That ADHD Life

I’m not doing the Thing, but if I were to do the Thing, what would be the first bit to tackle?

eg: I’m having trouble washing up. I’ll start by just getting all the dishes into one place and emptying the drying rack.

Often, you might find that the first bit was what you were stuck on, and now you’ve done that, you feel ready to do the whole Thing. But if not, that’s fine, you’ve set things up to be easier later! Similarly:

What can I do to set things up for when I’m ready?

eg: I need to apply for a job vacancy I’ve seen. That feels really overwhelming and I don’t have the energy right now. I will create an email with the correct address in and open the files I’ll need for tomorrow.

Half-done is half more than you had before, and it will make things easier when you come back. Reduce the friction and complexity as much as you can.

Will this task actually be any easier if I do it later?

eg: I need to re-spray my waterproofs. It’s sunny today but it’s going to be raining all week, so it would actually be easier to do it now so I can do it outside and let them air. ‘Kay FINE, guess I will.

or: I want to make progress on my Creative Endeavour. I’m having a lot of trouble focussing at the moment but tomorrow I’ll be better rested and my Creative Group will be meeting. It will genuinely be easier then so I should stop worrying about it for now.

Sometimes, you realise that it would legitimately be easier to do a task later. Other times, you realise it would suck more to put it off, and that can help give you a nudge to do it sooner. It also helps reframe it in your head from “will I do the Thing?” to “when will I do the Thing?”

•perler beads

•crocheting

•skyrim

•sims

•astrology (highly recommend v interesting)

•completely rearranging your room

I have not known sleep for many days

•perler beads

•crocheting

•skyrim

•sims

•astrology (highly recommend v interesting)

•completely rearranging your room

what was/is one of your most obscure hyperfixations?

what’s your current hyperfixation(s)?

do you have any other family with adhd?

what’s your favorite stim?

do you like background music or does it distract you?

does noise when you work put you on the fritz/sensory overload? (people talking/humming/singing, a video playing, tapping, pen clicks, etc.)

what is sensory overload like for you? does it happen often?

do you actually get distracted by squirrels or is this a myth?

hyperactive, inattentive, or both?

do you have a hard time talking too loud, or maybe too quiet? both?

what was your childhood like? was it obvious that you had adhd, or would nobody have ever expected it?

do you take meds? how do they help you? what side effects have you had, or what meds have been wrong for you?

pog is such a stimmy word. have you ever been addicted to saying pog. you cant stop saying pog. and hey theres no shame or judgement here ok, now tell me: have you ever been addicted to Pog, son?

are you forgetting something rn?

what are your average sleep hours?

what do you think about at 3 am?

what hyperfixation do you find yourself always drifting back to? do you always have that one interest that you wish you could get back into but just cant?

do you actually have a constant special interest that you never get tired of?!1!?1?1!

have you ever been or are you addicted to caffeine?

what’s your favorite < 30 second youtube video that gives you a whole truckload of happy chemicals?

as a child, was it difficult for you to make friends? is it still difficult?

hate math or love math? how do you do with mental math/arithmetic?

what was/is your favorite subject? if you have one lol

on a scale of abhor to adore, how much do you hate school?

how do you learn? (visually, kinesthetically, etc.)

sloppy or neat handwriting?

good or bad at procrastinating? (like when you procrastinate, do you freak out or are you chill about getting it done?)

do you have accommodations?

how did your parents/family react to finding out you have adhd? do they know?

yes, it took a very long time. but frankly the fact that i’ve moved from the “i genuinely hate myself” zone to the “eh i’m ok actually” zone is pretty fucking big for me.