It’s Not Your ADHD — It’s Your Study Plan, Part 1

I still remember my first math test from my freshman year in an engineering college. 

I worked tirelessly to invest as much time as possible in studying for my first exam at university. I told myself that this time would be different from my high school grades. I wouldn’t be failing; I wouldn’t be average. This time, I would be exceptional.

The exam day arrived, and I had flashbacks to my nightmares in high school. 

I couldn’t understand anything on the exam. 

When the smoke cleared, my grade was a 19 out of 40. When I looked at that grade, I felt like I had just peddled my bicycle into a head-on collision with a truck. 

The class average even surprised me. 

It was a 23 out of 40, which was still a failing grade. 

Ninety-five students started their freshman year in this accelerated engineering program. About a third of those students dropped the program after the first 3 weeks of school. Did all of the students in that 33% have ADHD? 

I doubt it.

I have been reflecting a lot over the years since that semester. 

Would I have passed the math test if I had been diagnosed with ADHD and taking medication? The magic 8-ball says “outcome unlikely”. 

I am not here to sell you on the idea that ADHD had nothing to do with my F on that math test. 

That wouldn’t be true. 

I am saying that even with a proper diagnosis, a therapist, a psychiatrist, and stimulant medication, all of that would not be enough to push my performance to earn a passing grade on that test.

The reason is that my approach to performing on the exam was horribly misguided. I erroneously believed that studying equals learning. 

NOT TRUE! 

Not all study methods are equal in learning. 

In fact, it can be quite the opposite. Some study tactics, if employed incorrectly, can give you the false impression that you are learning when you are actually just wasting time and energy.

Myth #1: Gaining Information = Gaining Understanding

Knowing more facts does not automatically mean you understand the subject.

Simply expanding the amount of facts you know does not necessarily mean that you are gaining an understanding of the subject. 

Rote memorization is helpful when you are required to quote exactly what you have read, but it does not bring you closer to writing an essay explaining your understanding of the quote. 

We’ve all heard that E=MC2. 

We might know that this formula has something to do with physics. 

We might really impress people by stating that it has something to do with “relativity”. 

However, these facts can be gleaned from a rerun episode of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”. It is simply information, not understanding. 

Example: 

I love talking about cars. 

When I was young, I would read all the catalog information for every high-performance car part. I was great at quoting performance figures for the different carburetors for sale, but I couldn’t explain what a carburetor was for or how it worked. 

I had lots of information, but no understanding. 

This ability to impress people with my vast amount of information only made me seem like a talking parrot who had no idea what I was saying.

So if working harder and reading more isn’t the answer… what’s actually getting in the way?

Myth #2: High Reading Speed = High Intelligence

Reading more is not the same as understanding more.

Somewhere in history, the true meaning of describing somebody as “well-read” stopped measuring a person’s total grasp of a subject and, instead, started measuring a person’s intelligence by the total amount of books read, whether he understood the writings entirely or not. 

Today, advice on how to become “well-read” is presented in catchy clickbait titles that focus on claims to have read 100+ books in a year! 

This accomplishment does not equal intelligence.

I would much rather spend my time with someone who took an entire year to read 1 book than a person who read 100 books. 

The reason? 

The person who spent a year building a solid understanding of 1 book is more useful than a person who read through many books without developing any understanding. The 1-book reader can withstand my relentless interrogation of the concepts studied in that book. 

I can rely on the judgment of the 1 book reader. I am more confident in making decisions based on my understanding of the 1-book reader. 

The 100-book reader is less likely to endure such scrutiny or earn my confidence.

To be truly well-read is to understand that there is an appropriate place and time to increase and decrease reading speed depending on the kind of information being read. 

A well-read person understands how to distill an expository writing into its essential terms, arguments, and conclusions. 

The well-read person is able to reserve judgment for the conclusions made by the author. 

This person reads actively and eagerly, with his mind filled with questions that beg to be answered. 

This person is solely focused on gaining understanding; gaining information is a natural byproduct of the understanding.

Myth #3: The only way to study is based on “Learning Style.”

You don’t need the “right style”—you need strategies that build understanding.

I hate to tell you this, but “LEARNING STYLES ARE A MYTH”. 

This myth has been soundly debunked by multiple research agencies, including this study by the American Psychological Association.

The idea of tailoring a lesson plan based on whether the learner is more visual, auditory, or kinesthetic is a load of nonsense. 

You cannot learn how to ride a bike by simply watching people ride bicycles. 

There is simply not enough information given in that format of learning to fully grasp how to ride a bicycle, whether you are a “visual person” or not.

You cannot learn to play the cello by just listening to recordings of a famous cellist. 

It doesn’t matter if you have a great ear for music, you will still have to learn the same way everybody else learns to play a musical instrument… by doing it.

If studying feels harder than it should, it may not be about effort — it may be about strategy. 

I have the understanding and the ability to troubleshoot your study practices. 

For more information, please schedule a free Get-Acquainted Session with me to explore what a more workable, ADHD-friendly study plan could look like for you.