ADHDer here who has tried so many different methods (and medications) over the years. what works for me doesnāt always work for my friends who also have ADHD, which means itās kind of a treasure hunt to figure out what works best for you. i especially struggled a lot with executive dysfunction in college and had trouble forgetting basic homework and turning in writing assignments days or weeks (and, once, two months) late.
there are a lot of simple tips that non-ADHD people will try to give you that can potentially help, but itās not a cure-all for executive dysfunction. the big ones are planners (i have like 3-5 planners/calendars and todo lists which can help me keep on track at my current job, but that hasnāt always worked for me) and āhave better time managementā (and of course they never expand on that supposed advice). iāve been diagnosed with ADHD since i was 7 years old, so iāve heard and tried it allā¦
hereās what works for me now as someone who works 40 hours/week and when i was in school:
ā¢ BREAK DOWN TASKS INTO SMALLER BITS. this is my #1 go-to for any work or assignments involving writing. outlining, Extremely Rough drafts that i can tinker for a few minutes at a time when iām feeling motivated, messy bullet points and half-baked opening paragraph sentences. even if iām scribbling stuff that wonāt end up in the final product, but youāre getting your brain in the habit of thinking about and planning your writing earlier in the assignment process.
ā¢ LETTING GO OF IDEAL PRODUCTIVITY AND PERFECTION. this is more of a personal tip, but i think some of my procrastination and executive dysfunction when it came to assignments came from anxiety around how i was expected to perform productivity in a neurotypical fashion and my own crippling anxiety around perfectionism. this may not apply to you, but i think itās always helpful to remember that you do not have to adhere to societyās ideas about what productivity āshouldā look like. this is also why the tip of trying to manufacture urgency or deadlines doesnāt work for me.
ā¢ PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR BRAIN. learn what cues you to feel motivated. adjust your environment to incorporate those cues even more and reduce distractions or executive dysfunction. (for me, that includes having a clean workspace and some headphone or earbuds in even if nothing is playing. if i am playing something, itās usually non-lyrical music at a low volume or a video essay iāve already listened to 200+ times.)
ā¢ TAKE A WALK. this is something that i started doing recently and iāve found that it helps me feel more alert and my brain less muddled/unable to focus.
ā¢ finally: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. i definitely made my executive dysfunction worse in college by not eating well orāmore specificallyānot sleeping enough. speaking from experience, the psychological connection between your brain and body is critical in how effective these tips for dealing with executive dysfunction can be.
this may not be as simple as youāre hoping for, but i do hope that this helps. ā¤ļø
Mar 23, 2025
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Thank you sooo much for this! I loveee going on walks, sometimes it helps me organize my ideas as I repeat them to myself while I walk too! this was super helpful, thank you š«¶š¼š«¶š¼
Mar 24, 2025
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i relate to almost everything u said, i was unable to do anything until literally an hour before the due date. one thing iāve learned over the years is that normal advice like āmake a scheduleā and ādevelop habitsā do not work at all for adhd ppl, bc our brains are not made to do those things. this makes things difficult, but it doesnāt mean achieving our goals is impossible. here are some things that have helped me personally:
- pomodoro method (there are timers on youtube). sitting down and actually timing myself has helped me a lot. also it helps me feel better with just how fast time goes by. working very hard and getting the notification that 15 minutes has passed, helps me to remember that sometimes small steps are easier than they feel like.
- my therapist told me that instead of worrying so much about how much work i could be doing all the time, i should just work on it when i actually feel like doing it. so if i only have motivation an hour before, thatās when i would do it. the stress i used to feel a month before an assignment was due, significantly decreased bc of this new mindset, and it actually felt like my ability to do things increased. itās not a good long term solution, but when ur in a tough spot, allowing urself to sacrifice some late time in order to not feel as much mental stress is worth it for ur mental health.
- realizing that a lot of my motivation was based on what i thought would please others. i feel like this isnāt commonly talked about among ADHD circles, but once i learned about it, it kind of changed my life (fr). i realized that i couldnāt work the most productive way i could, if i was being watched or within someoneās sight. i also procrastinate a lot in order to avoid being judged by others for how slow or disorganized i work. even then, procrastinating causes me to feel more judged by others bc im scared they are thinking im being lazy. so to avoid this, i try my best to work alone or ask someone to do parallel play instead of help me directly. however, i know some ppl benefit from the opposite, having someone around to keep them accountable. it all just comes down to personal preference.
