r/adhd_college

op of the page of any new topic, I write: "Why should I give a fuck about ______".

I research reasons why I should care about the topic, before listening to lectures/reading. I add to this list as I study it.

This helps my brain understand why the topic is interesting/relevant/important aka worth learning/remembering. From my experience it leads to a significantly higher retention rate of any information learnt associated with the topic after the creation of the list and makes studying wayyy more dopamine-y, I think because I've literally identified why the topic makes me excited.

I'm not 100% why, but baby it workkkkkks. It's like the list gives my brain folders to better file the information in, instead of pieces of paper thrown on my mental desk randomly with nothing to stick to.... hopefully that makes sense.

Example:

Why should I give a fuck about the French Revolution?

• Birth of Democracy: They pretty much invented modern democracy; that’s a big deal.
• Revolutionary Guidebook: It's the ultimate how-to manual for overthrowing the rich and powerful.
• Catchy Slogans: “Liberté, égalité, fraternité” is way cooler than “freedom, equality, brotherhood.”

Anytime I try to study I get insanely sleepy to the point ill fall asleep where im studying whether thats in my room or at a table or in a different environment. However, the moment I stop studying im wide awake and can pay attention to anything and its so frustrating. I work from 7:30am to about 3:30 and will nap after work for a bit or try caffeine to stay up but nothing seems to be working. Does anyone have any solid tips for getting yourself to focus or struggle with the same thing? I also go to bed at about 11pm or midnight in these cases so sleep isnt really an issue.

I (21 F) suspect I have adhd and am taking actions to get an official diagnosis. English is not my first language so forgive me in advance for the possible mistakes.

During the process of getting a diagnosis, I spend my time researching and learning more and more about this condition that I never thought I had until two weeks ago.
Part of my research has included joining this subreddit to hear about the life of other adhders.
And my god. The least I can say is that, not only do I relate to almost every post here (related to personal experiences with living with adhd), but I did realized that I might be on adhd burnout and it might’ve been since a few years.

Back to the post title.
I’ve failed a literature degree 2 years ago because of executive dysfunction and tasks paralysis (which causes me to be inconsistent and undisciplined), depression (now looking back at it it was clearly adhd symptoms) and a very difficult environment that induced stress and anxiety in me.
Due to a series of circumstances, I traded my literature degree for a law degree and I am currently living under better conditions so my mental health feels slightly better.

Still, most of the issues I had did not go away and it might cause me to fail my law degree too (or to pass but without the good grades I need to get into the law master I want). It would break me, as I love law. I am a natural at it and I get the logic of it really easily. I know it will be the center of my career.

The problem is: I also miss the literature degree. It wasn’t my passion as much as law is, but I liked it and regret everything that I could’ve done better if I knew I possibly had adhd and it was causing me to fail. My mom tells me that literature was simply not made for me, but I don’t know how much of this pov I can trust since I haven’t told her about my suspicions and she doesn’t even know about adhd.

My little secret dream would be to one day eventually obtain a french literature diploma coupled with the law degree. But I know that currently it’s impossible since I haven’t dealt with my inconsistency issues and the rest.

I know that meds can help a great deal with most of adhd symptoms and I’ve heard about more great results with them than bad.

So my question is: can meds help you focus and succeed in whatever you put your mind into ?
And therefore, with them, would I eventually pass my literature license If I were to try it again ?

i was only recently diagnosed with adhd (midway through my freshman yr of college) and i performed poorly as i didn’t start treatment till the following semester. while i didn’t do as bad the second semester i didn’t really do “good” either and now im on academic probation. so far ive taken at 2 medications, generic vyvanse 60mg and strattera at 80 mg. i still feel helpless. i decided to leave my university and pursue a different program altogether in hopes ill be able to perform better, as ill be homeless if i don’t stay in school. my parents don’t know about my diagnosis because they’re that category of gen x that “doesn’t believe in mental illness” so ive paid for all my treatments out of pocket without insurance. it’s taking a toll on me financially, especially now that i will have to pay for my cc out of pocket. if anyone experienced something similar in life how did you get through it? i need hope as everything feels impossible rn.

