Finding ADHD tips for adults that are actually helpful and easy to do is not a simple task. I have gathered some of the best tips and tricks for ADHD both from extensive research and my personal experience to help you live your best life with ADHD.
WHAT IS ADHD
ADHD short for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a mental health condition. Amongst other things, it involves impulsive decisions and behaviors, difficulty paying attention, and hyperactivity.
The characteristics of ADHD may not sound all that serious but they can lead to serious outcomes. Adults with ADHD are a lot more likely to struggle with addiction, get divorced, be unemployed, and struggle with antisocial disorders. Everyone struggles to a degree with some ADHD symptoms but in order to get diagnosed the symptoms must be persistent and disturb daily life.
Although many tend to believe that different factors can lead to the development of ADHD it is solely a neurodevelopmental disorder. Societal impacts and treatment can worsen or improve symptoms but the route of the disorder is in the brain.
ADHD develops in children and most times the symptoms continue into adulthood. Adhd symptoms in adults tend to portray differently than in children. Some common signs and symptoms of adult ADHD are addiction problems, emotional difficulties, relationship problems, sleep issues, low self-esteem, mood swings, and more.
ADHD TIPS FOR ADULTS
1. List Apps
If it’s not written down I’m not getting it done. Those of us with ADHD tend to be forgetful and have problems staying organized. Having it all written down in one place makes my life so much easier. Not only does this help with remembering but also with time management. Using list apps is one of my favorite organization tips for ADHD adults. Personally, I use the Todoist app to keep track of what I need to do, this app is perfect for staying on track with work, school, and home duties.
2. Night Prepping
ADHD and sleep problems go hand in hand and this has a major effect on our mornings. We wake up tired and grumpy(that is if we even get up) and end up not doing the things we need to do and being at the places we need to be. This is where night prepping comes into play. Organize whatever you can the night before, take out clothes, cook food, pack bags, and basically do what you can to make getting ready in the morning as easy as possible.
3. Timing Is Everything
Adults with ADHD tend to have a skewed perception of time. Usually, this comes with being very bad at estimating how long it will take to complete a task or arrive at an event. A great time management tip for adults with ADHD is giving yourself more time than you think you’ll need. Say you think you’ll need 30 minutes to get ready. Instead when planning ahead add an additional 10 minutes. That way you are more likely to stay on track without having to rush.
4. Stick To A Schedule
As mentioned at the beginning of the post many ADHD adults lack impulse control. In the past, I would start many tasks at once and never finish them. Sticking to a schedule has been extremely helpful with this. You decide what to do ahead of time and tackle it, this way your impulses and distractions don’t get in the way of doing what you need to do. Adults with ADHD tend to become anxious and get stuck on minor details. Remember not to be too strict with the schedule and use it more as a guideline. It’s okay if you miss a task or aren’t perfectly on time, the idea is to help you concentrate and get things done.
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5. Fight Hyperfocusing
Contrary to popular belief ADHD isn’t necessarily a deficit of attention but more of a problem with regulating your attention span. People with ADHD have the ability to hyperfocus on a specific task, usually, those that are urgent or of immense interest. When hyper-fixated those with ADHD become extremely focused on whatever they are doing and block out the world around them. This can last for hours at a time if someone or something from the outside doesn’t stop them. Sometimes this can mess up plans for the whole day because you end up so hyper-fixated on a certain task that you don’t realize how much time has gone by. To make sure this doesn’t happen set alarms, or ask your loved ones to call ahead of time, in order to make sure you stay on track.
6. Friendships With ADHD
Maintaining social relationships for adults with ADHD can be difficult for many different reasons. Life, in general, can feel quite overwhelming with ADHD, and trying to keep up with your friends and family can worsen that feeling. Moreover, we tend to be forgetful and don’t always remember to socialize and stay in touch. We also tend to get bored easily and find it hard to stay consistent. We often feel as though we need breaks from certain friendships. Remind yourself how valuable your friendships are and when faced with the dilemma of socializing or doing something else that you might want to do more don’t forget the pay-off. If you won’t put work into the friendship you will end up without it. And is that really what you want? Also, make time for socializing in your calendar. Plan ahead and commit to it.
7. ADHD And Decision Making
Adults with ADHD tend to procrastinate and have a hard time making decisions. Something that works great when it comes to ADHD and decision-making is making value-based choices. When I bought a new phone, deciding between all the different models, camera qualities, storage sizes, prices, and more drove me nuts. In the end, I decided that my key values were price and storage and I picked a phone based solely on those factors. You decide what factors are of greatest importance to you and make your choice based on them. That way you simplify your options while still making the best choice for you.
8. Write It Down
Staying committed to a specific task with ADHD is hard, to say the least. Random thoughts and ideas are probably popping into your head all the time. Your impulsiveness takes over and you end up dropping whatever it is you’re doing and moving on to conquering the thought that came up. This usually ends up with you moving from one thing to another and not actually getting anything efficiently done. Keeping a notebook or app that you can use at all times for these thoughts and ideas can be very efficient. Leave a time slot every day to go over your notebook and decide what to do with each thought or idea. Whether it be adding a reminder to your calendar, making time to work on an idea, or adding on to your to-do list.
9. Use ADHD Brain To Your Advantage
One of the most important ADHD tips and tricks for adults is using ADHD traits to your advantage. Yes, ADHD can make life difficult and has quite a few disadvantages. But if used correctly ADHD can also be a gift in disguise. People with ADHD are extremely creative and independent, we are great with projects of personal interest and new ideas. Did you know that those with ADHD are 300% more likely to start their own businesses? Doing things that we love and are passionate about helps keep stimulate our ADHD brains and keep them focused. Meaning that using your creativity and listening to your heart and passions are key to your success. Adults with ADHD also have great problem-solving skills which are extremely helpful in every and any field. Know your strengths and work with them.
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