Mastering ADHD: How To Study And Succeed
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Andrew from Brainscape challenges the conventional view of ADHD as a hindrance, instead presenting it as a potential advantage for success. He offers strategies and cognitive 'brain hacks' to help ADHD individuals excel in studying and life. Andrew emphasizes creating a distraction-free environment, planning study tasks in detail, matching study activities to attention spans, and maintaining healthy habits for better focus. The video also celebrates famous individuals with ADHD who have achieved greatness, inspiring viewers to see their condition as an asset rather than a liability.
Takeaways
- š **Reframe ADHD**: Stop viewing ADHD as a weakness and start seeing it as an advantage that can contribute to success.
- š **Strategic Studying**: Use brain hacks and strategies to make studying more effective despite ADHD challenges.
- š§ **Cognitive Science**: Leverage cognitive science research to understand how to learn better and perform at a higher level.
- š **Famous Role Models**: Recognize successful individuals with ADHD, such as Walt Disney and Will Smith, to inspire overcoming challenges.
- šļø **Evolutionary Advantage**: Understand that traits associated with ADHD have been beneficial to human evolution and survival.
- š **Environment Matters**: Create a study environment that minimizes distractions to maximize focus and learning.
- š **Plan and Prioritize**: Use a checklist to break down study tasks into manageable milestones to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
- ā° **Match Study to Attention**: Align study activities with the attention span available at different times of the day.
- šŖ **Physical Health**: Maintain good sleep, diet, hydration, and exercise habits to support brain function and concentration.
- š± **Long-Term Destiny**: View studying as a means to an end, with the ultimate goal being to fulfill your larger life purpose and potential.
Q & A
What is the main perspective the video aims to change about ADHD?
-The video aims to change the perspective of ADHD from being a weakness that holds people back to being an advantage that can help them be more successful in life.
What is the role of Brainscape in the context of the video?
-Brainscape is an adaptive flashcard study app built on cognitive science research, which the speaker, Andrew, uses to provide strategies for studying effectively despite ADHD.
Who are some famous individuals mentioned in the video as having overcome ADHD?
-Famous individuals mentioned include Walt Disney, Will Smith, Simone Biles, Emma Watson, and Richard Branson.
What evolutionary advantage does the speaker attribute to people with ADHD?
-The speaker attributes the evolutionary advantage of being creative, thinking outside the box, and having heightened awareness to people with ADHD.
Why does the speaker suggest that traditional schooling might be particularly challenging for individuals with ADHD?
-The speaker suggests that traditional schooling, with its requirement to sit through long lectures and readings, is challenging for individuals with ADHD because they are not equipped to handle such monotony.
What is the first tip provided in the video for someone with ADHD to improve their studying?
-The first tip is to put oneself in an environment that minimizes distractions, such as a quiet corner in the library or a cubby without a phone.
Why does the speaker argue against studying in a noisy coffee shop or in front of the TV?
-The speaker argues against it because scientific evidence shows that humans cannot multitask effectively, and such environments lead to a lack of focus and require more study time later.
What does the speaker suggest as a method to combat the feeling of being overwhelmed by too much to study?
-The speaker suggests creating a written checklist with bite-size milestones to break down tasks and make them more manageable.
How does the video recommend matching study tasks with available attention?
-The video recommends creating a checklist of short-term, shallow, and deep tasks to allocate study activities appropriately based on the time available.
What are some of the life habits mentioned in the video that can support better concentration for individuals with ADHD?
-The life habits mentioned include getting enough sleep, eating right with limited sugar and processed carbs, drinking plenty of water, and engaging in physical activities that work the core and glutes.
What is the final message of the video regarding individuals with ADHD and their potential?
-The final message is that individuals with ADHD have an evolutionary gift and should view studying as a means to achieve their greater destiny in fields like entertainment, teaching, managing, creating art, and more.
Outlines
š Embracing ADHD as a Strength
The speaker, Andrew from Brainscape, challenges the traditional view of ADHD as a hindrance and instead encourages seeing it as an advantage. He acknowledges the difficulties ADHD presents in focusing and studying but introduces the idea of using brain hacks to enhance studying efficiency. Andrew shares his personal experience and admiration for successful individuals with ADHD, such as Walt Disney and Will Smith, who have made significant contributions despite their condition. He emphasizes the evolutionary benefits of traits associated with ADHD and suggests that the modern educational system is not well-suited for individuals with these traits. The speaker advocates for a change in attitude towards ADHD and offers practical tips for managing it effectively in daily life and studying.