how do u guys do college, really. in 2024 my executive dysfunction got so worse that i couldn't study. it's been accumulating since the 1st semester and the more year i get the more anxious i've become so genuinely i just... stuck.

im not really good at my current major. i spent too much time on understanding 1 topic i ended up couldn't finish anything up. in 2024 i got depressed as well i couldn't get up to attend any exam so i got mostly D.

i took a leave on the first term of 2025 hoping i could take rest and be better. i dont. i go to college for the 2nd term of 2025, i only repeat last year subject so i only take 14 out of 20 credit score, but i still do mostly B and one D with 2.46/4 GPA

i keep go to college till now, i didnt have any friend in class because they all are junior and alr have their own friend groups, and since im suck academically too i really dont have anything to offer. this semester, i didn't attend any midterm exam, again. and i skip entirely one subject so it's an automatic E. i skip a lot of class, didn't attend most quiz, didn't do most personal assignment (unless it's online bcs i keep missing the deadline).

most of my classes is in the morning and i keep procrastinating on getting ready that after not attending exam back in 2024 my body become dgaf and think i could just not attend every time. worse i dont have sense of urgency like i know it's bad to skip class, i know the consequence, i know i dont have resource to do college all over again or just drop out and work with high school diploma, but i just cant trigger my brain to make it study and get shit done

and i alr ask for mental health support from campus & national insurance but they said since im not suicidal enough i only could get it one month from now and cant choose the hospital or the psychiatrist. meanwhile the endterm exam is less than a month from now so idk how the fuck would i do that.

and since most psychiatrist here are conservative and dont really know about neurodevelopmental disorder they'd probably just ask me to pray to god and call it a day. i dont have any hope for that.

you know, it feels so hard because i cant create urgeny in my brain to just DO IT, im getting better last week by actually go to class (even when i dont submit assignment) but this week im getting down again i alr skip 3 classes like why is this so hard?? i only need to get up! it's so frustrating!!

Hi

I am really struggling with studying😭 I am in a med school in Eastern Europe and the system here is not adhd friendly at all. We are given a certain topic list and we can get any topic based on the card we pick on exam day. It is an oral exam so we have to present the topic to the examiner. We also book our own exams and can postpone but have to pass all subjects within the givem exam period.

I struggle starting to study because I struggle doing anything. I dont know how people do it but I tried everythinf recommended and I spend too long on a topic. I can never finish the topic list and at a point my brain just freezes with anxiety and I get too scared to attend the exam and deregister.

I am repeating several academic years. It was more doable when I had no budget and could outsource everything even coffee. I have not attended an exam for 2 years now.

Its exam period now and this will be my last opportunity to continue with med school. I have no degree except high school and my dad has no more finances to fund me for some other degree from scratch.

I tried reaching out everywhere but the regular advise of pomodoro, white noise, library, body doubling sites etc did not help me at all😭

These methods would only work if I can take it slow because I cannot cram all this information in such small amount of time.

I try to cope by distracting myself with other chores until 4 am and cannot even start to study the next day. The most I have done might be 2-3 hours in a day.

What are my options? My parents arent willing to fund an extra year for me to take it slow. I have tried reaching out for help since the last year everywhere but noone could help. This university does not have good mental health support either. I was ignored and just told to "force myself to study early" when I approached them but clearly its not working.

I know long texts are hard for us adhd brains but I am really grateful for those who took the time to read this.

I don’t even mean tired after studying for hours. I mean I open my laptop with the intention of being productive and instantly feel drained because everything is already a mess before I’ve even started.

Lecture slides in one folder, PDFs somewhere else, random Google Docs, screenshots from class, YouTube videos I saved "for later", half-finished notes, and 20 tabs from different subjects that I’m scared to close because maybe one of them is important.

