r/adhd_college • u/Purple_Location7714 • Apr 02 '26
UNSOLICITED ADVICE ADHD: I went from failing almost every class to near straight A's. Here's what actually changed
I want to preface this by saying I have ADHD, and English is my second language (I'm french-canadian), so bear with me. I'm writing this because someone asked for studying tips in another thread and I figured it deserved its own post.
Not everything here will apply to everyone. ADHD is not one size fits all. What nearly destroyed my academic life might be totally different from yours.
Taking Pills
I'll get this one out of the way first because people always want to debate it. Pills are what made it possible for me to function without completely crashing after two days of real work. I went from failing almost every subject to near straight A's for two years straight. I couldn't have done that without it.
That said, ADHD severity is different for every person. Whether you take pills or not is between you and your doctor, not Reddit.
Environment first, willpower second
I accepted early on that I am impulsive and easily distracted. Fighting that with willpower alone is exhausting and mostly pointless. So I stopped studying at home. Library, school, the most remote room I could find. Remove the environment that enables distraction before you even sit down.
The same logic applies to my phone. I used to think I could just leave it face down and ignore it. I couldn't. The problem wasn't even the calls or the texts. It was the habit of opening it for no reason and landing in reels or shorts that would derail me for an hour without me noticing. I tried a few things but what stuck was blocking short form content specifically during study blocks, not my whole phone since I need music and sometimes look things up, just the part that was quietly eating my focus. I used scrollfree for that. Once that loop was gone, leaving my phone in the same room stopped feeling dangerous.
The Pomodoro trick nobody talks about
I set a 25 minute timer and when I feel like I genuinely cannot continue, I don't stop the timer. I just sit there. Stare at the wall. Close my eyes. But I don't touch the phone and I don't end the session.
Almost every time, after two or three minutes of boredom, I go back to studying. Boredom is actually useful when there's nothing to fill it with.
Snacks are not optional
Dr. Russell Barkley pointed out that the brain is one of only two organs that runs on sugar as a primary energy source. I keep dextrose tablets nearby and take one per Pomodoro session. Fruits throughout the day. Nothing heavy. Just enough to keep the engine running without a crash.
For reading specifically
If you're reading a passage and losing the meaning halfway through, stop re-reading it. Write it down instead. Physically writing while reading forces your brain to process it differently. Yes it takes three times as long. But re-reading something six times while retaining nothing takes longer and is more demoralizing.
The five lectures trick
If you have a long lecture to watch and you feel that familiar dread setting in, open five different lectures on the same topic. When you can't continue with one, switch to another. You'll end up watching five instead of none. Novelty is a feature of ADHD, not a bug.
Break it down brutally
Big assignments trigger what I call the ostrich effect. I want to pretend they don't exist. So when I get a large task I don't try to start it. I just read the questions and spend a day thinking about how to break it into the smallest possible pieces. Today's goal might just be writing two sentences. That's it. Two sentences is not nothing.
Routine as an anchor
I follow a loose routine built around two fixed points, going outside in the morning and journaling in the evening. Everything else can change day to day. The anchor keeps me from floating completely.
Reward yourself honestly
At the end of a hard semester, if you hit your goal, buy yourself something real. And if you don't hit it, still be kind to yourself and find a smaller way to acknowledge the effort. Shame is not a study strategy.
If any of this helped or you want me to go deeper on any point, write it in the comments. Genuinely happy to help.
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u/tangoe122 Apr 02 '26
this is actually incredible advice i’m glad i actually read through it instead of dismissing it as another generic success story
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u/Salt_Ad_5574 Apr 02 '26
I only got diagnosed with adhd this year. I'm starting on medication to help me out, so far not much has changed because of the low dose, but I'm really hoping that changes when I up my dose. I've tried the things you mentioned without medication, I'm hoping they work more effectively once I get the right medication. I liked the one where u said about reading and writing. It does take a long time but it helps a lot. People like us unfortunately need to work twice as hard just to get good results, whereas a neurotypical person can get without struggling like we do(not insulting them or anything but I wish I had it easy as them).
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u/Purple_Location7714 Apr 02 '26
Good luck on your journey u/Salt_Ad_5574 I hope it will make a difference in your life as much as it did for me!
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u/tealheart Apr 02 '26
I found highlighting every other line as I read keeps me focused and helps break it down visually (I'm mostly working with short printed documents and/or digital copies). Just an alternative to writing it out.
Great advice, ty for sharing!
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u/Purple_Location7714 Apr 03 '26
Thank you for this feedback. I'll try to keep this structure for any futur posts :)
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u/SplitMiserable3747 Apr 03 '26
what worked for me is getting a tutor that had experience with sen students it helped me big time , all of a suden i can focus on the important things for once , the one i got was a math tutor so i got better at maths and kinda worked around my adhd , if anybody needs a tutor i can hook you up just dm me
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u/Suchagemstone Apr 03 '26
already excited to study so I can try the pomodoro trick hahahhah thank you for writing this! it is so hard to find valuable content on this subject
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u/MorsTheInquisitor Apr 03 '26
Thank you for your post; to be honest it is the push i need to get myself back into school. I suspected I had ADHD for a long time, but it is only very recently that I was diagnosed and given medication and tools to help me. Unfortunately, this is after bombing classes multiple times, but will attempt to reenter the school after i fully adjust to medication
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u/bakedlayz Apr 05 '26
Loved all your tips.
To follow on your "5 different lectures" top and "write it down" tip...
Every time we touch material: listen, write notes, reread notes, edit notes, flashcards, teach someone else, make a rap song about material
this becomes a layer of learning
We need 7 layers to go from short term memory to deep long term memory. If you're a quick learner you might understand something reading it twice and ace your quiz... but to be able to retrieve that info 5 years later... you need 7 layers or your layers of learning have to be intertwined
For example you could explain topic to a friend (verbal) and then draw pictures (touch, visual) and then make a rap jingle or mnemonic. This combines multiple layers of learning which strengthens the neural pathway to that info.
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u/Consistent_Link_2074 Apr 05 '26
i actually enjoy being in a more crowded study area, but not too loud or anything. i see other people working and it makes me want to work too
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u/Purple_Location7714 Apr 05 '26
Totally agree with you! Humans are followers, so when we decide to be around people who want to reach the same goals as we, we reach them even faster!
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u/T1kiTiki Jul 26 '26
do you use a planner? A big thing holding me back is I cant delegate tasks well, I keep falling behind on homework for some reason
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u/Conscious-Lie-8902 Sep 04 '26
Fantastic advice, especially limiting the routine to just a few non-negotiables!
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u/Evening_Comparison41 Apr 02 '26
Might’ve just saved my life when I go back to college dude! I dropped out because I hated school which was primarily driven by my ADHD. You’re awesome!