ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder most often associated with children, though it is present far into adulthood as well.
Many adults live with undiagnosed ADHD or without medication management for various reasons. Because of this, people have found many ways to manage their ADHD with lifestyle changes.
Let’s talk about 6 tips for ADHD management without medications.
Body Doubling
Body doubling is a system in which you have someone else doing the same things as you in order to stay focused and get things done. Sometimes it even works if they are just sitting there and watching you do the things you have declared you want to get done.
As this ADHD management strategy has become more popular, virtual body doubling has taken over. With virtual body doubling, you put on a video or begin a video conference with others who are trying to focus and complete tasks. These streams can be found on just about any social media platform including Youtube, Twitch, Tik Tok, and more though you can also video a friend instead.
Routine
There is a lot to be said about how much routines can be beneficial for ADHD management. Routines are hard to establish, but once you have made it over the hurdle of establishing the routine in the first place, they can lead to greater focus and productivity.
In fact, many people are diagnosed with ADHD in their late teens and early twenties because schools and parental figures often provide and hold kids to a strict routine. After high school graduation, many of these kids who have coped well with their ADHD symptoms are left without anyone to enforce a routine as they navigate college or the workforce.
Habit Stacking
Habit stacking is a concept of pairing a current habit with a new habit in order to stick with it. Habit stacking builds on the routine concept and is actually a great way to establish a routine initially.
To use habit stacking as an ADHD management strategy, look at the things you do every single day. Pick one or two of those and every time you do that action or task, immediately do the action or task you want to become a habit. For instance, if you already brush your teeth every morning and want to start making your bed every day, immediately make your bed after you finish brushing your teeth.
The key is to not do anything else in between the two actions… not even check your phone or take a break. Over time, the habit you added will become second nature and you can add more and more habits which eventually creates a solid daily routine.
Habit stacking and routines ensure your brain automatically knows what’s next so that you get distracted less often.
Creating Personalized Systems
With ADHD, a lot of things that are easy for others are mountainous tasks. This is especially true for household chores like dishes and laundry. Creating personalized systems is a great way to tackle these kinds of tasks. These systems can be for anything and are truly whatever you want them to be, but let’s talk about some examples for inspiration.
Take picking up your home for example. It is not uncommon to leave things out and in different rooms. The problem is that someone with ADHD will likely lose their focus on picking up the house when they go to put one item away in a different room because, in the process of putting it away, something else has grabbed their attention.
So, a personalized system for this could be to keep “dump baskets” in every room where you can put anything that doesn’t belong in that room all at once. Then when you want to put things away, you take the basket to one room and put everything that goes there away before moving on to the next room.
To create your own personalized systems for ADHD management, analyze what tasks you have a hard time completing, where in the process of the task you tend to lose focus, and then think about what would mitigate that.
Keep Things In Sight
Ever heard the saying “out of sight, out of mind”? Well, that is especially true with ADHD. Try to keep things you need or use every day in places that you always see every day. For instance, if you need to take medications every day, keep them on the bathroom or kitchen counter instead of in a cabinet.
Wear Shoes To Get Things Done
Wearing shoes may seem like a weird tip for ADHD management but our brains naturally recognize being barefoot or in socks as a relaxed state whereas wearing shoes is associated with going somewhere. This is an association that happens over time since we take our shoes off when we get home and sit on the couch and put our shoes on before we head out the door to various activities.
Wearing shoes in your home can be a trick to increase focus as you essentially fool your brain into thinking you have somewhere to be and are “on the go” instead of relaxing.
Counseling for ADHD
Though counseling on its own can be a great ADHD management tool, it can also help you implement and stick to other ADHD management strategies like those above. Counseling gives you support and resources so that you don’t have to manage your ADHD symptoms alone. If you’re ready to get your ADHD under control, I would love to help.
As a licensed professional counselor with more than 20 years of experience, I understand how hard it can be to simply do everyday tasks, especially with things that affect your mental health like ADHD. Reach out today and let’s talk about how we can tackle hurdles together!