College Students Get Things Done: is an exciting time for any first-year student—but it also comes with plenty of challenges. For most young people, it’s their first time living away from their parents and navigating daily life without the structure of the family home.
As a college student, it’s completely up to you to make sure you’re doing your schoolwork, taking care of yourself, and generally staying on top of life’s obligations. It’s tough! If you’ve been diagnosed with an executive function disorder or a condition like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), keeping up with all those responsibilities can be even more challenging.
Task initiation—the ability to start a task and continue it— is one unique hurdle you may face. If you’ve ever wondered why you have a hard time just getting started with something, now is a good time to learn about ADHD task initiation and how you can address the challenges it poses.
ADHD Task Initiation Challenges for College Students
When a person is adept at task initiation, they are unlikely to procrastinate or leave a job half-done. However, if you struggle with this process, you may experience difficulties that make it harder to succeed in school.
ADHD task initiation challenges can result in:
- Missing deadlines
- Being unprepared for exams
- Rushing to complete assignments
Having a hard time starting tasks may be accompanied by other characteristics that impede scholastic success, including:
- Lack of self-motivation
- Inability to sustain attention for extended periods
- Insufficient self-monitoring
This makes it tough for students to thrive, especially in college, when time management and schoolwork are so critical. The distractions of campus life, like social events, can add to the difficulties.
On top of it all, you’re grappling with a new environment. New friends, new teachers, a new school—it’s a lot to take on at once. The lack of familiarity and routine can make your challenges with executive functions like task initiation even harder. But don’t despair! There are ways to manage it.
Executive Functioning Strategies for College Students
Whether you’ve been diagnosed with ADHD or experience executive function challenges in general, task initiation doesn’t have to be an insurmountable hurdle. Below, we’ve outlined some pointers for college students struggling with ADHD task initiation to strengthen their executive function skills, even in a new environment.
1. Give Yourself Structure
One of the tricky things about college is the lack of routine. You probably have classes at different times on different days of the week. You may be tempted to skip your morning alarm altogether if you don’t have to be anywhere until the afternoon.
Do your best to set a routine for yourself, including designating core hours for schoolwork every day, waking up around the same time every morning, and even scheduling your meals, chores, and extracurriculars.
2. Create a Focus-Friendly Space
A clutter-free study environment fosters concentration, and it helps to have a comfortable chair and plenty of lighting. If a busy dorm proves distracting, head to the library or a private study room. It might also be worth investing in noise-canceling headphones.
3. Break Big Tasks Into Smaller Ones
When you’re faced with a major project, like writing a 25-page paper, getting started can seem impossible. Take big tasks and break them down into smaller steps so they’re more manageable. You can divide a 25-page paper into a day for outlining and a few new pages per day, for example. When you’re figuring out how to start a task with ADHD, a smaller job will always seem easier.
4. Give Yourself Motivational Rewards
Once you’ve broken a task into more manageable, get yourself motivated by setting up a reward system. For example, after you complete a task, you might treat yourself to an episode of your favorite TV show, a quick chat with a friend, or your favorite snack. It doesn’t have to be pricey! It just has to be meaningful to you.
5. Seek External Support
People with ADHD who have difficulty starting tasks don’t have to go it alone. Check with your school for on-campus resources, like tutors, study groups, or accommodations for documented learning needs. Even something as simple as getting a study buddy in a specific class can help. Reach out to parents and family members, too. Even though you’ve “left the nest,” you can still call them when you need them.
