#when I take my adhd meds I can’t just pick up a fun project I don’t get those ideas I can’t write poetry I can’t make art it’s like it sever

[milo-is-rambling]

Omg yesterday at my moms therapy I said how well I had been doing and feeling like I can actually handle life and my mom was immediately like “that’s because you’ve been taking your meds regularly again” and like completely brushed off any progress I had actually made and I had to be like yeah totally that’s it that’s why exactly when I haven’t taken my meds for a week straight in idk how long

[bigskydreaming]

Thank you again and still for all the help and support! I really truly can not imagine making it through the past couple days without it, considering I spent most of it awake and in the bathroom puking from the constant migraines that come with your head not being happy about its bones not being in the right place. Stress aggravates them, or at least my awareness of them, and because of how little work there is currently and how expensive being broke and disabled in LA is, let’s just say, there’s been stress, lol.

I’m feeling a bit better today, or at least I’m making myself pretend that and act like that since I’ve got another appointment at that clinic where I get my juicy and tasty IV bags of nutrients pumped into me since I barely even CAN eat, physically, which combined with the lack of sleep and the nausea, like, also not a great combination.

So, I mean it when I say your donations and support have absolutely been invaluable, everything from a couple dollars to an anonymous message, like, its all amazing and appreciated and invaluable. Yeah. I already said that, whoops, anyway, BUT I DIGRESS.

That’s about all of an update I have there, lol, so in other news, I should be around more today since like I said, I’m feeling a bit better and have possibly plateau-ed on this latest pain level. (My super-annoying superpower....ever since I was a kid I’ve been able to adapt to increases in pain like a pro. As in, being able to manage/function despite it. Course, I still feel it, but give me a day or two to adjust to a new norm in how much my body hates me currently, and then I can power through).

So, like I said, I should be around more today, and I’ll probably be random as hell. Like I’ve mentioned before, my blog is where I spew literally everything from inane thoughts to fandom feels, since its like.....my only social outlet these past couple years and the only way I get to interact with people who aren’t doctors. Expect no pattern in topics until I find whatever sticks and keeps me focused on it enough to serve as a distraction from, y’know, the broke body and broke bank account.

SO! Absolutely feel free to hit me up about anything and everything. ESPECIALLY if you’ve made a donation or sent me something. Like, I know some people who have sent money don’t even follow me or know me at all and are just generous spirits who saw my post somewhere, but for any of you who have sent any kind of support just cuz you like, like me and my rambles, lol, totally feel free to drop into my messages even on anon and say what kind of posts or content from me you really engage with and would love to see more of. I can’t make any promises or guarantees, unfortunately, given I didn’t expect or plan on crashing so hard these last couple days, bleh, and just....literally, like, writing more of the kind of stuff or posts people who have helped me stay alive is pretty much the only way I have of kinda giving at least something back, so I mean, I am happy to pounce on anything in that direction. 

Again, just can’t make any guarantees given how unpredictable my life is and depending on how many people send requests or prompts or messages, etc, but I don’t delete anything of that nature and I usually get back around to stuff EVENTUALLY. For instance, I’m REALLY hoping to finish up two one-shots today, one that’s focused on Duke, Dick and Cass from that prompt you sent me a couple weeks ago, @zee-gee, and the other uh.....that umm, TW/X-Men fusion you commissioned way longer ago than my pride will allow me to admit in public @camelotpark, lol. And like, those posts you see me making to @russianspacegeckosexparty about the changelings project I talk about a lot, like.....Adam basically just sends me random thoughts and prompts about it all the time, and its like a running thread that’s easy for me to pick back up and sink into whenever I see a new one in my inbox and I’ve got enough spoons at the moment to dig in.

Also have a couple other things I want to respond to today while I have the energy and a destined-to-be-longer-than-it-needs-to-be meta about Dick’s positioning in narratives with various other characters and WHY I think it so usually works out that way, and I’m aiming to keep that more like....musing-esque than rant-errific, but uh, let’s see how that actually goes, lmfao.

Anyway, that’s what I have in mind for today, aside from my going to get my IV buffet at ten and emailing and calling people from listings about rooms to rent, but tbh, I might just end up being even more random and sporadic than usual, if I can’t focus on any of those long enough to stay sufficiently distracted today. (Like, my other annoying superpower as long-time followers have heard before, is my ridiculously fast metabolism. I know, “oh no, I’m so skinny, poor me,” but like....its never been about weight gain or loss for me, its about how fast my body processes various medications, meaning pretty much every painkiller I’ve ever tried is largely useless to me, or at most wears off in a couple hours.....whereas my ADHD meds actually provide me MORE relief from the pain than any of them. Basically, they let me actually focus on something OTHER than pain and not get interrupted/distracted by the occasional pain spike that likes to remind me its there and wants my attention......so I mean, I still feel everything that comes with my head being physically out of whack, but for the hours vyvanse is working for me, coupled with some heavy duty pain meds, I can like.....just sorta....not care about it for awhile. Like, it hasn’t gone away but its more shoved to the back of my mind at least. And all of that, I’m happy to stuff in a closet whenever I can, lol).