š Study Strategies for ADHD
Andrew provides actionable strategies for individuals with ADHD to improve their studying habits. He advises creating a distraction-free environment, such as a quiet corner in the library or a home study space with minimized distractions. He stresses the importance of setting up for success by eliminating potential interruptions. The speaker debunks the myth of multitasking, asserting that it is scientifically proven to be ineffective and that focusing on one task at a time is crucial for learning. He also suggests planning study sessions during periods of high focus and creating a detailed checklist to break down tasks into manageable milestones. This approach helps in overcoming the feeling of being overwhelmed and provides a clear path forward, making study sessions more effective and less daunting.
Mindmap
Keywords
š”ADHD
š”Brain hacks
š”Cognitive science
š”Distraction
š”Study plan
š”Flashcards
š”Milestones
š”Multitasking
š”Circadian rhythms
š”Nutrition
š”Exercise
Highlights
Reframe ADHD as an advantage for success rather than a weakness.
Use brain hacks to enhance studying efficiency for those with ADHD.
Andrew from Brainscape shares insights based on cognitive science research.
Famous individuals like Walt Disney and Will Smith overcame ADHD to achieve success.
Human evolution has been influenced by the creativity and non-conformity of 'daydreamers'.
ADHD individuals struggle with traditional educational settings like lectures and readings.
Seek professional help if ADHD severely impacts life and relationships.
Create a distraction-free environment for studying to set up for success.
Avoid studying in noisy coffee shops or with the TV on to prevent self-deception.
Acknowledge the inability to multitask effectively and focus on one task at a time.
Use peak focus times for planning study sessions and creating a detailed checklist.
Break down study tasks into manageable milestones to combat overwhelm.
Match study tasks with available attention spans to optimize productivity.
Prepare study materials during focused times for easy access during distracted periods.
Ensure good sleep, diet, hydration, and exercise to support concentration.
Embrace the unique strengths of ADHD and view studying as a means to a greater destiny.
Subscribe for more advice on building attention span and habits for success.
Transcripts
I'm gonna go ahead and guess thatĀ if you clicked on this video title,
you may be someone who struggles with ADHD.
Well today is the day that we're gonna stopĀ thinking of ADHD as a weakness that's holding
you back and instead as an advantage that canĀ actually help you be more successful in life.
Yes, ADHD happens to be annoying when itĀ comes to studying or focusing in general,
but we're going to give you someĀ strategies to help you crush your
studying with a few brain hacks that willĀ help you get the most out of studying,
get it out of the way, and apply your giftsĀ to what you were meant to be doing in life.
I'm Andrew with Brainscape, anĀ adaptive flashcard study app
built on decades of proven cognitive scienceĀ research into how we learn and perform better.
And not only have we at Brainscape suffered fromĀ attention problems ourselves, but we've worked
with thousands of students with ADHD which has only increased our admiration of all
the famous people that you might notĀ have known had ADHD and overcame it.
Like Walt Disney, Will Smith, SimoneĀ Biles, Emma Watson, Richard Branson,
and other hugely successful people who didn't letĀ that scary diagnosis label them as unproductive.
The truth is that human civilizationĀ itself have evolved because of,
not in spite of the brilliant work of people whoĀ are daydreamers, who are creative, who hate rules,
who think outside the box, who don't acceptĀ the status quo, and who are easily distracted
by saber-toothed tigers wrestling in the bushes so that they survive because of that awareness
and pass on that evolutionaryĀ advantage to their offspring.
It's only in the last few centuriesĀ that the confines of school have been
voiced upon us in childhood and weĀ ADHD people are just not equipped
to sit through boring lectures and readings.
Now all of a sudden if we can't sit still through 30 minutes of geometry, society decides we'reĀ just bad at learning without doing much to help.
Please! Yes, there are doctors and thereĀ are medications and I should say that if
your attention problems are severelyĀ affecting your life and relationships,
please do seek professional help.
But when it comes to your attitude and your, your day-to-day activities, we canĀ give you some tips for working with
and around your ADHD so that you canĀ focus on your studying and actually make
all that knowledge stick, makeĀ that study time worth it.
This first tip might sound like a no-brainer, butĀ if you struggle with concentration, put yourself
in an environment where that's just not gonna be an issue.
I'm talking basement of the library, in a cubbyĀ facing a corner with white walls without your
phone even on you or if that cubby in the libraryĀ basement is impossible, at least something like
studying at your kitchen table with your phone set to airplane mode, the tv off,
music off preferably and nobody else around.
Set yourself up for successĀ and not for distraction.
I can't tell you how many people with ADHD IĀ see go to a noisy coffee shop to try to study.
Or who study in front of the tv, maybeĀ taking breaks from their studies from,
for Instagram and text messages alongĀ the way and saying things like, āOh,
I need the tv on to study, I need theĀ distractions of a coffee shop to study.ā
No you don't.
I promise you if that's you, you're lying to yourself.
It is scientifically proven that we cannot multitask effectively asĀ we could focus on one thing.
The truth is that you justĀ want to watch tv, that's okay.
