If you have ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, everything can be overwhelming, even the most mundane tasks. ADHD presents a real challenge to people across all areas of life and is detrimental to their health if left untreated. Usual symptoms are over-procrastination, failure to meet demands, and impulsive behavior.
This article will cover how to manage a productive life as someone with ADHD properly. The points below are not just band-aid solutions but healthy practices to live as productive as possible. Read more below and take charge of your life today!
Table of Contents
Set Reminders on Your Medications
Not everyone deals with medications when diagnosed with ADHD. However, if you are one of them, you know that regular intake of your medications is vital for your well-being.
Always set reminders and notes when to take your medications and store them in places you can see, like bedside tables or near your fridge. Additionally, you can take the extra step and set reminders to refill your medications in case you run out and switch to stores that offer prescription discounts.
Money Management
Impulse buying is one of the apparent symptoms of ADHD, and uncontrolled impulses can wreck your finances and put you into debt. As much as possible, put a stop to this or control it. Fortunately, here are a few things you can do to avoid spending too much.
Shop with cash: Leave your credit cards and only bring cash. You can bring yourself out of the impulse when you don’t have the means to buy such items.
Use a Calculator:
Do simple math, such as deducting the price from your budget on your phone. It can give you time to think through the impulse and judge whether purchasing the item makes sense.
Remove Temptations: Block email retailers and newsletters from shops and stay away from places you’d likely spend money with, like malls. If you can’t see them, you won’t likely spend your money on unnecessary things.
Set up a Reward System
By putting up small rewards or turning your tasks into a game, you could motivate yourself to be more productive.
You can start with getting treats whenever you finish a task or project within a period or giving yourself an hour of gaming whenever you do your daily tasks. Doing this more becomes a practice and gives you a sense of accomplishment when doing tasks. And for most of us, we tend to do more things associated with reward or positivity.
Reduce Your Screen Usage
Mobile phones and other devices can quickly lose track of time and contribute to over-procrastination. You must reduce screen time by setting up reminders or screen schedules to remedy this. For emphasis, setting limitations is crucial in managing your ADHD, and a simple timer can help you move on from distractions and focus on the task at hand.
Get New Stimulation
The way the mind works for those with ADHD is different from others. Specifically, your brain is wired to focus on new stimuli rather than mundane, everyday tasks.
If you feel you’re doing the same thing repeatedly, a simple change might help you reset your brain into being productive. For example, redecorating your room or assigning yourself a new task allows your brain to process more information and restrict your symptoms.
If you need ideas, try setting out new hobbies that don’t require much commitment, like cooking, sketching, jogging outside, and reading a book. Such small hobbies and changes are important for getting new sources of stimulation and ensuring that your brain processes information as effectively as possible.
Seek Genuine Connections
Finding social support and becoming connected with a proper social circle has a tremendous impact on your mental health and managing your ADHD. Living alone or being socially disconnected can be detrimental to long-term health and worsen your symptoms.
As good as it is for you and others, some might be hesitant to connect for many reasons. If you feel that way, remember that being vulnerable once in a while is good. It helps you open up to your struggles and releases your deep-seated tension and thoughts about ADHD.
We advise starting small and slow. Try catching up with a colleague or bond with your family. With enough time and patience, you can get yourself a positive social circle that understands your problems and helps you go through it.
Improve Your Balance
Your cerebellum, a part of the brain that manages coordination, is tightly linked with ADHD. That’s why there is a general clumsiness for those with ADHD. On top of that, it is also found that the cerebellum is responsible for emotion regulation and attention, among other higher brain functions.
That said, it would be best if you could get some ways to properly stimulate and train your cerebellum to handle your symptoms better and encourage a more efficient and productive person. Simple tasks like balancing or exercising daily can mitigate those symptoms over long periods of time.
Additionally, this could be a good reason to try out sports and other physical activities like dancing to completely live as normal as possible with ADHD. Not to mention, you’re making yourself lean and increase dopamine levels to combat stress and depression brought by it.
Be Organizational
Be it at work or home, organizing your items and tasks is very helpful to remove sources of distractions and promote productivity. Here are some key points that you can do.
Set Reminders for Cleaning: Mess is very distracting, especially for those with ADHD. Set yourself a stern reminder to declutter now and then to remove distractions.
Labels and Color Coding: This is extremely helpful when your work involves a lot of data, papers, or distractions. Invest in color-coded storage boxes and label stickers to know which is which in case you get lost in the moment due to distractions or impulses.
Priority Lists: Always set a checklist or post a note of the things that need to be done in order. You can manage your forgetfulness and do tasks without being tempted to multitask or procrastinate. You can even set self-imposed deadlines to encourage you to focus.
Be in a Productive Space
Setting yourself in a productive area allows your brain to go into working mode. If you work remotely, you may need to take the extra effort of turning your room into a workspace. Do this by making it look like an office using organizational items, bright lights, and reminders.
Additionally, you can sit in front of the speaker when attending conferences and seminars. Get as close as possible to remove yourself from chatting with other people or fiddling with your phone.
Final Thoughts
Living with ADHD is challenging, and not everyone can understand your challenges in handling daily life. Fortunately, ADHD is a widely recognized condition with millions of methods to help you get through the day.
The points stated can not only remove you from the usual symptoms and distractions, but it can be a healthy step up towards a stronger mindset and a quality standard of life. And if you’ve read up to this point, congratulations! You just made the first step in dealing with ADHD easier and better.
