[spacecase]

I can't keep track of due dates and assignments. It's impossible. No matter how hard I try, I just can't do it. I've tried keeping a planner, but ironically, I can't remember to write in it! Sometimes I loose it and when I do remember to write in it, I can't find it. I swear I spend 80% of my life looking for things. Honestly, I'm pretty good at completing homework, if I remember what the assignment was. Alot of the time, I loose the assignment that I did. I signed up for an online course (which I should've known would be a bad idea, and I just logged in to take a quiz and finish a required post, but both have already been closed because I forgot I was supposed to do it yesterday. That's going to be SUCH a big impact on my grade! I had a goal for myself to complete EVERY assignment and do awesome on EVERY quiz and exam, and this is a horrible start to the semester. I've really been studdying, ALOT! I just wanted straight A's, or atleast B's! I'm ok with B's! I HAVE to pass these classes and do as well as I can so that not only can I keep my financial aid, but I can sometime in the near future transfer to a university. I can't see that happening now though, not as horrible as a student I am now. I've been telling myself that I did bad in highschool only because I wasn't trying hard enough. But I've been trying to the best of my ability in community college, I really have, and it's just not working. I don't know why I can't do this.

Congratulations, spacecase, for what you have been able to accomplish. Have you been tested for any learning disabilities?

[Perna]

Maybe you can find someone in one of your classes that can help? A study buddy or someone to just email/text/call you every evening and give you that evening's assignment?

I have a calendar and post it near where I do my work and/or a copy to carry around with me so I can note appointments and dates when they come up. Every morning when I get up I look at it first, as part of my journaling/getting "ready" for the day ahead to see what's on my to-do list, calendar, what I'm thinking/wanting to do that day.

Maybe you can think of a little reward system to help remind yourself? Assign a favorite artist to each class and get a song from napster or Amazon or iTunes, etc. by that artist for each week you write down all your assignments in that class?

Make a personal connection with the class/assignment right away when it happens. If you're assigned something in an online class, go to the class and look at the assignment and think about it when you're not there so you can't forget it but are anxious to get in there and reply? I had a lot of rewrites of the same material to do over and over once (could get additional points if I added "more" of what was wanted) and finally I spent a whole weekend writing the whole thing in verse! Took me hours to write about 5-10 pages but I didn't forget that material very fast since I had had to work so hard to write it as poetry, LOL.

You might want to be evaluated for ADHD. You sound so much like my adhd son. There are therapies out there to help you deal with this. Modifications can be made for school if you qualify as adhd. You might want to check with your school's counseling department/services and see if they can help you.

[NATO]

Don't listen to the doom and gloom speech. An old slogan was once if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Some seem to believe its now, at first you don't succeed, diagnose yourself and blame the illness. Being a perfect student takes practice. I entered high school with that goal and tried so hard and had so many mishaps. Just a few weeks ago I forgot a LOT of assignments at home and got half credit, it brought my grade down from an A+ to an A-. It happens.

Years earlier such mistakes where more common. As you get used to giving it everything you have, you get better at it. You'll get better at remembering things, it takes time. Trying as hard as you can is a skill that can be improved upon. You don't need a reward system, you don't need a notebook or anything, and you don't have ADHD. People with ADHD couldn't even commit to attempting to use a notebook, let alone being able to devout 80% of their time to any task. Be confident in your abilities, and use your anger and frustrations to fuel your further efforts.

Good luck.

How is it going, spacecase?