[ilovecaching]

Anyone have tips for how they manage their ADHD, specifically when you aren't able to get yourself motivated at all with the task at hand or feel like you have too may balls to juggle?

I really struggle with yak shaving and perfection being the enemy of good as well, my ADHD often devolves into OCD like behaviors.

[mklepaczewski]

For procrastination - body doubling. It's very effective, easy to test, and works immediately. After an hour, you will know whether it works for you or not. You don't need to read a book or train for it; you don't get better at it. If you procrastinate a lot, this is the first method I would suggest.

I don't know if I have ADHD, but I'm definitely a chronic, severe procrastinator. I've been looking for a method to overcome it for 20 years. Finally, I tried body doubling, and it was like magic: suddenly, I became productive. I immediately made a drastic decision to hire someone to sit with me every day. I was a software developer, so going from 2-3h billable hours to 6-7h/day was well worth the expense. I hired a stay-at-home dad, and we connected every morning to work together (well, I was working, he played games and watched Netflix ;-)

Now, disclosure and shameless plug. Body doubling was such a life changer for me that I co-founded https://workmode.net/ - basically body doubling as a service for chronic procrastinators. It's tailored to people who need it for work (basically full-time body doubling). If you want to give it a try - we have 1-click demo session.

For acute (non-chronic), mild procrastinators, Focusmate might be a good choice too.

For other methods, I recommend reading https://solvingprocrastination.com/

[jnovek]

I encourage you to go through the diagnosis process. There is much more to the disorder than just procrastination but it's easy to miss some of the more subtle differences and assume everyone experiences the world the same way you do.

For example, after being diagnosed and doing some therapy and self-education, I realized that I interrupt people because I have shorter working memory. Now I have some steps I take to mitigate interrupting behavior (although I'm not perfect).

Also, if you're running a business targeted at people with ADHD, don't you think it's worthwhile to know if you think and experience the world in the same way as your customers?

[mklepaczewski]

While a lot of people with ADHD tend to procrastinate, the issue is not limited to them and affects other groups of people as well. Even people that seem highly organized and productive tend procrastinate in some aspects of their lives.

As for the diagnosis - I already talked with psychologist about it, and yes, I'm going to go through the process. My son went through diagnosis of autism recently, and it also ticked a lot of boxes.

[pornel]

There’s no magic solution to this, otherwise ADHD wouldn’t be a disorder.

With too many things to juggle, you have to face the reality and drop some commitments, so you work only on the few things that you can manage without being overwhelmed.

To get started, it helps to extract a small (10-20min) specific starting task from a big vague task. Just don’t split the whole project into too many pieces at once, because that may start looking like too much.

And medication. Lots of people report that it really helps.

[annie_muss]

Pomodoros (short timed bursts of activity with frequent breaks). If you are having trouble shorten the time until you are able to start.

Describe the desired completed task to an imaginary third person. Poorly defined tasks can often make starting more difficult.

[user_7832]

> Pomodoros (short timed bursts of activity with frequent breaks). If you are having trouble shorten the time until you are able to start.

Describe the desired completed task to an imaginary third person. Poorly defined tasks can often make starting more difficult.

Thanks! The 2nd point particularly makes a lot of sense.

[mtlmtlmtlmtl]

My ADHD is severe enough that medication is more or less necessary to function.

Besides that, I've not had much luck being able to channel the focus medications bring, except one key thing. Take your medication after you get started on whatever you want to accomplish. Once the meds kick in, your attention will often grab onto whatever you happen to be doing, and stay there.

Another huge help is the OHIO principle: Only Handle It Once. Try to catch yourself whenever you think "I'll do it later", and do it right away instead. Maybe give yourself a reward whenever you manage to do this, for some self-conditioning.

As for the situation you mention, there is no shame in asking friends or family for help(to do some of the chores, help you get started). Especially if you ask someone who also has ADHD, they will understand your pain and want to help. Often getting that reset back to normal is the best way to get into better habits.

I find it's much harder to establish better habits when I have a gigantic list of unfinished chores to do.

[briHass]

Todo lists -- real ones written on paper -- help me tons. Everytime I have a 'I should.../I need to...' thought, it goes on the list. Then, when a gap in work occurs, I can pick something interesting on the list. The physical strikethrough on paper is satisfying in a way an electronic record isn't.

My preferred medium for notes and Todo lists is index cards. When I complete the tasks that fit reasonably on a card, it goes in the trash. Something about not wanting my desk littered with cards encourages me to complete them; software lists just grow and are easily forgotten/filed out of sight, or worse, become their own organizational, hyper-focus rabbit hole.

[itsmemattchung]

Check out this podcast: https://www.hackingyouradhd.com/adhd-podcast-network

Filled with tons of practical tips on managing your ADHD