Then I tell myself I’m "getting organized" but realistically I just spend 20 minutes clicking around, reopening files, checking what I’m supposed to study, and somehow ending up on my phone.

A few things have helped me make the start of studying less painful:

• Starting with one tiny task instead of "study everything". This helped the most. If I tell myself I need to revise a whole chapter, I avoid it. If I tell myself to understand one slide or answer one question, it’s way easier to begin.
• Putting my phone in another room. Not face down, not on silent next to me, actually away from me, I hate how much this works.
• Studying somewhere that is not my room. My desk at home feels too connected to scrolling, snacks, and "I’ll start in 5 minutes". The library makes it easier to switch into study mode.
• Reducing how much I need to jump around. I’ve been trying to keep the main stuff for each topic closer together instead of constantly bouncing between slides, PDFs, notes, links, videos, and random tabs. Sometimes that means making one folder or one doc for the topic, and sometimes I use muneo ai when I want to ask questions from the material directly. The main thing is having fewer places to check before I can actually start.
• Testing myself before rereading. Even something simple like closing my notes and trying to explain the topic out loud makes studying feel more active instead of just staring at the same slides for an hour.

I’m starting to think my issue isn’t always motivation. Sometimes the setup is just so chaotic that my brain gives up before I even begin.

Does anyone else get this kind of “laptop fatigue” before studying?

My brain and body are fried to the crisp. I have so much pain in my lower back and neck/shoulder area and it's because I left 20+ assignments until the last week of classes and even then I still kept procrastinating 2 weeks before classes ended. May 18th was technically the last day but one of my professors is being merciful by giving me until Wednesday or Thursday to finish the assignments I have left for his classes. This semester my fucking ADHD is on another level especially with the insane levels of procrastination as well as task paralysis I have had. I would think about my assignments at home and at work. It would constantly be in the back of my head but I just couldn't get myself to do it. And then there would be other times where I would constantly stare at all the work I needed to do and I'd get overwhelmed by the amount I had to get done. I've never been this bad. Last semester was bad too but this is on another fucking level. I submitted several assignments today half done.

One of the many struggles I've had with ADHD and college is trying to figure out how to track assignments. Some professors don't really use canvas very well/update it so I can't rely on the "to-do list". I also know it's a terrible idea to just hope I remember what I need to do, but that's what I've been doing for a bit now...

I like paper planners, but I tend to forget they exist. At the same time a lot of digital options feel more rigid than I'd like and/or have a a big learning curve.
So, how do you guys keep track of assignments, exams, appointments, etc.??

F20, medicated, doing a 2 year diploma. My classes are only 4 days a week from 10am–1/2pm and campus is only 15 mins away, so logically it should be easy to attend. But it’s SO hard for me.

Lectures drain me insanely fast. I listen, take notes, do normal lecture stuff, but after a couple hours my eyes feel heavy/strained and I end up exhausted for the rest of the day even though I barely “did” anything. I have mild astigmatism and prescription glasses which help, but not enough for the full 3–4 hours.

The biggest issue is my brain constantly thinking:
“Why go to class, get exhausted, and get less work done, when I can stay home, keep my energy up, and do way more work?”

I know attendance matters and I have support through a disability advisor + ADHD coach, but I keep fighting with myself over whether going in is even worth the energy cost.

I end up just full on ghosting my tutors, feeling so bad because I have to message my advisor I didn't come in when i promised I will.

I'm trying to find ways to motivate me to attend class, I don't have any friends- since of my low attendance I still don't know anyone's names even though were in week 12 now. All the slides are online, so I do hand in my assignments in time.

