Having ADHD is a bit like being behind the wheel of a race car with no brakes and touchy steering. You’re fast, sure, but you’re also surrounded by other drivers who are jockeying for position, and all that noise makes it difficult to focus on the turns ahead. ADHD influences the way we perceive and interact with the world around us.
Rather than fighting against your symptoms, you can utilize different tricks and tools to navigate a neurotypically organized world. Here are 6 tips to help you focus if you have ADHD.
1. Budget for Extra Time
People with ADHD often work best when they take small breaks throughout the day. Accordingly, it’s important to budget for extra time. Consider scheduling breaks at regular intervals, which will help refresh your ability to stay on task. You should also allot time for secondary tasks or distractions that may come up while working on your primary task.
Additionally, ADHD frequently goes hand-in-hand with forgetfulness. Individuals with ADHD often lose keys, misplace wallets, and forget things they need. Budgeting extra time helps provide a window to ensure you get places on time with everything you need.
2. Calendars & Scheduling
It’s impossible to overstate this enough, but for people with ADHD, it’s critical to utilize calendars. Scheduling your day helps create windows of focus. Individuals with ADHD often struggle to work without the pressure of a deadline, so having a slot on your calendar can trigger the urgency required to focus and get things done.
3. Prioritize Tasks
ADHD often thrives on urgency. As a result, individuals with ADHD often find it difficult to tackle tasks beyond the most immediate ones. Often, this means that more important tasks are deprioritized in favor of the most obvious ones. One of the best strategies for counteracting this involves carving out time each day to prioritize important tasks.
Each morning, create a checklist of your objectives for the day. You can use this list to maintain focus and drive urgency.
4. Set Visual Reminders
With ADHD, out of sight is often out of mind. Accordingly, visual reminders are a key strategy that people with ADHD can use to ensure they don’t lose track of where things are or what they need. Some examples of visual reminders include:
Post-it notes on the front door, with lists of items you need to take with you.
Physical reminders of tasks on your desk or workspace.
Put things you need to remember with critical items, such as your keys or wallet.
Place notes in your pockets or wallet to remind you of tasks.
5. Chunking
During the planning stage of a project or task, people with ADHD often struggle with something referred to as scope creep. A small idea develops into something complex or grand. When it comes time to start on those grand ideas, the scale of them can be daunting. As a result, people with ADHD need to practice breaking big ideas and tasks up into smaller, achievable components.
Breaking tasks up into smaller ‘chunks’ reduces the strain on ADHD folks, allowing them to focus and accomplish component tasks.
Break down larger tasks into smaller tasks.
Group similar tasks together.
Limit the scope or scale of tasks and projects.
Take time to organize ideas & thoughts.
Study material in smaller, focused segments.
6. Be Flexible
Individuals with ADHD have a tremendous ability to focus — especially when a task is unusual or novel in some way. Focusing on more mundane tasks or projects can be difficult without something to spark your hyperfocus. Sometimes, the best solution is to let your hyperfocus lead the way. Instead of getting caught up in what you should be doing, let your muse lead you and let that hyperfocus run wild.
Schedule an Appointment
Are you struggling to manage ADHD? Do you feel like your ADHD is holding you back? On the contrary, with the right strategies and techniques, ADHD can be turned into a superpower. Schedule an appointment today for anxiety or depression therapy to learn how your ADHD can be used to your benefit.
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