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My study tips (studying with ADHD)

Hi there! In this post I’ll be giving you some tips that made studying much easier for me and may help you too.

1.Many people already know this, but having any device that may be used as a distraction will 100% end up in you getting distracted and not doing what you have to do. For me, this has always been a struggle. I always forget to leave the phone out of the room and end up watching streams on twitch, my instagram feed, etc. However, I started forcing myself to leave the phone outside the place where I’m studying, and it really helped.

2.Writing down what you have to do and study. I know, I know, pretty much everyone does this, but trust me, some of us need to be reminded. Write down your chores and the subjects you have to study!!!! I have a really hard time keeping an agenda or “journal” because I often forget to write down my stuff and end up not knowing the due dates for my essays, my exams, etc.

3.Breaking down the subjects. Sometimes you may get overwhelmed with the amount of stuff you’ve got to do. By dividing the subjects into little pieces the amount of work you’ve got to do is reduced.

4.Not leaving everything till the last moment. I used to be so bored and tired of doing all I could and getting no results whatsoever. As a result of this, I ended up leaving everything till the last moment, and I often forgot to turn in things. Imagine my face the next day trying to make excuses to the professor about why the day before I was unable to turn in my assignments. Trust me, not a nice experience.

5.Taking my notes in my laptop and then writing them down. I know this may seem like a lot of work, it really is. By writing things twice, once on your computer and then by hand you are automatically studying the subjects. P.S: write in black or blue, some people say writing in blue helps them study easier, for me I find it easier to write down in black in order to study.

I have many more tips, but I don’t want to write a thesis on it. I will write another post with more tips if you want me to!

How to Improve Your Reading Skills Using the PART Method.

The PART reading method is a method which I learned from reading Making A’s in College by Sandra U. Gibson. The PART Method is Dr. Gibson’s equivalent to the Hudgins Reading Method or the SQ3R reading method, both of which I have discussed in past blog posts. The PART Method has two purposes a. to help you read faster and b. to help you better retain the information you are reading. In this post, I am going to explain how to use it, and why it works.

PART stands for: Preview, Actively Read, Rehearse, Test.

Preview to Prepare for The Most Important Points

Previewing means taking time to review all readings before you actually start the reading. I talked about the importance of this a lot in my post on the Hudgins reading method, but basically, you want to review all headings, subheadings, phrases in bold or italics, any pictures, graphs and charts, and you want to read both the introduction and the conclusion. Reading the conclusion first may seem weird, but its a habit I’ve been using for years, and I promise you it will help with your reading comprehension. The conclusion tells you what you are supposed to get out of the reading, it clarifies and synthesizes the main point. Reading the conclusions first provides helpful context clues as to what information will be important.

Actively Read

Most of us are in the habit of passively reading, meaning reading with just our eyes. Unfortunately, passively reading only works for recreational and light fiction reading (sometimes), not for academic reading. Academic reading requires more thinking. When you actively read you should be really taking the time to digest what is being said and be thinking about it. Challenge it, ask yourself questions, write down questions to ask in class, take notes. Most importantly, make sure to focus, and not to daydream, or get distracted. You want to make sure you are absorbing all of the material.

Rehearsing/Revision

After you read, you need to review, practice, and revisit. There are a number of ways people rehearse the information. Some methods include: writing notes, reviewing and revising notes you already wrote, drawing mind maps, making flash cards, testing yourself, recording and listening to yourself going over the material, and teaching someone else the material. What method(s) work best for you is going to be based on your learning style, which I will be discussing in a future blog post.

Test Yourself

You should be testing yourself both as you read, and afterward in preparation for tests. Ask yourself questions based on what you just read, and be honest about whether or not your answers are adequate. Follow the 5Ws (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How) to make sure that you are understanding the concepts, and re-read/seek help if you are unsure of the answers.

One critique I have of the PART system is that its not exactly linear, in other words, there’s a good deal of blurriness between the different steps. For instance, if you test yourself, and end up realizing you don’t know the information, you might want to go back and add it to your notes after you re-read, google, or seek help. You don’t have to do everything in perfect order, but using these four strategies together will make you a faster, and more effective reader.