hereâs what iâve figured out so far:
-gotta sleep enough first
(seriously so many days iâm like âi have all afternoon Iâma Do a Thingâ and then i just kinda buzz around and do Nothing and think âWHYâ and then iâm like âoh yeah iâm really fuckening tiredâ)
-gotta be Excited About It (ADHD brain only does things if theyâre Literally the Most Interesting Thing Happening Right Now) (so like, hype yourself up to work on a project, or think about how happy youâll be with a cleaner room/all those chores done)
-gotta have small, doable first step (like, âget cloth from fabric drawerâ or âopen google docsâ
-FUCK distractions (computer is in drawer, phone is Off)
-Engage the Senses (if task needs Brain, play vague background Music, if task needs No Brain, listen to audiobook/podcast)
-maybe set time limit so i donât get lost??? e.g. i have a little egg timer that i use because the ticking isnât distracting but is enough to remind me that Time is a Thing that is Passing Right Now
-gotta have Self Awareness and Thinky about the Moment (get into the habit of Consciously Noticing what youâre doing at the moment, so youâre more likely to go âwait, this isnât what i wanted to be doingâ and be able to redirect)
-be willing to redirect and try to do something else if whatever you want to do Just Isnât Happening
-DONâT beat yourself up for only doing part of something, or failing entirely- all that does is make your brain associate âtrying to do stuffâ with âwell that SUCKEDâ. Which means you donât want to try again. Tell urself u did good for trying, and if it didnât work, try again later, or figure out why it didnât work and try a different way. Reward yourself for trying
this is what iâve figured out about cajoling the Thinky No Worky Brain into Doing Stuff. itâs not 100% reliable, especially if I forget to do some of these things (like SLEEP), but itâs what i got, ya know??