Help adhd question

[3spiral]

unimportant stuff, the question is below
not diagnosed but after all this time I'm almost sure I have adhd or at least smth that comes with a good dose of executive dysfunction. as a teenager I tried talking to my mom multiple times abt how I thought there was smth wrong with me but she just got mad and made me cry about it lolz I'm gonna move out eventually and see if I can get ACTUAL access to mental health and all that good stuff but until then I gotta figure things out myself ofc as always

anyway! when you have a lot of things to do how do you define what's the most important thing to do first? and then how do you get started and how do you manage to stay on the task without thinking about giving up and hating urself 100% of the time? what about personal projects, hobbies and general stuff u want to do, when is it time to work on those things without neglecting Important Stuff? and how the fuck do you not just forget about everything
people without adhd can answer this too. explain your step by step as if I was stupid (I am)

 

[WaffleCat]

1. You can use coffee as a substitute for adderall, I would recommend you slowly sip the coffee throughout the day rather than drinking it all at once.
NOTE: I am not a doctor. This just works for me.

2. Use a timer. Set a timer for 15 minutes to resolve the most important task in the day.

3. Get a big whiteboard in your room and write a todo list on it. That way you don't forget what to do since it is always there.

4. The most important is whatever has the biggest consequence if I don't finish. So I will prioritize my taxes above everything else so I don't go to prison.

5. To piggyback on timers, remember that 1 hour a day is considered productive. So you can put a 30 minute timer for important tasks and 30 minutes for hobbies.

I have horrible ADHD to the point where it paralyzes me and I have been able to work on my art and career with these techniques. Even with depression crippling me I can still get things done if I set a goal for 30 minutes a day.

 

[3spiral]

1. You can use coffee as a substitute for adderall, I would recommend you slowly sip the coffee throughout the day rather than drinking it all at once.
NOTE: I am not a doctor. This just works for me.

2. Use a timer. Set a timer for 15 minutes to resolve the most important task in the day.

3. Get a big whiteboard in your room and write a todo list on it. That way you don't forget what to do since it is always there.

4. The most important is whatever has the biggest consequence if I don't finish. So I will prioritize my taxes above everything else so I don't go to prison.

5. To piggyback on timers, remember that 1 hour a day is considered productive. So you can put a 30 minute timer for important tasks and 30 minutes for hobbies.

I have horrible ADHD to the point where it paralyzes me and I have been able to work on my art and career with these techniques. Even with depression crippling me I can still get things done if I set a goal for 30 minutes a day.

I got the type that coffee makes me sleepy lmao:C
but those are actually very useful, especially the 30/30 min timer, tysm I wish you the best<3

 

[webb&flow]

anyway! when you have a lot of things to do how do you define what's the most important thing to do first?

For every thing that "must" be done, there is an associated "cost" with ignoring it.

Example: If you forget to clean your desk, you will have to clean it later. If you miss a homework deadline, your grade will go down a bit. Different responsibilities have different reasons, different weights.

The Eisenhower Matrix categorizes tasks by two metrics:
1. Importance. (Mandatory/Optional) ("do you have to do this? can you afford to not do it?")
2. Immediacy. (Immediate/Delayable) ("can you afford to do this later?")

Here is a little ranking of the four categories these two metrics make:

1. Important & Immediate.
2. Optional & Immediate.
3. Important & Delayable.
4. Optional & Delayable.

Try to finish high-rank stuff before low-rank stuff, whenever possible.

But sometimes doing less important stuff, if enjoyable, can give you a bit more energy and hope that helps you do more important stuff. Do whatever works for you! In the end, all this planning stuff is just a method to try and get stuff done. You can be a perfect planner and still struggle to do stuff, and you can have less elaborate plans and still get stuff done. In the end, all that matters is you doing what you need to, and doing what you love. Everything else is to support this .

Hope this helps! Write as many questions or replies as you like in response .

P.S. Forgot to mention.

Here is a tweaked version of the Eisenhower Matrix, the "ADHD Matrix", from this one YouTube video (by an AuDHD YouTuber). (It's item 2 in the video.)


Eisenhower Matrix:
1. Important/Unimportant
2. Urgent/Delayable

ADHD Matrix:
1. Interesting/Disinteresting
2. Easy/Difficult

Here is the ranking of the ADHD matrix:

1. Interesting & Easy
2. Interesting & Hard
3. Disinteresting & Easy
4. Disinteresting & Hard

Tasks that are HARDER but MORE INTERESTING are EASIER than tasks that are "easy" but LESS interesting.

In the end, continue to learn more about yourself, experiment with productivity methods, and health practices (even going on a short 5min run once per day helps a lot!), and you can make a system for yourself. It may be imperfect, but it can always improve later :). Once you start, you can go on :). Best of luck! Write any questions comments or concerns at all to me, be it here in this thread or in a private message to me, and I'll do what I can to respond! Best of luck with your ADHD productivity: it IS possible!

P.S. ADHD people, when they CAN get work flowing, produce work of such high quality, because it flows with all their attention and effort. It gives remarkable work even if it can be a struggle to be consistent. You are not wired for consistency, but you are wired for passion. This is not any lesser or "worse" than a neurotypical, it is simply different. And though it has its downsides, it can have its real edges, too :3. Best wishes. You got this.

