Studying for excessive amounts of time at a stretch have diminishing returns for nuerotypical people too, so trying to cram 10 hours a day in tends to be counterproductive for anyone.
Before I was diagnosed in my 30s, my successful uneducated approach was bursts of studying with short and frequent breaks where I would note down the distracting things for later so I could get them out of my mind and refocus. Don't remember where I heard the suggestion from, but it worked fairly well. So I would focus for an hour or so until I noticed I was off track, write down the non-related stuff, then pick back up where I was.
It didn't work for things I had no interest in, but it did work well for times when I was getting distracted. Keep in mind that I did not have any idea that I was ADHD at the time, this was a study tip from someone I knew.
Now that I am on medication I still do the same thing and it is even more effective, although with meds it even works when doing things I have no interest in. Regular short breaks to clear the mind help both when the meds are working and when they have worn off. Can't be too long or I move on to something else.
Overall I guess my recommendation is that you don't overdo the time per day because it will become counterproductive at some point, but do take regular short breaks to see if you are able to refocus and continue.
As I commented to the other user, I study using the pomodoro technique. It worked well when I was taking Concerta (don't ask me why I was prescribed that, but I was, by a private psychiatrist before going to Social Security/Public Health System).
I don’t think studying for 10 hours straight per day is a realistic goal. Especially not for someone with a focus disorder and no stimulants – not that the stimulants will magically fix it, but not having them won’t help.
I think you need a study plan that has more variety and built in breaks. There are real limits to what the human brain can absorb, process and, retain in a given amount of time.
Give yourself built in breaks, add some variation by testing yourself and breaking up the material. Study for a bit, do something low stakes or relaxing if you can and then do more study. Try to cycle between learning/cramming and other activities throughout the day. Your brain (and everyone else) has limits, work with them for best results, not against them.
I use the pomodoro technique. My plan per day is to study in 20 pomodoro sessions of 25 minutes each, with their proper breaks between them.
I've been trying to pass such exams since 2018, but I got diagnosed last year, so until then I didn't know why I couldn't do anything. Then I didn't have any tools. Now that I have the tools, those are fault.
As reference, my brother, who doesn't have ADHD, is able to study for 12 hours in his peaks.
I suppose first I want to understand why you can’t take your medicine? Is this a condition of the exam? Because that doesn’t seem fair…
I’m glad you have a plan to break it up but I’ll be more blunt; you may not be able to study for 12 hours straight, I certainly can’t. And I’m fairly sure there isn’t much benefit to doing so, but it’s been a few years since I researched it… not the type of thing one generally finds consensus on anyway. But there’s a limit to what anyone’s brain can encode into new long term memory in a given amount of time.
You have to learn to work with what you’ve got, to keep adapting your methods until you find something that works. It takes time and it’s probably going to be different than what works for someone else.
It’s important to understand that the drugs don’t fix your executive function they just sort of overclock your brain, at least that’s the way I think of it.
It’s hard to give specific advice without being familiar with the exam material, but I would try to find different ways to study. Some kind of practice work that you can do in addition to the route memorization. Anything to vary the type of work and keep your mind from wandering. But more importantly if you can’t get back to studying do something else… but give your brain the rest and time it needs to absorb the material, then strengthen the memory by exercising your recall.
Okay, but what about all the unfinished projects I have at work? I feel nonstop stress about nearly finished documents I was supposed to have finished weeks ago. It keeps piling and I wonder if maybe I’m not cut out for it. Maybe I need a manual labor job instead of an engineering role. I can go out on my lunch break and run 3 miles or spend endless hours picking up trash off my street, but when I sit down to work I’ll do anything but.
I sympathise; this also happens to me. It's true we don't always have the luxury of leaving a project when it no longer holds interest -- especially at work. And yes, the harsh but ideal solution is to find a job that supports an ever curious mind ... which is obviously extremely difficult to achieve in practice. You're not the first to express an affinity for monotone tasks (running, picking up litter, washing dishes) -- I think it lets us get into a zen or spaced-out state where we "just do". If only washing dishes were as lucrative as an engineering position!
Any chance you can apply some "agile" methodologies to your engineering role? My point is, if you work on a series of tasks with a narrow scope and an imminent deadline, that might be more overcomeable (yes, that's a word ... now) than having fewer, larger projects that seemingly drag out endlessly. You know, get the drop on your eventually dwindling motivation by being done before that even has time to kick in.
I saw a video once with an expert on the subject who said that ADHD is misnamed, it should be called Intention Deficit Disorder, because the real main side effect is that all of the things that you intend to do are made difficult to impossible because of a variety of factors that affect your executive function.
That was quite likely Dr. Russell Barkley you saw.
Just the first 56 seconds of this video (by one of the foremost researchers) explains 100% of what the problem with adhd is. Symptomatically, adhd isn't even named for what it does to a person. Instead it's named for how it inconveniences others. Gee, thanks! I bet it was the same person who named the speech impediment "lisp". Jerk. 😅
How would you explain green to someone who has no concept of colour? The basic otherness of neurodiversity is simultaneously the defining characteristic, overarching difficulty, and blocker to understanding by neurotypicals. I very much like these ideas on how to make the effect of this affliction relatable to others.
You might also ask them to play this little game (takes 5 mins) about a little adhdinosaur who is really, really trying to do his best. However, as good as this game is, it may be too whimsical for its own good as people might not take it serious. Yes, the idea is to give the player a sense of frustration, but there's not really anything there to make them think deeply about why and how this affects people like us. But at least, the game page links to a "making of" presentation by the author, as well as other games and resources for/by neurodiverse folk.
I'm not diagnosed with any form of neurodivergence (I hesitate to say neurotypical. I just manage any "weirdness" well enough to get by).
I played the dinosaur game for a little while. With the exception of the "notes" suddenly becoming a huge mess, it just feels like "Gaslighting: The Game". I get the frustration, but I agree that it doesn't help me understand ADHD any better.
Gaslighting is actually pretty close in terms of what short term memory issues are like. Except you can never be sure if it's just ADHD brain, or something is actually different.
I like this one. I tried to explain to my doctor (who was writing a letter for my workplace) that it takes me 3x as long to get ready in the morning (causing lateness) because it’s like trying to do a series of tasks while in a tornado.
First, maybe Godot would be easier when knowing either C or Java, since, iirc, it can use either.
But on the matter of learning, I learn when I feel like it, and when I feel like learning, I jump head on. While I can't perfect any specific subjects that way, at least in a timely manner, random subjects can some times add up to other subjects I try or previously tried to learn (possibly how I learned to use Linux quickly despite being a big learning curve).
I normally stop if I can't concentrate. And do pretty much the same as Auster to learn stuff. Also I find it easier to learn if I do it without pressure.
Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Learn at your own pace. Being neurodivergent means taking detours.
I’ve got a good memory, but talking with my partner he will often say “I told you this before” and it’s just completely gone over my head cause I’ve been slightly distracted. I’ll be listening but things don’t seem to register and it’s worse when I’m distracted by the fact that I am having to put so much effort into listening. Edit: typo
Talking over people and interrupting them. I try to be aware of it and just listen more and talk less, but it’s REALLY HARD. My train of thought just moves way faster than the conversation.
I regularly miss whole scenes in movies and shows and have to go back and rewatch them, even though I was sitting there looking at the screen the entire time. Drives my partner nuts.
ADHD
Newest