Advice would be greatly appreciated :')

can y'all PLEASE hound me in the comments for not studying?? i need some TOUGH love because finals are next week, and i've done NOTHING. the anxiety isn't intense enough yet to push me into action but i can't wait :/

i've just been fuckin around all week & being as useless as i possibly can! my vyvanse is being wasted away on social media & games, AND i pay for that shit out of pocket ....

you know those study videos on youtube where a soldier or a mexican mom with a chancla comes in periodically to check on you [threateningly] & make sure you're staying on task? need that but irl

i know i have it. Like there isnt any denying it. its been 3 years of high school and im in my junior year and not a single fucking habit got formed for studying.

my gpa is like a 86-88 weighted. i fucked it up by take hard classes that I told my self i would change and study for.

im not a dumb kid. idk how to describe it but my brain works well and 100% intellectually capable of doing well in classes.

i just cant fucking pay attention in class without wandering off in my head. i procastinate til like 1 am to even START my work. it used to be like 10 pm in freshmen year but it just got worse and worse because I started caring about my grades less and less because i cooked my grades already.

how am i gonna fix 2 years of bad performance? I have a yt channel and although my interests on what I do changes alot. when its something im interested in, i deadass can work for 10 hours straight.

right now its animation and holy shit its so fun and i just focus into it and i slept at like 2 am yesterday after working for like 7 hours just drawing.

theres a million other things other than focus and academic related where i notice i have adhd.

if i go to a psychiatrist and said i think i have adhd. is that reasonable or am i just supposed to say i think somethings wrong with my brain? i need meds or something bruh, i cant let this shit affect my grades more and more

Spring semester ended last week and I immediately started my summer classes and work is due Monday. I needed a break and I didn’t touch my summer classes until Thursday. I only did ONE discussion post bc I found it interesting. Struggling to focus on anything else.

I have TWENTY ONE assignments due today. I 100% knew this already but I just couldn’t get myself to do it other than one of them. I am trying to get myself to at least do one class of work or the very least 1-2 assignments per day. I literally can only get my work done under pressure, severe stress and if it is last minute or 2 days before. I hate it. Then I just end up probably submitting it late over night or I have to email the professor to see if they can reopen something (if they say yes ofc cuz I am responsible for work not entitled to anything ofc).

Now, you’re probably thinking. “You’re on Reddit, you have time to do it now”. It is 4am, I am usually up until 5am but I was trying to be productive since I just end up laying down watching videos or something. I cleaned my bathroom and room just to avoid the work until I sat down to do it. Literally just stared at the screen. I could NOTTTTTTT get myself to do it. That’s why I am on Reddit now. My friend is coming over in the morning and I was going to go to the gym before I get my period since it’s in 1-3 days and I might have to cancel the gym just to focus on homework and pray to god I can go Tuesday. I emailed one professor to ask for an extension since I just added the class yesterday (it didn’t load until today) so I didn’t get to do week 1s work. I might try to email my other ones for an extension (I have a school accommodation for all of my classes) but I’m not sure bc it is a bit last minute and spring semester one said I can only ask them ahead of time which is fair lol)

I hate it sm. I wish I was medicated again. I never get to enjoy my breaks because I do online school. It’s not as bad because I’m unemployed and only do seasonal jobs when possible but I’d rather be grateful to not work during online school. Im taking these classes bc if I won’t then I’ll be in school longer. I want to graduate by next summer which is when I’m supposed to. I’m so burnt out. I also hate reading online so that’s another thing. I have a phone/internet and Reddit addiction (exaggerated) so you’d think I wouldn’t mind. It’s just extra time online that I don’t wanna spend. I also don’t want to buy any books and download them from… uh strange websites. That or I just read a small article about the topic if it is very similar and possible. Luckily this time my books can be read on the school library, they’re posted or I can find it online

TL;DR: taking four summer classes is a horrible idea and it must be done. 21 assignments due today I have not started. I have done this to myself and I am only mad at myself 😭

I’ll start:

1. Waking up sucks. Buy 2 bright lamps and 2 timers. Set them up to turn on automatically 5-15 min before you want your alarm to go off. The lights will help your body realize it’s daytime.
2. Change your thermostat so the temp goes down about an hr before bedtime and gets warmer about 30 min before you wake up. The cooler temp signals your body to sleep and the warmer temp will naturally help your body wake up.
3. Learn to plan around “transitions”. It’s easier to start things if you do them when something is ending. Example: Do your grocery shopping every Fri after work. You’re already in the car, so just stop at the store on your way home.
4. If you need to remember to bring something with you the next day, place it right in front of the exit door so you HAVE to touch it before you leave the house. If it’s something in the fridge, put a sticky note on the exit door’s handle.
5. Have a “misc” basket in each room. If you’re truly unable to put something away, put it in the basket. Have a designated period of time, once a week, when your sole priority is to put everything away, all at once.

