College

I am having success finally after dropping out of college by attending a “at my own pace” college online called WGU. I really like the set up of it. You get an advisor who calls you every week to remind you of stuff and see how you’re doing and you set a goal with them to try to accomplish for the next week. Very helpful!! I love it.

I never finished, and I’ve gone back several times for different things.

Online college worked for me. I benefited from a very quiet area away from all distractions and choosing a trade that interested me, and I enjoyed learning about.

College was when I found out about my adhd… and not til super late in my studies. Mostly I managed by living away from distractions (with my parents and commuting after being overly stimulated in the dorms my freshman year)… also, I would do my best work under pressure of deadlines, but even then I was barely hanging on. I survived. I didn’t manage it well 🫤

Also! Music! Find some music without lyrics and reserve it for study time. I like the “Deep Focus” playlist on Spotify. Anki (or any similar kind of spaced repetition system) has data backing it’s effectiveness and it’s got a sort of “gamification” feel. I also would have invested in more audiobooks if I could go back and do it again. Obviously most textbooks won’t have an audiobook version but there are apps to convert texts to speech if you can stand the computer voice.

I really struggled, pulled a lot of all-nighters. Since graduating I discovered “studyblr” on social media, which I’ve found really helpful in professional learning post-college. It seems counter intuitive because it is, in a way, more work, but for me it infused enough dopamine into the process that I could overcome the procrastination barrier with more ease.

I’m in my 4th year now and I’ve come to the realisation that everyone is different, the way I study may seem incomprehensible to others, but I’ve made it this far anyway so I must be doing something right. My advice is to find a way to study that works for you, I personally love getting creative and making my work colourful, helps me remember things better!

It took me a long time to get my degree, I struggled with motivation and emotional dysregulation/dissociation. I played music when I would study so I could distract my brain, I wish I took more breaks between assignments instead of trying to do them all at once