Throughout my time as a student, whether that be elementary school or my first year of high school, I’ve always had a more difficult time than other students when it came to focusing, because of my ADHD. And this problem has been greatly exacerbated now that I’m doing online schooling. I went through an entire quarter where I did little to nothing, and it just felt like there was nothing I could do. It was only once I started going to therapy, and my therapist told me some different coping mechanisms that I was able to pull myself out of this rut. So anyway, without further ado, here are 5 different coping mechanisms that I hope help you navigate school, like they did for me.

1. Stand up in class.

If you’re like me you were always yelled at to sit down while in class, but now that you’re doing school in your own bedroom, you don’t have too! I realized something recently, instead of playing on my phone during class I could just walk all around my room, and so I did. I saw improvements almost instantly and now I’m able to pay much more attention in class than I did scrolling through Tik Tok. And if that’s not enough sometimes I get a ball out and just throw it against the wall to get out all that excess energy.

2. Do your schoolwork right after you get it.

I always used to try to do my homework late at night when I was tired, and that obviously led to me doing shoddy work. But most notedly I would start doing the work and then realize I was really tired and went straight to sleep. By doing my schoolwork earlier in the day I’ve been able to get it all done without much problem. Plus, if you do the work during the day, preferably right after you get it, then you’ll have the rest of the day for yourself.

3. Listen to the right music during study time.

Recently, I started listening to different music while I’m studying or doing schoolwork than I would while I would while I was doing something like working out, and the reason is simple. Music with words is too distracting. Now I’m not saying you should be listening to Mozart every time you want to do some math homework, but maybe try listening to something more relaxing, and much less distracting.

4. Keep your hands busy.

If there is one piece of advice I’ve heard everywhere to help with ADHD, it’s to keep your hands busy. Well fret not, because I’m going to do the exact same thing! so if you are having trouble keeping still, then maybe you should try using a fidget toy. And if you don’t have a fidget toy, something to throw up or down in your hands should work just fine.

5. I know it’s hard, but this is the most important one. Put your phone somewhere else during class.

And I mean somewhere where you can’t even touch the thing, because Jesus, nothing is more distracting then watching Tik Tok for two hours instead of paying attention during class. I’ve tried putting my phone in a couple different places, and often I look at it anyway, but the one place that worked the best for me was my backpack, and only looking at my phone during breaks. Plus, maybe that’ll make it feel more like you’re at school again.

Now I’m not saying that these 5 things are an easy out that will make you a straight A student in seconds, but it will definitely help. And I’ll be honest, I’m not even close to following all these guidelines every single day, but the days that I do, I get more schoolwork done, and I’m able to pay more attention during class.