5 Tips on How To Be Productive With ADHD

Although I am still only self-diagnosed with ADHD, I’ve learned a lot about what having ADHD means for myself and my daughter. Only after my daughter’s diagnosis did I research how ADHD affects everyday life. Many things I struggle with started making much more sense to me. Productivity has always been a challenge of mine. I am the queen of procrastination because I often feel overwhelmed about where to start, so I just don’t. Finally, I am starting to learn the things that help me be more productive. I hope to pass these tips along to my daughter. These 5 tips for how to be productive with ADHD are what I’ve found most helpful!

Write down and check off everything you do.

This one may seem so simple, but it is incredible how much more productive you feel when you see what you have accomplished. Write down everything even if you think it may seem basic or silly. If you started a load of laundry, write it down and cross it off! I’ve also learned that writing things down helps my brain remember things much better than using an app. I often forget things I need to take care of if I do not write it out. I am still working on keeping a physical to-do list with me at all times. Not an electronic one, I find it very easy to ignore apps or notifications on my phone!

5 Minute Timer

I know all sorts of productivity gurus advocate setting a timer when you need to get something done. Unfortunately for me and my ADHD brain, even a 15-minute timer sometimes felt too much. I just recently discovered the magic behind a 5-minute timer. You can do ANYTHING for 5 minutes, and you will be amazed at how much you can accomplish.

With a 15-minute timer, it was still incredibly easy to fall into my ‘pinball management.’ This is what my dad always called my mom’s habit of jumping around from task to task without completing one. 5 minutes makes it easier for me to focus on one thing at a time. It’s harder for me to get distracted and go off on a tangent. Once I see just how much I can get done in 5 minutes, it motivates me to keep going. I accomplished so much during the stay-at-home order with tiny 5-minute timers. However, my kids did get annoyed by my timer repeatedly going off!

Headphones

Whether you enjoy listening to music or a podcast while getting things done, headphones are a must for me when I want to be my most productive. I find that headphones help more than just turning music on a speaker. The headphones help to block everything else out. The music motivates me to keep moving and being productive! You can check out my favorite affordable Bluetooth headphones here!

Eliminate Clutter

I am finally starting to learn that the more stuff I have, the harder it is to stay organized. It also makes it harder to accomplish the things I want to. I’ve focused on having less stuff and ensuring everything has a place. I still have a ways to go, but this has quickly become the most important thing I’m trying to work on. I realize clutter spills over into every area of life and is a stumbling block to me accomplishing my goals. If there are items you don’t have a specific place for and you don’t use regularly, consider donating, selling or recycling!

Celebrate Your Accomplishments – You Won’t Always Finish Everything

This may be one of the most important things yet. I have repeatedly learned that I do much better with positive affirmation, including how I talk to myself. Because I struggle so hard with being productive and taking care of what needs to be done, I’ve tended to have all kinds of negative self-talk. As I am learning more about myself, how my brain works, and some of the challenges I face, I need to celebrate all of my successes whether big or small. This is also important to do with my daughter who has some of the same challenges. Hopefully, you have found the right people to surround yourself with that will celebrate your accomplishments even if they don’t struggle with the same things.

I hope you have found something useful in these 5 tips for how to be productive with ADHD. For my free daily productivity planner click here! Please feel free to comment with your top productivity tips and recommendations! As always please connect with me on Instagram, my fave social media for connecting and building community. I’d love to cheer you on over there! Learn more about me and sign up for my email list for regular updates over here!