My Advice for Adults With ADHD
When you are an adult with ADHD, it can be difficult to find advice online that isn't aimed at parents who have children with ADHD, or wasn’t written by someone who actually has ADHD. This has been a frustration of mine for many years, so I finally sat myself down and wrote out a list of my favorite ways to manage my ADHD as an adult. For background, I am a 23 year old woman who was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 8, and I am currently in college getting a BA in history with plans to remain in academia as a full-time historian. The following list is what I have developed throughout high school and university to be successful.
*Disclaimer- All of the following tips are things that I developed on my own through years of experience. If any of the following advice has been stated by others previously it is purely a coincidence.
Remembering Things
Don’t bother with a traditional planner. As most people with ADHD know, they rarely work for us. A much better option is a small whiteboard/dry erase calendar or even just post-it notes stuck on the wall where you can write your reminders. These are things that we can put in our direct line of sight where we can clearly see them, unlike a planner that can be put down and forgotten about.
When you need to remember to do something, set an alarm on your phone immediately for when you need to start it or have it done by. This is much more effective than using your phone calendar or a reminder app because it’s a lot harder to miss or ignore an alarm going off than it is to miss a regular notification. I recommend using the most obnoxious alarm tone possible.
Carry a small notepad with you. Whenever you think of something that you need to remember to do or have a thought that you don’t want to forget, write it down immediately. Don’t assume that you’ll remember it later. It’s also beneficial to do this because getting the thought out of your mind and onto paper can prevent the thought from distracting you. This can also be done in your phone’s notes app if you are the kind of person that uses the notes app often.
Getting Stuff Done
Keep your to-do lists small and manageable. Having any more than 5 things on a to-do list is likely going to be more overwhelming than helpful, so keep it short. Decide what things need to be completed most urgently and what can wait.
Surprisingly simple actions can help fight procrastination and help initiate tasks. If you have been putting something off, the quick actions of standing up, closing your laptop, turning off the TV, or opening up Google Docs can help set you in motion and build the inertia you need to get it over with. (This is the tip I used to finally get myself to type up this list)
This might seem small, but thinking about how nice and relieved you’ll feel when it’s finally done has been extremely helpful for me.
For When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed
When your thoughts get to be too much and you feel overwhelmed, do a brain dump. Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and do a stream of consciousness free write of whatever is on your mind at the time. It’s important to offload your thoughts now and then in order to clear them out. This is something my high school writing teacher had us do to boost creativity, but I found that it also helped clear my mind.
Another way I like to do this is by writing a list of everything I’m thinking about at the time. My brain is always trying to think about 15 different topics at once, so I’ll go into my notes app and list them all out. Getting them out of my brain and into a visible list is very calming.
Get moving. When I start to feel anxious and overwhelmed I will often stop what I’m doing and move around my house or office for a few minutes, especially if I’ve been sitting down for a long time. This interrupts my thoughts and gets rid of stagnant energy around me, and I’ll almost always feel better afterwards.
Studying
Take breaks now and then, but keep them around 10-15 minutes. It’s easy to lose steam and not be able to finish what you are working on if you take breaks that are too long. You can schedule your breaks if you want to, but I personally prefer to take a break whenever it feels right for my mind and body.
Try adding background noise if you are studying, writing an essay, or working on any other project. This can give your brain the stimulation that it needs to stay focused. Putting on music is the most popular way to do this. I personally like to put on a movie or show that I’ve already seen many times so I don’t get distracted by new information, but this might not work for everyone.
Try flexible seating. Not many people with ADHD are able to sit in a normal chair at a desk the way others can, so don’t be afraid to try something else. My “desk” is actually a coffee table that I sit on the floor in front of. When this starts to get uncomfortable I will switch to sitting on an exercise ball.
I hope you are able to find this list helpful. I may make a follow-up list if I think of anything else that I missed here.