- making sure my needs are met. did i get enough sleep? have i eaten recently within the last 4 hrs? have i drank enough water? did i take my medicine? do i feel too overstimulated; if so, how can i change my environment? do i need headphones? do i need to wash my face or take a shower? do i need to change the lighting? is the temperature too hot or too cold? are my clothes too overwhelming / scratchy? these are some of the things that can keep me from working productively, so i have to keep track of these questions whenever i feel distracted.
- donāt beat urself up. giving into shame and causing urself mental distress will only increase ur anxiety and make u more unable to work. remind urself that ur just now figuring urself out and u are trying ur best. plus, u have good intentions. ur just trying to figure out how to work better and more productively! i think thats all anyone can ask for.
anyways i hope this helps maybe. everyone has a different way of getting things done, so not all things will help or apply to u (which doesnt mean somethingās wrong with u, just that the advice wasnāt meant for u!). also seeking specifically adhd related forums / groups / blogs / youtube channels / etc. helps a lot when trying to find different types of advice other than āwork harderā lol.
good luck and u r not alone! š«¶š
Mar 23, 2025
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hi from another lifelong ADHD insomniac!! I still have nights where it's hard but here's what works for me:
āļø no caffeine in the afternoon/night! sucks but it will really help if you can stick to it
šµ pick a time to stop looking at screens! an hour before you need to sleep, start reading a book, journaling, skin care, etc...but no screens
š short meditation! if my brain won't turn off, I try to do deep-breathing and practice a meditation. calms my busy brain down but also helps me in other areas of my life. there are lots of short 3-5min ones on YT
š§ earplugs or rain noise! I'm really sensitive to sound at night...soft foam earplugs put me in the sleep zone
š medication! ask your doctor about sleep meds, esp if you take daily ADHD meds. I struggled for so long before I asked a dr for help and idk why! you can also try: magnesium gummies/CALM powder, zzzquil, melatonin
āļø daydream...in bed! take your mind somewhere nice: a bucket list place, a nostalgic memory, a fantasy world, a cozy room...and hopefully fall into a real dream
ADHD-specific Tips:
āļø Just try one new thing at a time and commit to trying it every night for a few days or a week and see what sticks!
āļø keep a list next to your bed of what works so you can remind yourself if you forget
āļø remember to always be gentle and kind to yourself!!
May 7, 2024
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Real talk? ADHD meds work great but obviously not always what suits the situation best. What works best for me is making lists, setting timers and going with the flow. Kinda depends on what flavour of ADHD you have but with me I noticed that my executive functioning improved once I stopped trying to force it and started making the most of the productive energy bursts I felt. Not a perfect method though and meds were definitely easier.
Sep 16, 2024
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libraries are genuinely so cool like can you imagine the government creating public libraries today?????? no! they fucking hate the idea of public goods and services that people can access for FREE
Feb 6, 2025
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itās a struggle to try and stay positive (read: not fall into a deep pit of despair and general hopelessness) throughout all of this. i work in a public library in a purple state that has thankfully yet to see massive pushback from organizations trying to censor resources in public and school libraries, but that may change at any moment. i donāt know if the federal funding freeze will have any impact on public library funding and what that means for me going forward. more importantly, what that would mean for the people who rely on the library. itās too easy to get sucked into justā¦ general malaise about our current situation.
it certainly doesnāt help that iāve been sick with the flu for the past three days either.
i recently read anxious people by fredrik backman for a book club i facilitate at my library and thereās a passage towards the end that i havenāt been able to stop thinking about since i finished the book:
āThe truth. There isn't any. All we've managed to find out about the boundaries of the universe is that it hasn't got any, and all we know about God is that we don't know anything. So the only thing a mom who was a priest demanded of her family was simple: that we do our best.
We plant an apple tree today, even if we know the world is going to be destroyed tomorrow.ā
Feb 1, 2025
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bring back bedtime stories!!!!!!
Feb 4, 2025