Working with, Not against, ADHD

I think we often think of any illness in really black and white terms.

If I am sick, I do treatment, I get better. Simple, effective, to the point. Right?

However, it isn’t always that simple. If your bone is broken, you can heal it sure. But if you have a long term illness that is incurable, you usually can’t just do treatment, right? You also need to change your way of living to accommodate your new reality.

It’s true for ADHD too. You need to find how you work and not against yourself. If you buy yourself a lot of planners and never use them, you aren’t suddenly going to get your life together with planners.

BUT, if you are always looking at your phone and have apps you will always look at, you can use a planning app. Bonus points if you have to share the app with someone so that you can keep on top of each other’s schedules (long term partners for example). This gives you an accountability buddy that keeps you using it.

Notice how you react to activities. Extremely adverse to physically journaling? Try voice memos instead. Perhaps you enjoy typing things out rather than physically writing anything. Always choose the thing that matches your rhythm. ADHD gives you this intense aversion to anything that feels difficult and also you’re more forgetful to top it off. The online hacks and tricks you see everywhere can and do work, it’s just about making it work for you.

I’ll give myself up as an example. The basket thing where you toss everything into a basket to keep things more organized? I use that and it works incredible for me. However, there are those color in to-do task lists I have seen floating around. My friend with ADHD loves them. Me? I cannot be bothered nor do I have the patience and would be averse to doing the task alternatively.

Just because we have ADHD doesn’t mean we all fit into the same box with the same rhythms, same likes, dislikes, or even same struggles. You are your unique you. Only you can perfect your own ADHD toolbox.

But remember - creating novelty in your life is also important. It’s OK if you need to snaz up the way you do things, even if it’s the same thing - just to keep you interested in doing them.