And that’s enough rambles for this post, I think. LOLOLOL, as if I have a quota. But yeah. Just wanted to express how much your support has meant and continues to mean, and like.....I’m still here and alive and crossing fingers that I’ll hear about an actual surgery date soon, but in the meanwhile like......I’m kinda stuck in a perpetual Limbo, one that’s largely confined to whatever is in hobbling distance from my bed of the day, and as much as donations help me physically, in remaining able to at least stay that way, just, any and all interactions on here help by keeping me engaged with the world on at least some level, and make it so I have stuff to think or talk about beyond my own situation and how I’m not a super huge fan of that.

(Okay, I shouldn’t say any and ALL interactions are appreciated, since I have my fun little runs of anon hate in my inbox, but I mean, all of the above is why they’re not really a big deal to me and never have been. Its like, dude, my own body has been trying to take me out for the past three years, and you think a few insults from an anonymous stranger are gonna do the trick? LOLOL, please. Tbh, the only real negative effect anon hate has on me is that it makes me a bit more snappish and quick to assume the worst than I’d like, when people @ me in a way that I misread as aggressive or in bad faith. I’m aware that my day-to-day temperment is a lot more irritable and open to fights than I usually like to be, as self-control is kinda a big deal to me, and my situation and stress and other shit kinda keep me constantly operating at a level best described as itchy, and none of that is an excuse for any times I read an interaction wrong and go for the throat. I just mean like.....I’m a very blunt and straight-forward person, and I do appreciate when people take a similar approach to me as it really helps keep those misreads to a minimum. Any time someone wants to engage with me in some way, I promise I am SO much easier to talk to if you just....put it out there, whatever it is. Its the games people play online (and in real life) that just frustrate the hell out of me and...yeah. Again, I’m not saying any of that as an excuse or a request for a free pass any time I fuck up an interaction or cross a line, I’m just saying, if anyone’s held back on interacting with me because they think I might snap at them or mistake it for them trying to start a fight, like......just be direct with me. Honestly, thats just....always gonna be more productive when it comes to me.)

But yeah. So that’s the current state of me and all that jazz. Again, I so appreciate everything everyone’s done to support me, not just these past couple days but over the course of these past three years as well. I notice and remember all of it, and its why even though I rant and complain and am critical about so much in society and fandoms and all that.....I really truly am a believer in the idea that there’s more good in people and the world than bad, and the bad just tends to be louder is all. It was especially loud for me the last couple days, the volume got way jacked up, but the goodwill from you guys has been more than enough to drown it out and give me some reprieve.

Alright, shutting up now. All done. The end.

[solarpire]

ADHD things

"Today was pretty good!" "what did you do today?" ",, uh,, ,"

Did I take my meds today or am I remembering a different day that I took my meds

I'm thinking about like ten different things right now and I have no idea what any of them are

Time travel

Start a conversation with another ADHD person about the weather or something and then two minutes later you're talking about that one episode of that thing you saw the other day and neither of you can remember starting the conversation

You keep starting posts, going "I'll finish it later", then completely forgetting about it. You have 20 drafts saved

Its breakfast, you tell yourself you'll get something to eat in a minute. It is four days later and you realize you still have not eaten anything

I have all these really cool projects and ideas I want to work on but when I start working on one I keep getting distracted by the other things I want to do and nothing ever gets done

People get upset at me for forgetting holidays, birthdays, and names. My dude I can't even remember how old my brother is sometimes how the fuck

Looking through old papers is crazy cause almost nothing is finished. I found one piece of paper that just had "bein" on it and nothing else

I want to read books I love reading so much but I cant get past the first few pages before my focus stops working and the book no longer exists to me

I was thinking about this one thing really hard but then someone said something to me and now I have no idea what I was doing

I love my friends a lot but I keep forgetting to talk to them and now its been like three years and I haven't heard from them

Trying to talk about something but theres a tv making sound in the background so I can't think

You hyperfixate on a new thing and you're super excited to talk about it until you realize no one cares nearly as much about it so you just think about it to yourself and suffer

"I literally just put down my phone where the fuck did it go"

If I even think I have inconvenienced, annoyed, or disappointed anyone in any way I Will Die

"Hey I'll make a quick relatable ADHD post" I end up making this giant post

Its 2:37 right now. I space out for 10 minutes and look at the time again. Its 2:37. I space out for 20 minutes and look at the time again. Its 2:40. I space out for five minutes and look at the time again. Its 3:56

I look at the time and its 9:32. Three minutes later I look at the time again and its 9:31

"Okay I know its been only like three seconds but what did I just do for the last half hour"

