I can relate to you. When i read this, had to look again that i hadn't posted this. I can't get myself motivated. I find myself as well searching the web. I also have read alot of a.d.d and have a hard time applying what i learn. Please let me know when you find the answer to your question. I too need to know.. Good luck!

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hi, I'm a 36 year old woman and have dealt with this all my life. I think sometimes with me it can be down to confidence. Having spent most of my life failing and giving up everything I just end up thinking what's the point. I do know that when I go through my mega organized phase I feel so proud of myself but it is easy to fall back into old habits. You have your whole life ahead of you, you have a chance to do somthing with you life. Please don't give up. Take a deep breath and get stuck in, you can do it and will be so proud and relieved when you get the work done and pass with confidence. Take care Lisa

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I can empathize with your situation as I'm sure many others can as well. My ADHD challenged me in college. In my first two years I was in and out of school. I was forced to leave on probation for bad grades simply because I failed to go to class, failed to study or really failed to do anything related to doing actual school work. That was my first year. My second year was much different as I realized that if I didn't do something different I was never going to get very far and I certainly wouldn't graduate. I went to class, I tried to pay attention, I tried to study, I thought I tried everything. Again, I was placed on probation and this time there was no guarantee I would be let back in. I spent about 6 months out of school working odd jobs and I went to several seminars put on by the school that helped students become better prepared for school in terms of test taking, studying and generally anything that dealt with college life. I wanted to prove to the probation board that I wanted to be there and I was willing to put in the effort to make real changes. The next fall I was released from probation and I returned to school.

I made a mental committment to change all of my behavior. But it wasn't easy and it wasn't cheap. I moved into an apartment and lived by myself. I was in control of everything and I didn't have any roommate distractions. This change was the most expensive since I did not have anyone to share the monthly rent with. I thank my parents for this as they shouldered the full cost. I chose my class schedule carefully not picking any classes that were at times I knew would be a temptation to not go. I set up a part of my room dedicated solely to studying with a large desk, computer and supplies so I would not be tempted to get up and leave the desk. I studied religiously, but I had a schedule. I gave myself small daily rewards of watching a favorite show or something similar, but I always studied at the exact same times. I studied subjects at the same time each day and I would review what I had studied each prior day up until a test or exam. I also incorporated a very good exercise regimen into my days and that was also on a daily schedule at the same time each day.

For me, what it came down to was changing my behavior. It wasn't easy, but I didn't give myself any choice since I wanted a degree, but I had risked it all by not studying and modifying my behavior earlier in my collegiate career. I could have dropped out or been kicked out for good and my circumstances would not be the same today. I credit my college success to changing my behavior and structuring my days according to my strengths and trying to avoide my weaknesses.

Today, I manage an international insurance business. I have owned and sold my own business and I travel all over the country doing what I really enjoy doing as a career. I won't tell anyone that what I did or what anyone else has done to succeed in college with ADHD was easy, but I'm happy I put that effort in while I still had the chance. If you have any questions plesae send me a message.

Chris

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wow I can relate! It's Oct. 15th and my 6 mo extension for my taxes is due today and I have yet to start!! I don't get it. Does anyone else ever explain it like this.... I feel like I'm under water. My thoughts, movements, everything is all under water. Everything I do is against resistance and I don't know how to even dogie paddle! I went off meds about 6 weeks ago and started drowning! Had to go off meds cold turkey due to the expense as I have no insurance and Adderall was $300 / month. If anyone has an answer let us know cuz whatever I'm NOT doing is NOT working!

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Chaz, 1st of all, ask yourself is engineering what you really what to do? I find my motivation comes from things I enjoy doing. Career choices for ADHDer's is not a simple or easy decision. I am 45 yrs old and I can think of at least 25 different careers I should have been doing. Think about the things that interest you and that you love to do. You mentioned tv and the internet, there are career options available in those areas. Having ADHD and being at a desk or trapped in an office sounds like torture to me. Do you need to be moving around, having busy hands and eyes, like being inside and outside? These are things you should be looking at. If you need to find a way to make yourself study, this is what I do. When you are sitting in front of the tv or computer, have your books with you. Having the tv or radio on helps me stay focused when I am reading or studying. Browse the internet for 10 minutes then study for 10 minutes. Just take your books everywhere you go and find those few minutes to use them. (Multitasking is a gift of ADHD). Good luck to you.

