tinaramala: challahfemme:For those of you who struggle with making lists/schedules and then FOLLOW
tinaramala: challahfemme: For those of you who struggle with making lists/schedules and then FOLLOWING them, making this for my fellow #ADHDstudynet network members who also struggle with time management, plus anyone else who could use it! How many of you have tried to make a list or schedule and wrote down something like “work on paper” and then just ignored it/not done it because: there’s just so many steps having “work on paper” is such a big project you don’t know where to start you don’t think you can focus long enough to get anything done SUMMARY my strategy to combat this: 1) breaking down large tasks into smaller tasks (seriously you can break them down realllly small like “do 2 math problems, take a break, do 2 more math problems” 2) also adding your free time/rewards to your schedule now I’ll go through them in detailed explanation of how I use them. TIP ONE: Format Choose a schedule format you’re most likely to use, or a combination. Do you best listen to alarms and checklists? Use that. Better suited to a calendar? Do that. Electronic work better for you? Go for it. Or you can use paper, a whiteboard, etc. Come up with a system you’re willing to use that’s easy for you to use. TIP TWO: First do a basic outline. List what the project is, what class it’s for, when it’s due, when you’d like to get it done, and when you absolutely HAVE to get it done. You can also add things like how much it’s worth grade-wise. It can look as simple as this: PROJECT: write paper on _____ for _____ class PERSONAL GOAL: Do it by the 18th MUST DO BY (due date): 9/20/2015 Do this on paper, on a whiteboard, or on a notes app on your mobile device or laptop. Whatever works for you. why this? because it’s an at-a-glance reminder of the most basic details of the project, also good in case you’re someone who’s often losing syllabi/project explanations/etc. also consider taking a photo of any handout that explains the project/requirements in detail, as I’m always prone to losing these!! TIP THREE: Break. Down. Your steps. So they’re manageable for your ability to focus for certain lengths of time. Can’t focus for an hour? Can’t even focus for 30 minutes on one task? A huge project seems daunting? That’s why this step is important. Instead of just putting “work on paper” on a checklist for the day (which is ambiguous and vague and I’m bound to ignore it because of executive dysfunction and lack of focus ability), split it into manageable steps! Now your long project has turned into 5-6 very short steps that can be accomplished daily in chunks that can range from 10 minutes to an hour. No need to cram/force yourself to focus. You can vary how your schedule looks based on if you’re a person who can focus well for 40 minutes, versus a person who can only focus for 10 at a time. TIP FOUR: Rewards are important! Your schedule doesn’t have to be all work. Schedule in some freetime/breaks/rewards specifically. This is a motivator. or This will help keep you on track throughout your afternoon/evening and helps you to spend time taking care of yourself/unwinding as well as doing your tasks. It also makes a schedule seem less negative/like it’s all work, because your good stuff is on there too. It makes sure you don’t forget your responsibilities, but also that you don’t forget your personal time. And it motivates you with rewards (”I can watch Steven Universe, but only after I finish 5-10 math problems”) TIP FIVE: for people with a long assignment to do in one night and a very short attention span, leave most of your afternoon unscheduled to do what you want but set alarms every hour to take a break and work for ten minutes! So if you have 20 math problems to do, just go about your afternoon doing what you want, but have set alarms every hour and whenever you hear the alarm, stop what you’re doing and spend 5-10 minutes doing math. Then you can go back to whatever you were doing, and spend another short interval of time the next hour.This works for me on low spoons days or days when my focus is just nowhere to be found. This is ok to reblog & share with anyone! Some of these strategies may not help everyone but they’ve saved my life during high school so many times. Brilliant! A million thanks to @challahfemme! -- source link
#self help#study tips#long post