Habit Building for Studying

Habit building is an integral part of life. No one functions outside of all routines. Love of novelty is a strong ADHD characteristic; however, habits give all of us structure.

A framework in which to build our lives.

Habits can be thought of as routines. Building routines for different areas of our lives like getting out the door in the morning, doing homework or studying, getting ready for bed and mealtime or meal planning. These are areas where people with ADHD, especially students, often struggle.

The idea that it takes 28 days to develop a habit is a myth. It takes people about three months to create new habits. That isn’t helpful if you are a student trying to developing new study habits. A semester is only about four months long. So what is a student to do?

Here are some quick ideas for habit building that aren’t your usual advice:

• Our habits are often influenced by who we spend our time with. Also, generally speaking, most people with ADHD are motivated by external accountability. Armed with these two ideas, choose to study with someone or a study group that will help you to stick to new study habits.
• Notice what distracts you and avoid it. For example, if it is your phone; leave it behind when you go to study somewhere else. If it is Netflix or YouTube, use a media blocker when you are studying.
• Don’t go back to your dorm or apartment between classes; it is most likely filled with distractions. Schedule that time to study with someone, go to office hours, visit the Writing Center.
• Remind yourself of who you want to be or what is important to you. You can do this by texting yourself, using sticky notes either digital or paper, using an alarm that you name, changing the background on your phone or your desktop on your laptop to a motivating message. For example, any of these messages to yourself could say, “Do something today that your future self will thank you for.” A quote from Sean Patrick Flanery.
• Take the best advantage of your medication if you are taking any. If you know how long it lasts, plan your day so that the activities you need the most focus for are while the medication is active.

Best of luck forming those habits and if you are in college and are looking for ways to prioritize tasks as you are forming new habits, visit our blog College and ADHD Coaching.