How To Improve Your Success at College
So you’re an ADHD college student looking for tips on success? You’ve come to the right place! I too have gone through college and was successful. College is a time where you can figure out life. It’s also the place where you meet the love of your life. On top of all this, you need to have fun and relax. Sounds like unrealistic expectations, don’t you think?
It’s no shock that those with ADHD have a more difficult time with school work. College can be an even more difficult place. You the routine and structure that high school has offered you. Someone decided you were neurotypical enough to manage your own schedule and have a four-hour gap between classes. A four-hour gap that is often used for video games, lunches with your friends, and sitting in the quad doing whatever has caught your attention. How are you supposed to cope with all of this suddenly?
College Success Through Routine and Immediatly
I highly recommend routine and structure. It not only frees up brain space but has the ADHD brain automatically trained to respond to your day-to-day keeps from misusing space and time. The way routine and structure are most easily built is by rewarding yourself throughout. Did you do homework in between classes instead of playing video games? 15 minutes on Tiktok (the ADHD loves Tiktok, just don’t get sucked in for too long). This will train your brain to automatically see completing work as rewarding and motivating.
Fill Your Schedule
Secondly, don’t fill your entire schedule with classes. Some of the well-known difficulties with ADHD is decision paralysis and motivation. To compensate for this to achieve some college success, take the decision out of the schedule and add the pressure. College athletes have crazy tough schedules. I can attest to this as a college athlete with ADHD. Schedules like this are rigid, predictable, and consistent for the whole semester. Consequently, they force students to use their free time during the day/evenings to be productive on homework. since there is no other time to do it. The weekends hold structure too. You can even plan free time into your schedule, so that way you don’t miss out on it either. I’ve found that this is also helpful in managing forgetfulness.
ADHD Tip: Make Sure You Are Your Own Zookeeper
My last ADHD Tip for college success is that you need to be your own zookeeper. What does this mean? You need to take care of three things:
- Be Well Fed. Three regular and healthy meals go a long way. Include a fourth meal or snack if you up late.
- Provide Enrichment: You need to have fun, interesting, and engaging moments. Go to the local corn maze. Head to town to see the christmas lights. Adventures are good.
- Be Active: Lastly, movement and excercise is important for the ADHD adult. It helps regulate stress and anxiety, which are common with ADHD.