How many things can you do in a span of 10 minutes on any given day? No really, what can you do? Most people might say that they could do two or three, maybe four things, such as read a chapter from a book, text a friend, or scroll through Instagram. For reference to this paper, I timed and videoed myself for ten minutes to see all that I regularly do in the span of ten minutes. Oh boy, it was a lot. First, I was watching a recording of a lecture for A&P II on the digestive system. Next, I quickly read a BBC news article on Ukraine, then I walked to the laundry room and started a load. A little bit later, I was practicing my balance on my balance board. Soon afterwards, I was doodling in a notebook. The video shows that I must have remembered my original plan and turned back on the lecture recording, however I quickly got distracted and looked up the Champion’s League standings to check on Chelsea (they’re doing great by the way!). Then I got up and walked to the vending machine, where I didn’t buy anything and ran back up the stairs. I did all of these things in the first six minutes of the recording. My brain runs, sometimes it sprints. I’m not always sure where it’s going, but I do know that it will always be an interesting ride.
If you haven’t gathered, I am one of the 4.1% of American adults who are gifted with the challenge of ADHD, or its kid brother ADD. For those who don’t know exactly what that is, ADHD is an acronym for attention deficit hyperactive disorder, and ADD for attention deficit disorder. According to studies, symptoms that can indicate if you also have this lovely puzzle include being easily distracted, difficulty following directions and staying on tasks, forgetfulness, problems staying organized, and a short attention span.
The worst thing isn’t when my mind is hyper fixated on a different subject. It isn’t when I am doing the complete opposite of whatever I should be doing. The worst is when my brain is in buffer mode and I cannot focus on anything. Everything distracts me, every toe-tap, every sigh, even the action of me typing these words is currently distracting me. Believe me, this article was assigned a week ago, due on Monday. Here I am happily typing away on Wednesday morning, aware that, yes, it is overdue, and yes I need to finish this as soon as possible (ask my editor Lyle Goulbourne. Bless him for putting up with me!) However, focus points like this come and go. It is very much a catch-it-as-you-can sort of thing.
However, there are benefits to experiencing ADHD. I love it when my brain goes into hyperfocus. I can think and process for hours on end if I just get fixated on a subject. And sometimes, I can switch that subject, and focus on something else. On the other hand, the impulsivity that comes with the territory of ADHD can also be very helpful. The ability to think on the fly, come up with the wackiest of punchlines, and even impulsive ideas such as agreeing to write for “The Student Movement.”
Honestly, I haven’t thought about how it would be to not have a mind that is affected by ADD or ADHD. Though, it does sound like it would make a lot of things SO much easier! My greatest wish is that I could focus whenever I really wanted to, or better yet when I needed to. Especially in these next coming weeks as final projects, papers, and presentations are done, how do I focus? Thankfully, there are methods that are proven to work. I’d like to explore some of them today with you, and hopefully give you some insight and inspiration on different ways to focus:
Create a thought dump: make a list of things that you would like to or need to do, and when would be the best time to do them.
Interrupt yourself: come up with study breaks that shift your focus onto something else for a short period of time and let you come back with fresh thoughts. For example, read for five minutes a book of your choice, try learning how to juggle, or work on a puzzle.
Work with someone you trust: find a good study buddy. I cannot stress this enough, THIS CANNOT ALWAYS BE YOUR BEST FRIEND. Sometimes when we study with certain people all together in a room, absolutely nothing productive homework-wise gets done. Sure, we may race around the halls in wheelie chairs, and yes we may discuss why pineapples on pizza are the 8th deadly sin, but rarely will anything remotely towards our academic education get finished.
Work towards clarity: especially when professors give you projects with free reign, ask for clarification and find your topic immediately. If you are not sure what the professor is assigning, ask, ask, and ask again. Don’t wait until the end to understand what the assignment is about!
Deadlines: thank heavens for these! Make sure you know when the deadline is and set that deadline for yourself.
Turn off the phone: turn it off, put it away, burn it, whatever!
Organization tools: timers, using a calendar or planner, or scheduling apps are ways to keep track of all the thoughts swirling around your head.
Break tasks down: make small chunks to allow yourself to achieve small victories that lead towards the big dopamine hit of completing the whole project.
Keep a clean workspace: ‘nuff said.
I hope that these methods and ideas from my weird and wacky brain give you some inspiration on how to focus in school. I encourage you to try out some of these methods, work hard, and push through towards the end of the school year.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.