But admit it to yourself and understand that ifĀ you do, you're just gonna have to end up spending
more time studying later and kind ofĀ relearning the stuff that was only
surface level uh deep there.
I've learned this the hard way myself.
Seriously, even just knowing that your phoneĀ is on and that you might have some shiny notifications
waiting for you if you were to lookĀ at your phone can be occupying valuable mental bandwidth
and preventing you from really devoting your focus to that work.
If you can keep your mindĀ concentrated on the task at hand,
then you will both learn faster and you'llĀ get this studying over with more quickly.
Our second tip is to use thatĀ time when you're most focused.
Not necessarily to study but to actuallyĀ plan the things that you're going to do to study.
Really review that study plan, make an
actual written checklist and break your tasks intoĀ as many bite-size milestones as you can think of.
I know we've talked about this sameĀ concept in our videos on motivation
and procrastination but the same principlesĀ work here and they're really important.
The biggest blocker of ourĀ ability to start focusing,
that can be that overwhelming feeling that I haveĀ so much to do and I don't know where to start.
So once you've made that checklist with theĀ individual items for say, reread chapter three;
download the lecture notes for chapter five; makeĀ flashcards for chapters three, four, and five;
study those flashcards while finally doingĀ my laundry for the first time this month.
Whatever the tasks are of the big homework projectĀ or study project that you have in front of you,
you need that measurable milestone that isĀ always just in front of you, keeping you
focused on moving forward toward that next goalĀ and earning that next little reward for yourself.
Which brings me to the next tip, which is to matchĀ your studying with your available attention.
And your checklist is really key here.
You need to have a list of all the different short term, shallow, and deep tasks that you need inĀ front of you in order to allocate appropriately.
For example, let's say you have a halfĀ hour or more right now to devote your
attention to studying. Well if you have your book and a computer,
that's a great time to, to dive in.
You have 30 minutes, maybe you know make a bunch of flashcards inĀ Brainscape that you can study later.
In other words, you're using this focusedĀ time now to organize your flashcards.
Think about what may, might makeĀ good questions and answers so that
future you who is distracted, who only has aĀ couple minutes to concentrate in between shows
on tv or conversations with friends or whatever,Ā can easily whip out your phone, study a few
flashcards in Brainscape, rate your confidenceĀ and how well you knew each one so Brainscape can
work its magic to help you increasingly focus onĀ your weaknesses and then you put your phone away.
Future you is distracted so set up allĀ the things that future you will need
to do those bite-size study sessions.
Whatever tools you're using. Because the better you're able to sneakĀ in the right study activity at the right
time in your life, the less of a chore itĀ will ever feel like to start studying.
The less you have to think, āHmm,Ā what should I study now?ā because
that occupies too much brain power,Ā thinking about what you want to study.
You need to be able to match the studyĀ task to the time you have available.
Our final tip is to make sureĀ your other life habits aren't
sabotaging your ability to concentrate.
We've got tons of literature on brain health and habits over at the BrainscapeĀ Academy, but the big ones that are important
for your ability to focus are: number one: get some sleep.
I know this is hard for some of us includingĀ me, but preferably get some sleep before the
sun starts coming up again and you willĀ be aligned with your circadian rhythms
and able to crush the task at hand.
Number two: eat right.
The most important part of which beingĀ to limit sugar and processed carbs.
Sorry. I love those oreos, too. I know.
Number three: drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Your brain needs those nutrients that you
just ate to circulate and good hydratedĀ blood is the best thing for that.
Number four: move your butt especiallyĀ things like squats or jumps or lunges or or
planks or other things that really work yourĀ glutes and core because that's where all your
posture and your power and yourĀ confidence comes from, is your core.
The more confident you are, theĀ better you're gonna be able to focus.
At the end of the day, if you have thatĀ evolutionary gift that modern society calls ADHD,
you probably aren't meant to beĀ studying for your whole life anyway.
So just think of all thisĀ studying as an inconvenient means
to a more exciting and that is your destiny.
One day you're gonna be entertaining people or or teaching or managing or creating art orĀ producing or starting companies or treating
patients or winning cases or designing or buildingĀ things or saving lives or leading countries or any
number of bigger things that you were made for.
If you like advice like this, please remember to subscribe to this channel.
Check out the Brainscape Academy especially all those articles that help you build your attention span
and build great habits like a warriorĀ and get ready to rise to your challenge.
Browse More Related Video
8 Ways to Make ADHD Your SUPERPOWER | Practical and Natural STRATEGIES
ADHD: This Is How You Get A Better Memory - Simple Mind Strategy
How to create an ADHD friendly home
26 years of ADHD: Here's what I learned
Why You Can't Focus and How to Fix It
Understanding neurodiversity and supporting consumers in a technologically advancing world
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)