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Coping with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can only be compared to a constant war with a clock, placement of attentiveness, and duties performed with effortless ease by other people. The fight is not just about the will to achieve a goal; it is also a will to start the said goal, to fend off distractions, and to cope with the pressure that comes with life. Very basic things such as cleaning up a messy room or even completing a school assignment may feel like a steep mountain to climb for some people. Dealing with ADHD in this contemporary world is somewhat challenging, especially with its fast pace and technological connectivity. The good thing, however, is that these challenges can be taken care of gradually, and chaos can be transformed into calm with the right strategies in place.
Such simple life developments are, of course, not limited to specific activities but rather can be applied on a daily basis. They will not, of course, bring about an immediate cure, but within some of your practices, they may improve the way you do some of your practices, lessening the aggravation. Facing this particular battle reinforces your ability to handle your ADHD and encourages the acquisition of more effective coping mechanisms.
What are some of the evidence-based modifications to consider in the case of ADHD that can help lessen the impact of the condition?
The inability to manage time is one of the major challenges faced by individuals with ADHD. The Pomodoro Technique is a simple yet one of the most effective worked-out strategies to keep someone engaged in performing a task for extremely short periods. This technique gets its name from the term ‘pomodoro,’ meaning working for 25 minutes and taking a break of 5 minutes. It is common practice that after four pomodoros, there is a long break of 15-30 minutes.
How so: The attention span of an ADHD brain, according to research, is never very long, particularly when the work at hand cannot be segmented into smaller sections. The Pomodoro Technique places good limits on the amount of work one can do without any distraction. One works against the danger of neglecting the task at hand but still takes care with the risk of tiring out. Working for too long without a break is bound to lead to mental fatigue, which is a hard thing to endure for an individual living with ADHD.
This technique is incorporated in cases of individuals suffering from an ADHD crisis, where they apply it depending on the level of their concentration. For most of them, it is more convenient to work for 10-15 minutes and take a break. Everything is done in order to accomplish the routine in such a manner that one does not get so tensed up yet gets into the task.
Time blindness, or cognitive time distortion, is what this condition is called. This is most common among those persons who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in which the person is unable to judge the accurate amount of time or how long any particular task may take. This can result in difficulties like meeting submission deadlines or getting carried away in activities that are supposed to take a few minutes. A nice solution is to geotag alerts in such a manner that they are set at different times of the day, as this will help reinstate the sense of time.
Pro Tip: You can also employ creative measures, such as using different sounds for the various alarms that you set. For instance, the midnight closure of business can be supplemented with alarms two or three hours before or after the closing hour for management of time within breaks or forward-shifting of activities. This is helpful in providing some external prompts that help in keeping people on track without having to look at the time regularly.
ADHD tends to make someone fear those tasks that appear large and daunting. A person suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may often go around in circles thinking, ‘I don’t want to begin if I can’t complete the entire task.’ In this regard, it helps if the larger tasks are subdivided into smaller, less daunting portions.
How it works: This strategy is sometimes referred to as chunking in psychological circles and is the process of taking one large task and dividing it into smaller, manageable tasks instead of attempting to complete them all at once. For example, instead of cleaning the whole house at once, attempts to clean one room or even one side of a room can be made. The technique helps in distributing stress and therefore makes it easier to begin because the task is less daunting.
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It is perhaps even more difficult to deal with clutter for a person with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder because the congestion is not only physical but mental as well, and this adds more stress and distraction. One such example is the One-Minute rule, which was established by Gretchen Rubin, one of the happiness professionals, which complements the issue of decluttering spaces for the ADHD nature. The phrase is self-explanatory. ‘If you can do it in less than a minute, do it now.’ This may entail tasks like hanging a coat, stowing away a mug or disposing of an unwanted bill. Step by step, these actions pave the way towards resolving what at first may appear as an overwhelming task.