I’ll add more when I think of them...

I'm in my first year of uni and since January I've stopped studying since all my exams were going to be on summer. I couldn't put myself to study even for 1 hour a day, my mind has stopped pushing me to do anything school related. I'm a good student, my grades where always high even in highschool (where i HAD to study since there were monthly oral and written "exams"). Now I have nothing to fear, no one to push me or smth else. I'm really afraid, I have no control over this and it scares me. I have an exam in 10 days and I only know about 15% of the stuff needed to pass. I hate this feeling because I KNOW I have potential but NO MOTIVATION AT ALL. Pls help 😭

I recently met my college counselor because I’ve been struggling badly with focus and academics despite being at a very competitive college. I was diagnosed with ADHD earlier, and after hearing everything, he recommended atomoxetine. He also told me there’s a chance medication may not completely solve the issue and said he avoids prescribing methylphenidate because of addiction concerns.

Right now exams are close and I feel mentally stuck. I genuinely want to study, but I can’t stay focused for long and keep getting distracted no matter how stressed I am.

For people who’ve actually taken atomoxetine:

• Did it help you focus better consistently?
• Did your grades or exam performance improve?
• How long did it take to work?
• Did it help with the “I want to study but can’t start” feeling?

Would really appreciate honest experiences, especially from students in high-pressure colleges.

I'm going to share the system I've built over the past two years as someone with ADHD and bad memory who's obsessed with learning. Before 28 I had no system at all. Just scattered Apple Notes, half-finished books, hundreds of "watch later" videos. A graveyard. I'd consume a brilliant idea on Monday and forget it existed by Thursday.

What changed everything was when ChatGPT launched. For the first time I had a thinking partner who could help me build the structure my ADHD brain genuinely cannot sustain alone. Two years of iteration later, this is the system that finally made my learning compound. Wanted to share it for any other ADHD learners stuck in the notes graveyard loop :))

Important: Each step builds on the last. Skipping one breaks the chain.

The System

1) Save everything to one place, within 30 seconds

The biggest leak point for ADHD learners is the gap between "this is interesting" and "this is saved somewhere I'll find again." Close that gap or it's gone.

Readwise Reader for articles, PDFs, tweets, YouTube. Snipd for podcast moments. Voice memos + Whisper for shower thoughts. One inbox, no decisions.

Rule: if it's not in the system, it doesn't exist. No "I'll bookmark it for later." Later never comes.

2) Let AI do the organizing

I used to run Obsidian manually for almost 4 years and it was a mess. I'd spend 2 hours organizing instead of reading, then abandon it for weeks. Classic ADHD pattern. Organizing requires sustained focus and consistent decisions, and ADHD brains have neither reliably.

Moved to Notion (database structure forces the relations my brain skips) and layered Claude on top. Connected them through OpenClaw, so Claude reads and writes directly into the vault. Now I just say "process the inbox, archive anything older than 7 days that's not linked to an active project," and it happens. Decision fatigue gone.

3) Use 3 statuses, not topic tags

Topic tagging is a trap. Every new note forces a decision: "what topic?" Hundreds of notes later, you've burned all your executive function on filing instead of thinking.

ADHD brains are bad at hierarchical anything. Folders inside folders, taxonomies, neat categories. Every layer is another decision and we don't have the executive function to spare. Flat systems with links work way better because the structure emerges from connections instead of being forced upfront.

