We hear teachers, parents, employers, and others call us lazy as a result.
This further perpetuates the cycle of negative self-talk: Why arent these tips working for me?
Why cant I just do it?Why am I so lazy?
Verywell / Dennis Madamba
No one set of tricks will work for everyone.
It is important to try different things and choose the best tactics foryouin your environment.
That being said, here are five tips that have helped me as a psychologist who hasADHD.
When we complete a task and feel good about it, that’s the dopamine surging through your brain.
Have you wondered why you just cant motivate yourself like other people can?
Wondered why you cant make yourself just Do The Task already?
If you have ADHD, this may be the reason.
Your brain is not providing automatic rewards.
Since anADHD braincraves novelty, it might lose interest in a reward we wanted in the pastthat’s okay!
The important thing is that it motivates us now.
We might also struggle with holding off on rewards.
When the person imposing the reinforcement schedule is you, giving yourself the reward ahead of schedule is easy.
Ask someone you trust to dispense rewards to keep you motivated.
Dueling Projects
This is a strategy I came up with when I first became an author.
My solution is always to have two projects in progress at a time.
When one topic starts to feel boring, I can switch to the other project and make progress.
When that topic starts to get boring, I switch back, and the first topic feels novel again.
Change your schedule so that those are the times when you do the things that need to get done.
you’re free to also shift your sleep schedule based on your own natural rhythm.
Determine what fits your needs and motivates your brain, and implement that.
Lean Into Your Interests
It is much easier to focus on something that we enjoy.
This is true for everyone, but even more so for us with ADHD.
What are your interests and preferred tasks?
What do you enjoy doing?
The more undesirable the task is, the harder it will be to start and continue.
In that case, you might choose to outsource things that take up too much of your energy.
For example, I struggle with keeping my home clean.
That frees up my energy for other tasks that do not drain me in the same way.
You deserve to pull up the support you need.
If you might afford these services, there is no shame in using them.
Finding the motivation techniques and schedule that work for you’re able to make important tasks manageable.
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