Rationale: For the most part, disorder and chaos do not creep in but rather come in as a result of neglecting small things, putting them off one after the other. The objective of the One-Minute Rule is to deal with such ‘micro-tasks’ before they become hindrances. For some, it may help enhance attention by minimising external disturbances when a neat environment is maintained, as it is for ADHD patients.
Body Doubling is a practice whereby a person does certain work in the presence of another person. This technique may lean on social pressure. The second individual does not have to actively help; merely being in the same physical space or even on a video call may assist people who are suffering from ADHD to concentrate on their activities.
Justification: People who suffer from ADHD find it easier to concentrate on a task in the presence of someone else. The presence of another person tends to create fewer distractions and little or no procrastination. It is indicated in research that those with effets sous pression focus better on the given task, and body doubling allows the individual to do that in a more subtle manner. Services like Focusmate or basic peer-to-peer arrangements are also effective.
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While different people may find different sources of motivation, people with attention disorder (ADHD) have shown that converting activities into games may facilitate even the most routine tasks. ‘Gamifying a to-do list involves treating everyday activities as a game using point or reward systems for completing the activities at hand.’
The action plans: There are several applications, such as Habitica, which are made for this kind of activity, where you get points and bonuses for dealing with your to-do list. This component is aimed at increasing the interest and level of enjoyment in carrying out an otherwise dull functional task.
It is no secret that distractibility is a primary issue for people who have ADHD. The out-of-sight, out-of-mind strategy refers to the practice of minimising physical or contextual distractions to aid concentration. For instance, keeping your phone in another room or, better still, adopting a clean desk practice could enhance concentration.
How it works: Many times, distractions in the environment, such as sights and sounds, tend to over-activate the ADHD brain. Minimising such distractions helps keep the environment more alert and within completable tasks. Studies indicate that cutting sensory distractions improves efficiency and lessens the urge to change tasks.
Workspace is a vital aspect for people suffering from ADHD since they are more susceptible to external factors such as light, noise, and touch. Reducing changes within the working area that disrupt concentration increases the possibility of completing the available tasks. For example, one can use noise-blocking headsets, adjust the lights, or use soothing colours.
How it works: People affected by ADHD get distracted more quickly compared to the rest of the population, due to external environmental factors. A positive, austere work setting encourages concentration and comfort without any distractions, which in turn enhances efficiency.
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Some adults diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder find everyday decision-making, or even simply choosing something as basic as food, quite difficult. Meal prepping helps mitigate such issues by allowing the fighter to make such decisions in advance, thereby lowering the stress that would have been experienced during the week in trying to make meal choices. Choose a day every week, no matter how tight the schedule may be when you will cook a lot to prevent the risks of making poor food choices.
How it works: Due to reduced planning associated with what to eat daily, advance meal preparation saves a lot of thinking, leaving more time available for other activities.
Fidgeting is often deemed inappropriate behaviour and is thus associated with a negative connotation. But for most people suffering from ADHD, this is a practical action aimed at improving focus and concentration. Fidget tools – such as squishy stress balls, fidget spinners or rings, tactile jewellery, etc. – enable a person to dispel excess neural energy while executing higher-order processes that require mental attention.
Why it works: There is evidence to suggest that, for ADHD patients, fidgeting is an outlet for excess energy and therefore enables them to focus. The practice of fidgeting is often frowned upon as it tends to distract those around you; however, fidgeting with a cube or ring can achieve the same purpose without attracting attention.
Living with ADHD is about learning how best to harness your brain’s potential rather than trying to eliminate the challenges it presents. Whether it is by using the Pomodoro Technique, designing a workplace that caters to one’s sensory preferences, or using fidget toys, there are countless ways in which one can structure their environment and daily activities to minimise stress and increase efficiency. The most critical aspect is to experiment with the alternatives and determine the ones that are most effective. Eventually, these strategies may allow you to gain control over your experiences throughout the day, mitigating the cognitive burdens that this condition inflicts on many individuals. And remember, let’s work towards improvement, not towards the unattainable goal of perfection.
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