) the cheery advice "Set a timer for 15 minutes". But you know what? It kind of works. It seems to be true: you can stand doing almost anything for 15 minutes, and when the timer goes off, you might actually find what you're doing so acceptable, or even interesting, that you set it for another 15 minutes. As for washing dishes - 15 minutes goes a long way! A race against the timer.

If you're built like a mental sprinter - do NOT sign up for a marathon!

ADD friendly ways to organize your life is a favourite book of mine at the moment. Highly recommended.

Oh! Another way of paining yourself through a studying/reading/writing session is to picture all the low-life idiots you know that actually do it with no visible effort. I know it probably isn't a very uplifting strategy in the long run, but as a final resort... It's helped me quite a few times, actually, because it's made me so MAD that I just haven't accepted the situation, and somehow managed to sit through whatever it was I was doing.

I do the timer thing and your right, it works pretty well. I read the "organize your life" book too and I honestly did not find it very helpful, but I am glad you did. I haven't tried the i-hate-you-becasue-you-can-do-something-I-can't method yet, but hey if it works, stick with it until it doesn't.

MM


Originally posted by Mimser
As of lately, I have actually tried (well, I've been truly desperate, haven't I) the cheery advice "Set a timer for 15 minutes". But you know what? It kind of works. It seems to be true: you can stand doing almost anything for 15 minutes, and when the timer goes off, you might actually find what you're doing so acceptable, or even interesting, that you set it for another 15 minutes. As for washing dishes - 15 minutes goes a long way! A race against the timer.

If you're built like a mental sprinter - do NOT sign up for a marathon!

ADD friendly ways to organize your life is a favourite book of mine at the moment. Highly recommended.

Oh! Another way of paining yourself through a studying/reading/writing session is to picture all the low-life idiots you know that actually do it with no visible effort. I know it probably isn't a very uplifting strategy in the long run, but as a final resort... It's helped me quite a few times, actually, because it's made me so MAD that I just haven't accepted the situation, and somehow managed to sit through whatever it was I was doing.