Course responsibilities, navigating your classes each semester, and balancing all that needs to get done can be a challenge. There are lots of campus resources and strategies that can help. First, know when (morning, afternoon, etc.) and where (library, study room, coffee shop, etc.) you work best, this can help you maximize your focus and efficiency. Next, do your best to remove distractions (i.e., closing programs, turn off notifications, put phone away, etc.). Setting yourself up to work also includes making sure you've had healthy food, enough water, sleep, and some physical activity so that you can sit down to complete assignments with better focus. And, it may mean listing out the tasks that need to be completed, and breaking those down into easily accomplishable steps.

If you could benefit from additional academic support make sure to take advantage of your professor’s office hours, available tutoring or mentoring opportunities if offered within your major, as well as support available through the Learning Centers. For study skills and time management resources, check out Learning Success Strategies. 

Academic accommodations can be arranged for those with documentation of a diagnosed disability. Use the documentation guidelines from the Office of Disability Services to see how to qualify. 

Although we don't test for ADHD or manage ADHD medication at the Counseling Center, we are happy to provide our students with ADHD resources to see if they should pursue testing elsewhere. 

Another assessment request we commonly get is for alcohol and substance abuse. Although the Counseling Center does not have the resources available to manage these requests, JMU's Health Promotion services do. They offer Substance Misuse Coaching that assesses alcohol and/or substance abuse in a two-stage process. This complementary assessment helps students understand their usage habits in detail and provides students with tools to change those habits.