Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD Tips Tricks and Resources
Here are some tools that might help some people with ADHD. I say some because some ADHD tools and tips work great for one person and not at all for another. The problem with ADHD resources is a person might try a few, discover they don't work for them and determine that all ADHD tools don't help. There is a saying, if you've met one person with ADHD, you've met one person with ADHD. Because it presents differently in everyone, a one size solution doesn't fit all. For that reason I suggest trying a bunch, and learning about yourself during the process. ADHD symptoms can also fluctuate over time, so it might be a good idea to try an ADHD tool again that you wrote off a while ago, because it might hit different on a different day or time of day.
Get Productive with the Pomodoro Technique:
The Pomodoro Technique is a way to do a bit of work, then take a break, and do a bit more work, and then a break. The idea is that the short breaks allow a person to have more energy to tackle the task. Without breaks, a person might put off the task because they are dreading it, or if they try to just power through their attention wanders or becomes exhausted. You can vary up the time on task and break, but it is common to spend 25 min on task, followed by a 5 min break. You would take a 15min break every 2hrs. You can use your phone, kitchen timer, or they have websites/apps that can time for you:
https://zapier.com/blog/best-pomodoro-apps/
Something that can also be helpful are Youtube videos that have background music that have timers built in:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pomodoro+study
For the breaks it is a good idea to choose to do something you enjoy that is different than the task. If you are working at a computer, for example, do some kind of physical activity for the break is better than surfing online.
Gamification Can Help People With ADHD Be More Productive
Another ADHD tool is gamification. The idea is that tasks are boring, so we want to avoid them. Making them a game can give it that little extra interest to motivate. There are lots of different ways to do this. A low effort way is by calling them missions or quests instead of tasks. You can also think of yourself like a character. You might not want to do the dishes, but it might be easier to make the 4th level knight have to clean the inn keeper's dishes as a side quest. You could count to see if there are more forks or spoons as you go, with a condition that happens if there ends up being more forks.
There are ADHD gamification apps that help with plenty of examples of fun ways to make things more interesting. You can even create point systems and rewards for completing any kind of thing you want in your life.
AI Productivity Tool for ADHD
This is a productivity tool. You can give it a task, and it can break it down into smaller tasks if you want: https://goblin.tools/
That can be helpful to have it not seem overwhelming by focusing on one small thing. It also has a thing that can help you word things to sound more formal, like if you need to communicate with a teacher. Other tools as well.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Increase the Stakes
Often people with ADHD need the pressure of consequences to provide enough dopamine to engage in a task. Making it fun is a way to get more dopamine, but feeling the pressure of punishment or negative consequences can be motivating, where self-acceptance and being kind to the self might not, leading to guilt/shame for not completing the task.
Improve ADHD Symptoms With Exercise
High intensity exercise has been shown to improve functioning.
Listening to music/audiobooks while doing chores is good for some, distracting for others. Sometimes choice of music/audiobook makes a difference.
Some find putting on running shoes makes them feel more motivated when doing chores.
Managing energy levels can be key. Knowing when a person has more energy, and when they might be depleted, and coordinating tasks to coincide.
Relationships with Someone Who Has ADHD
People with ADHD have many qualities that can make them good partners, and there are some aspects that can make things more challenging if not understood. For instance, hyperfocus on the subject of desire can look to some like love-bombing to a partner if they didn't understand. This cheat sheet has six common relationship problems people with ADHD might run into and what to do about them: https://www.additudemag.com/download/adhd-and-marriage-problems-relationship-solutions
Here are some videos/channels that are good:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVCldvV9TWPPGM0kRB91G7w?
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nPM1_kSZf91ZGkcgy_95Q