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I find for myself in order to do something I don't want to do, I start with 15 min...set a timer for 15 min and just do whatever it is for that amount of time and then I find that I continue doing it even after the timer goes off. I know it sounds silly but it helps to at least get me started. Good luck!

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Well first off let me tell you, you are not alone in this problem. The college program I was in only had 28 seats for each year, Industrial Design. It is considered one of the hardest programs to complete because of the intensity of the program and the amount of work needing to be completed. I was a single mom, working 30+ hours a week, and going to school. I feel I am the worlds greatest procrastinator, and I too tend to work better when I'm under the gun. To top it off I'm also a perfectionist. So looking back, I'm not really sure how I did it all, but I did. This is what and how I did it: 1) I never had a class that started before 10 a.m. 2) I never took more than 4 classes a semester 14-15 credit hours. 3) I mixed my course load 2 hard, 1 moderate, 1 really easy, and easy doesnt mean it wasnt time consuming. 4) I spread my courses out, meaning only 2 classes in a day, what you want to make sure of is that you have chunks of time to do your homework or to take a break. 5) I always tried to make sure my courses were in the afternoon (this helped with continuity of thought when transitioning to homework). I worked in the morning, went to class in the afternoon, take a break, make dinner, play with son, jump into homework at designated time. 6) I always designated a start time for my homework, depending on my class schedule this could be a couple of hours in the middle of the day and then no matter what I had to start between 7-8 pm in the evening, if I was procrastinating I started at 8 pm. I knew If I could get myself started I would finish, no matter how long it took to complete (many many all nighters, thats college) 7) Preparing for Quiz/tests, would start 3 days ahead of time, night one organize notes (for me that was typing all my notes up from class and from book readings (I always read outloud, outlined my readings, picking the important information out), night 2 review only my typed notes a couple of times through day, by day three of reading your own notes you should have the information stored. 8) for courses that I needed support in I would start a study group or join a study group, it made a big difference having others to lean on, it will also help with motivation, but you have to go. This is especially important when you are preparing for tests or working on really hard problems or courses. Even if you could just have a single study partner that came over at your designated start time to help motivate you to do your work. 9) Personal time was left to Saturdays, it's what I call my day of rest, still do. It's the one day you set aside to do nothing, but you can only do this if you completed your work for the week, completed at least half of your homework that is due on Monday and your able to finish it on Sunday, and you don't have a test (so you may need to take a couple of hours on that day to stay on top of things, but not the whole day, like from 12 pm - 5 pm, then after 5 pm it's your time). 10) If you have favorite shows you like to watch, get a DVR, then you can watch later as a reward for getting your work done. 11) Not to nag, but if you are a gammer put down the game controller, only allow yourself that if you've done your work, if it were me I would remove it from the house until you've established a routine, it takes three weeks to break a habit. 12) Keep a homework book, so you can schedule your time and mark things off as you finish them. This also means you can mark your personal break time even if it is just an hour or two a day. 13) Expect little sleep. My typical night of sleep was 3-4 hours and I had to drink a lot of coffee and mt dew. 14) Exercise when you can. 15) You may have bitten off more than you can chew this semester, you may need to drop another course, your not a failure if you do, it means your taking control of your life because you want to succeed. This will open up time for you to get a handle on your other courses, you won't feel so overwhelmed, being overwhelmed is a killer for people like us. Also, getting a "W" withdrawal is better than "F" failed or "I" incomplete, it wont hurt your gpa the others will.

I hope this helped. I wish you the best of luck. Just don't give up, you will figure out what will work for you. -ChrisK

p.s. Send me a note if you are having a hard time making a decision or need a sounding board, sometimes its the act of putting our thoughts together that help us make a decision.

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I know what you mean. I feel that way alot, and have found that it's best to #1-get your self moving. Start your day with some kind of physical activity to get you going. Walk to school, to work, run, work out, offer to walk your neighbors dog, something to really get you to move and get your blood flowing for at least a 1/2 hour at a good pace, at least 5 times a week. If you can walk (and most people can)1 mile out, turn around and walk back, that's fantastic! Get your ipod songs on to some really high energy music that will get you pumped and go!!! This works so well for me I can't tell you how much this has benifited me. It''s cheep and something everyone of us should be doing, even kids! It's tough at first, but get some cumfy clothes on, good walking shoes and (for me, at least) some music to help motovate my spirit! When I don't exercize I just don't function well, and i get into the same ol slump. ---Try it for a week--you'll see! Good Luck:) It is a great place to start and you'll get in shape. Oh, when you are studing, no, read the article about study guids in this months issues, it's all true and these methods work.