 

[3spiral]

For every thing that "must" be done, there is an associated "cost" with ignoring it.

Example: If you forget to clean your desk, you will have to clean it later. If you miss a homework deadline, your grade will go down a bit. Different responsibilities have different reasons, different weights.

The Eisenhower Matrix categorizes tasks by two metrics:
1. Importance. (Mandatory/Optional) ("do you have to do this? can you afford to not do it?")
2. Immediacy. (Immediate/Delayable) ("can you afford to do this later?")

Here is a little ranking of the four categories these two metrics make:

1. Important & Immediate.
2. Optional & Immediate.
3. Important & Delayable.
4. Optional & Delayable.

Try to finish high-rank stuff before low-rank stuff, whenever possible.

But sometimes doing less important stuff, if enjoyable, can give you a bit more energy and hope that helps you do more important stuff. Do whatever works for you! In the end, all this planning stuff is just a method to try and get stuff done. You can be a perfect planner and still struggle to do stuff, and you can have less elaborate plans and still get stuff done. In the end, all that matters is you doing what you need to, and doing what you love. Everything else is to support this .

Hope this helps! Write as many questions or replies as you like in response .

P.S. Forgot to mention.

Here is a tweaked version of the Eisenhower Matrix, the "ADHD Matrix", from this one YouTube video (by an AuDHD YouTuber). (It's item 2 in the video.)


Eisenhower Matrix:
1. Important/Unimportant
2. Urgent/Delayable

ADHD Matrix:
1. Interesting/Disinteresting
2. Easy/Difficult

Here is the ranking of the ADHD matrix:

1. Interesting & Easy
2. Interesting & Hard
3. Disinteresting & Easy
4. Disinteresting & Hard

Tasks that are HARDER but MORE INTERESTING are EASIER than tasks that are "easy" but LESS interesting.

In the end, continue to learn more about yourself, experiment with productivity methods, and health practices (even going on a short 5min run once per day helps a lot!), and you can make a system for yourself. It may be imperfect, but it can always improve later :). Once you start, you can go on :). Best of luck! Write any questions comments or concerns at all to me, be it here in this thread or in a private message to me, and I'll do what I can to respond! Best of luck with your ADHD productivity: it IS possible!

P.S. ADHD people, when they CAN get work flowing, produce work of such high quality, because it flows with all their attention and effort. It gives remarkable work even if it can be a struggle to be consistent. You are not wired for consistency, but you are wired for passion. This is not any lesser or "worse" than a neurotypical, it is simply different. And though it has its downsides, it can have its real edges, too :3. Best wishes. You got this.

tysm for this answer. it's gonna help me a lot and makes me feel more motivated. I don't have any questions now but I will come back if ever need help tysm<3

 

[webb&flow]

tysm for this answer. it's gonna help me a lot and makes me feel more motivated. I don't have any questions now but I will come back if ever need help tysm<3

you're so welcome fellow forum sibling good luck with all your productivity endeavours!!! take care of yourself :).

 

[Gomomon]

1. You can use coffee as a substitute for adderall, I would recommend you slowly sip the coffee throughout the day rather than drinking it all at once.
NOTE: I am not a doctor. This just works for me.

2. Use a timer. Set a timer for 15 minutes to resolve the most important task in the day.

3. Get a big whiteboard in your room and write a todo list on it. That way you don't forget what to do since it is always there.

4. The most important is whatever has the biggest consequence if I don't finish. So I will prioritize my taxes above everything else so I don't go to prison.

5. To piggyback on timers, remember that 1 hour a day is considered productive. So you can put a 30 minute timer for important tasks and 30 minutes for hobbies.

I have horrible ADHD to the point where it paralyzes me and I have been able to work on my art and career with these techniques. Even with depression crippling me I can still get things done if I set a goal for 30 minutes a day.

Any tips for someone in the same boat? I don't have Adderall, but I use caffeine for the ADHD and am on Lymictal for the Depression. I've tried setting timers, but I simply just ignore them. All I do is stress about assignments/drawing instead of actually doing them, cause I feel like its pointless and they'll look bad/rushed. I might just have no self-restraint and discipline tbh....I was fine with ADHD in my youth to some extent and then everything suddenly became horrible as an adult in college and work.

 

[webb&flow]

Any tips for someone in the same boat? I don't have Adderall, but I use caffeine for the ADHD and am on Lymictal for the Depression. I've tried setting timers, but I simply just ignore them. All I do is stress about assignments/drawing instead of actually doing them, cause I feel like its pointless and they'll look bad/rushed. I might just have no self-restraint and discipline tbh....I was fine with ADHD in my youth to some extent and then everything suddenly became horrible as an adult in college and work.

I would recommend having a simple, cut down to-do list, instead of timers. This way stress is decreased rather than increased.

Maybe doing some things you like so you feel better, so you feel more motivated and momentum-handling by the time you get to your work, could be a good idea.

 

[Gomomon]

I would recommend having a simple, cut down to-do list, instead of timers. This way stress is decreased rather than increased.

Maybe doing some things you like so you feel better, so you feel more motivated and momentum-handling by the time you get to your work, could be a good idea.

Thank you

 

[webb&flow]

Thank you

No probs :)

Feel free to write any other concerns of yours on this thread too . Glad you found it to be of help!