I use 3 statuses only: Seedling (raw), Growing (in active use), Evergreen (referenced often). Search handles topic. Links handle structure. If you've abandoned PARA or Johnny Decimal, that's not a discipline failure. It's a system mismatch.

4) Turn captured knowledge into a focused learning system

Saving and organizing aren't the same as learning. Without an absorb layer you're just hoarding.

Audio is my biggest ADHD hack honestly. Sitting at a desk to read just doesn't work, my brain finds 20 escape hatches within 5 minutes. But put the same content in my ears while I'm at the gym, walking, doing chores, or on commute, and I'm locked in. The body has something to do so the brain stops trying to escape. It's the opposite of what neurotypical advice tells you, but it's the only thing that works for me.

I use BeFreed for this. It turns whatever I've saved, links, PDFs, or just a topic I'm curious about, into podcasts I listen to during those in between moments. Length, voice, depth, and style are all adjustable, which matters more for ADHD than people realize. Ugly low stimulation formats just don't get used. The part I love most is the personalized learning plan. I put in my goal, level, and time, and it pulls the best sources from books, expert talks, research papers, and podcasts (no need to upload anything). Each podcast stacks on the last instead of being random one offs, which is what finally keeps my scattered curiosity compounding into something coherent.

5) Review weekly, not daily

Daily rituals are an ADHD trap. They sound nice but you'll abandon them in two weeks.

One 30-min Sunday block. Process anything in inbox older than 7 days. Promote what's been actively used. Archive what's gone stale. If you can't do it weekly, do it monthly. Better low-frequency you'll keep than daily you'll abandon.

Note: this entire system runs on maybe 30 min/week of active maintenance. The rest happens passively while I listen on walks. The whole point is to build something an ADHD brain will actually sustain, not a system that requires neurotypical discipline you don't have.

Disappointment upon disappointment upon disappointment in myself. Who else had a terrible semester cause I did. Perhaps the worst I have ever had. I withdrew from a class early on because I missed an exam, an online exam I had 5 days to do and I forgot to do it until a few hours before the due date, but by then it locked me out since there wasn’t much time before the due date. I should’ve emailed the professor, but I didn’t. I was paralyzed in disappointment and shame and anxiety over what I did.

That blunder sapped motivation from me and I realized unless I got perfect scores on everything for the rest of the semester and managed a passing C, likely I would only end with a D due to my averageness which is not transferable. So I withdrew. I think that marked the downfall, because I hardly did anything in my other two classes for so long after that. I was forcibly withdrawn from my online class due to lack of participation. And the one left I only did a few discussion posts, made it to a handful of lecture for participation, only did the quizzes and completed 0 papers.

What is wrong with me? I know the answer and yet I question myself so often. I really do hate myself whenever I think about it. I think that’s why I turn to my various forms of escapism. I’m desperate for distraction from my failures. But it only makes my inability to do anything worse. I don’t even have a job. I don’t even do anything with anyone other than my parents because I have nobody else in my life. It’s not like I was busy. I did nothing, completed bare minimum, hardly left my room. I have no excuses. I feel so lazy. Yet I know that my actions aren’t out of a lack of care or indifference. But I still feel lazy.

I wish I wasn’t me. I have to get my shit together, make appointments, get help find it do something. I really do and it needs to happen and i need to stop saying I will when I don’t do shit. Really trying to figure it out, I don’t want to give into the negative crap or the spiraling into self punishment so..yeah. I hope everyone else in similar situation finds strength and optimism too. Do it, find it, whatever. Idk.

I’m studying at a reputed college, but my GPA is extremely low and there’s a real chance I could get kicked out academically.

Exams are in 10–15 days, but for the last 2–3 days I haven’t been able to focus at all. I sit to study and instantly get distracted or zone out. I was diagnosed with ADHD earlier, but I’m currently not on medication.

The scary part is that I want to study. I’m terrified of failing. But my brain just refuses to cooperate right now.

Has anyone here dealt with this kind of burnout/ADHD paralysis in a competitive college? How did you get through exams without completely collapsing academically?