One of the top reasons all students procrastinate on writing assignments Admissions & the ADHD Brain —school assignments and college essays—is their resistance to commit to the time. It’s that seductive voice in the back of your head that whispers, “You don’t have enough time right now. There will be a better time later.”
Admissions & the ADHD Brain
Later is not your friend. I know you know this already, but let’s just lay it out here, hmm? There is no later. There will not be a better day with more time on your hands. You know this, but the thought of getting started without adequate time is annoying—and certainly intimidating—so you tell yourself that you believe this comforting lie. “There will be a better time later.”
Everyone experiences that struggle, but students with ADHD often have an additional hurdle—their brains really require urgency to get started. The problem is, ADHD or no, you don’t work best under pressure. You just tell yourself that. Wait until you see how much better you work 𝘯𝘰𝘵 under pressure.
So for this installment of Admissions & the ADHD Brain, I sought out tools that speak specifically to the need for interest-based motivation. I read Jesse Anderson’s book Extra Focus, which he describes as a “quick start” guide to adult ADHD. (Teens applying to college are a lot closer to adults than they—or their parents—might want to believe! Time to leave behind parenting books on ADHD and find the ones that speak to the adults they are becoming.) Anderson has a great “Four C” system to find missing motivation for tasks that are important—but still boring. We’re going to use all four “Cs” to make now sound like a better idea than later when it comes to applications.
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Captivate (How can I make it interesting?)
If you’re writing your college list, you might give yourself permission to start off with 15 minutes of interest-based searching (set a timer!). Ask Google where your favorite celebrities went to school, what the median house price is in the area you’re thinking about moving to, what the average first-year salary is for the career you’re considering, how many times the school went to the Rose Bowl … whatever random information catches your fancy.
If you’re starting your Common App, open it up, poke around and see what you need to complete. Choose to fill in only whatever strikes your interest. You’ll have to get to all of it eventually, but better to give yourself permission to ignore the things you choose and actually get some other things done—than to ignore the whole task.
If you’re writing your essay, you choose your topic! If it’s not interesting to you, you’re doing it wrong. So maybe skim through your phone photo roll or social media feed to think back over the year you’ve had. What has been interesting? (If you’re still working on your college list, don’t worry about your essay yet. One bite at a time.)
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Create (How can I make it creative or novel?)
Also on my reading list for this post was Dr. Kirsten Milliken’s book PLAYDHD. I was so excited when she suggested getting your taxes done by having a Tax Party. “What is the opposite of everything you have come to associate with doing your taxes?” she asks. “Being with friends, having fun, feeling energized … have a tax party!”
I have said for several years that if I had to complete a dull Common App, I would have a party with all of my friends who also needed to complete it, and we could do it together. At its most basic, if you invited just one friend to come over, this would serve the purpose of body doubling, another ADHD trick. A body double is simply doing work while you’re doing work—a physical reminder, in the room with you, that you are focused and doing work. But a party would also add novelty and fun.
Well, it’s about time. This year I decided to stop talking about it and do it. I’ll be hosting a Common App Party at the Chelmsford Public Library on Saturday, August 24, from 1 – 4 p.m. I’ll have college guides, snacks and advice. Bring your notebook for college research, your laptop to start or make progress on your Common App, or both! [If you wish I could host a Common App party at a library closer to you, click on my Contact link and let me know!]
If we’re too far away for you, host your own Common App party with all of your friends. Pick up a stack of college guides from your public library. Print off several copies of the worksheets available at my Subscriber Hub. Pick up some delicious snacks (ideally things that won’t stop you from working as you eat, like pretzels and M&Ms, but—whatever keeps you going!). Set a date before school starts!! Invite your best friends to bring their laptops and get to work!
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Compete (How can I make it competitive or challenging?)
The entire college application process is, of course, a competition—but the end result is far too far in the future to really work as a motivator in that way. So set up an accountability group with prizes or punishments, or both. (The Common App party would be an ideal kick-off for your group!)
Agree on a schedule and set deadlines for a variety of benchmarks:
- complete your college list
- fill in the Common App for everything except the essay
- finish a draft of your essay
- finish your final draft of the essay
- finish all supplemental essays
- submit to your first school
- submit to your last school
Everyone who joins the group could agree on an amount of money to donate to the cause—enough to feel a little painful but not break the bank. If cash is too much to ask, or you just want to add even more prizes, each individual could offer up their own best award (“two dozen of my amazing chocolate chip cookies,” “one car detailing,” whatever). Then prizes can be awarded to the first finisher in each of the above categories, or to just the first, second and third people who finish all of their applications. (I recommend dividing the money into just first-, second- and third-place piles, so that finishing all of your applications first has a really strong incentive, and then using the bonus prizes to reward those smaller steps above.) You could additionally create some embarrassing or unpleasant consequences for anyone who doesn’t hit any of the above deadlines (with the goal, of course, to not need those consequences for anyone)—but that depends on your friends and what you all would find motivating, or potentially funny!
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Complete (How can I make its completion feel urgent?)
The combination of prizes and group accountability should already be creating some urgency, so capture that by making all of your deadlines public—both your self-imposed and real, final deadlines. Post them on public calendars, whether that’s a shared Google calendar or the paper calender in the kitchen (or both).
Did you know you can have as many Google calendars as you want? I recommend creating a specific Admissions calendar with all of your deadlines and mini-steps in it. You can then click it “on” and “off” so that you can see all of your deadlines in context with the rest of your life, see it by itself, or see the rest of your life without all of the potential “clutter” of 1000 deadlines. Then “share” that calendar with your accountability team—parents, stepparents, siblings, friends—whichever and however many people you need.
Assume that you’ll apply to at least one, but no more than three, schools for Early Decision. Add October 15 and November 1 deadlines to your calendar (update the deadlines when you get your schools confirmed).
One more deadline is going to be closing in on you right now, depending on where you live—and that’s returning to school. If you live in the New England area, it’s likely that your summer vacation has a full month to go. In other places, you might be back in school in only a week! If school is imminent, you need to start your essay as soon as possible. It doesn’t have to be finished before you return. But your inner timekeeper will start to rush your brainstorming process if it’s crowded out by schoolwork.
Now, I’m biased—but I strongly recommend working with a coach for the essay. With expert guidance, there’s no need to procrastinate on how to get started. Working one-on-one adds a layer of accountability and also an escape valve for anxiety if the process is still hard or scary.
If you’re not sure you need that level of help—or just don’t want to commit to it yet—consider instead my Essay Kick-Off Workshop. I created this program specifically for students who feel overwhelmed by the essay-writing process. If you consider yourself a good writer but feel confused by the ways in which the college essay is different from everything else you write—this is the help you’ve been looking for. The Workshop will give you the guidance you need to brainstorm thoroughly and organize effectively, setting you up to draft and edit on your own. The pieces I teach in this workshop are the foundation for all of my college essay work—they’ve been guiding students to successful essays for more than ten years.
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Today’s To-Dos
This is getting to be a long list. Keep assigning yourself one task at a time; just make sure you’ve scheduled it so that you don’t run out of time. One great feature of the Essay Kick-Off Workshop is that you can schedule it for one day and get the first third of your essay-related tasks done.
- Sign up for the Common App when it opens on August 1
- Fill in all of the fussy informational pieces of the Common App.
- Finish your college list and make sure all of the schools are on the Common App (if they aren’t, look at their individual applications).
- Start brainstorming for your essay (if you don’t opt for the Workshop, definitely read the free article at the Subscriber Hub telling you a bit more about the prompts).