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How far along are you in the program? Or is this your first semester in college?

What do you enjoy about college and your classes? Do you like your field? Maybe you need a change. If your researching career fields it suggest you're not comfortable with the one you're currently pursuing.

Have you tried different meds?

I can also get locked into hyperfocusing on surfing the web, playing a game or some other non-productive activity. Often it's the only way I can distract myself from stress, anxiety, and worry. However, it can easily set up a self-destructive cycle when I start to stress over the things I'm procrastinating. I also understand how demoralizing it is to finally be doing everything 'right', but still fail. Eventually I learned that I have to figure out what works for me; to find my own right way. Maybe your study plan is too rigid or doesn't fit with your learning style. Being in a 'square peg, round hole' situation is unnecessary frustration.

To LuckyJ: Have you tried the instant release form of Adderall? It's available generic and costs much less. Generic Ritalin is on the Walmart $4 Rx program; maybe worth the money saved to try it.

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You should check out this book. It talks to your situation and deals with the issue of motivation and school/work.

http://www.amazon.com/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/0874775043

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Oh man, am I glad that decided to look up stuff about college and ADHD and homework help, because I'm going through the exact same problems as you right now. I'm so tired of it, not being able to do what I need to do in order to get things done, but it's so difficult! I literally do not know how I'm going to get through everything right now, but I'm a Christian so I'm trusting in God that He will point me in the right direction, whether that is getting a higher dosage of medication or whatever.

The thing I'm struggling with right now the most is if I should really schedule my days, you know, like make routine that I can handle, because they all say that routine is essential to the ADHD lifestyle. However, I don't know what that's going to do to my social life. I'm just so afraid right now that I don't even know what to do with everything: should I make the schedule, risking my social life (it's college-- bed time for the entire population of undergrads is anytime after midnight-ish-- and that's just on weekdays!), or should I do something else, or what? I love some things about ADHD, but this is not one of them!!!

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chaz0426 said: I have read tons of information on ADHD and I'm a college engineering student. I was diagnosed in the summer and started this fall with accommodations. I have extended test times which has helped me a lot. However after the 3rd week when I failed my first rounds of tests despite my studying and staying on track, It killed my motivation. I then dropped a course since I was told I was taking on too much and I was. However I am still very behind in about 3/5 of my classes. I know what I have to do but I just can't get it done, even when taking Adderall.

I find it much more relaxing and soothing to watch TV or browse the web for hours on end and I know I have HW assignments hanging over my head but I just can't get started until the night before or under pressure to get it done.

Then I do terrible because it was rushed and I forget the material because it was crammed. This is my old habits and I know they say you need "structure" and this method and that method to stay on track. But I tried that, and I still have a calender and reminder program but I still just put it aside if I am currently busy and forget about it. Even sometimes I just say, " I don't feel like doing that now" and it doesn't get done. It's not that I forget, it's that I just can't get started and I have motivation problems and my drive that I had is shot since I'm behind and failed despite trying with help. I feel like a failure and that no matter what I do, I'll still get the same grades so why put in the effort. I know that is self-defeating behavior but when I do all I can and get the same results even when I feel I truely learned the material but couldn't perform on the test. It just really sucks and I find it hard to get started on anything academic . I find it easier to research career fields, learn computer stuff, watch football on the weekends rather than sit and read a book and do impossible problems and assignments with frustration all to fail an exam.

Any suggestions on how to get organized AND motivated.

How do you get started on a task when you don't feel like it or are tired as heck?

Any suggestions?

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Yup, yup and yes, sounds like me in college - Stationary Engineering, 1983. Perhaps this may help: During class, take notes - lotsa notes, invent your own short hand if you gotta. Don't try hard to memorize stuff , but try hard to understand why things do what they do, in class. Then, the night before an exam read over your notes, slowly. That's all. It worked for me - never had a grade under 85% in college. Of course we're all a tad different, but it may help and take some pressure off. And yes, I've just discovered I have ADD. Good luck.

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