Having to ask someone to repeat something because you were listening but you have No Idea what they said

You think about doing something simple like walking over to something or picking something up, but thinking about it turns into daydreaming about it and you can't tell if you're doing it in real life or just in your head

Sleep? Nah, instead you have two(2) hyperfocuses, ten(10) different lines of thought, and six(6) songs stuck in your head, good luck buddy

Selfworth is based on how much I accomplish

I just went from numb, to having a panic attack, to being frustrated at everything, to being happy in the span of half an hour

This thing is making me so happy and excited that it hurts. I can't stop smiling bouncing and doing the Flappy Hands™ and I'm going to Scream

Emotions are either nonexistent or overwhelming there is no in between

I want to talk to my favourite person Right Now but its like almost always four in the morning, they're busy, or I just got finished talking to them n I don't want to smother them

I can't talk about my problems to people because I will sound whiney and selfish and no one will want to talk to me

I hear people making fun of ADHD at least once a week and I want to Die

Hands? Just at my side not doing anything? Impossible. Never. I must be doing something with my hands at all times, even just like crossing my arms or something

I was just in my room and it was like six in the afternoon, and now I'm sitting on the floor of my kitchen at one in the morning what the fuck happened

Sunday was yesterday how the fuck is today Friday

"Dude you just spent five minutes trying to throw shit at your light switch from across the room and now you're about to drink mint extract, what the fuck?" ",,,I got bored,, ,"

[actuallyadhd]

me, not doing homework to submit my story…

(day 2 working on this) hey there! my name is Robert. I have ADHD subtype 3 (combined type). I was diagnosed at age 25; I’ll be 28 in 3 months. funny enough, I only got myself checked out because my wife (who was my girlfriend at the time) also has ADHD, and she picked up on the symptoms I exhibited. Until going to college, ADHD didn’t really negatively impact my life very much; aside from zoning out, and playing when i was supposed to clean my room. looking back at my childhood, I’m convinced I’ve had it my whole life; I think i mainly exhibited inattentive symptoms. I also have sluggish cognitive tempo, major depressive disorder, generalized and social anxiety, cerebral palsy.

funny story: my first antidepressant was Paxil, it was great at first, i felt great, lost weight and could eat a ton; then one day my muscles on the left side of my face twitched uncontrollably for about a few minutes. needless to say, i quickly changed meds. to Wellbutrin, which has been good for me.

Now, the way ADHD affects me are as follows: -I either forget details, remember obscure things, -I notice background details in movies/shows and music -getting myself to read textbooks or other wordy documents is difficult -i either am adamant about getting assignments done (to prevent guilt/anxiety), or I can’t be bothered to do it and couldn’t care less, -meal preparation is the biggest pain in the butt, -weeks without cleaning and then clean EVERYTHING *now!* -scrolling Tumblr/FB/games in class, -popcorn and soda for lunch nearly every day because meal prep sucks -NEVER on time to class/church/appointments -forgetting what i just said -rarely remembering people’s names -HECKING EXECUTIVE DYSFUNCTIONNNNNNNN -taking forever to wind down so i can go to sleep - hyperfocus can be a really good or, not such a good thing. when it’s good, i can draw, study etc. -i get random bursts of energy sometimes, so i get a lot of cleaning, or errands, or projects done! -spontaneous fun, and affections to my wife!, not wanting these things reciprocated 9/10 times. lol -stimming! -creativity! … and so on.

ADHD is hard a majority of the time, but I’m happy I’ve been diagnosed. I understand myself so much better than i used to, and know why i do certain things, and why I can’t get myself to do others. I’m usually able to forgive myself for shortcomings, and let things go that are out of my control. I feel more connected to others with ADHD, and know that I’m not alone in my struggles.

I’m taking 20mg of methylphenidate (generic for ritalin) twice a day (I’ve been forgetting my second dose for weeks). it works pretty well for me. I’m more alert, less prone to being bored or feeling understimulated. the letdown is rough sometimes, but overall I’m satisfied with my treatment. I had a small dose of Adderall for a short time, it amplified some symptoms, and made me super hyper, and happy (manic happy) for about an hour, and then it wears off. (I’m talking 5mg… 5!). so yeah, i don’t take Adderall.

I could go on, but I think you get the gist. thanks for reading my story! if you have questions or wanna hear more, you can ask me at: redundant-rhododendron.tumblr.com

[sorin-sunchild]

Some people have disorder hcs because they're projecting onto a character as a coping mechanism who cares if it doesn't make sense in canon you can't tell mentally ill people what to do??? Like I'm literally shaking right now because I'm like one of only two people I know that hc Eddie with an eating disorder so the fact you added that feels like a personal attack right now. I'm sorry but all of the losers are mentally ill now not your ignorant nt bs you fucking ableist tard

Woah ok. I’d ask you to come off anon and chat if I got you so bad, but I have a feeling you wouldn’t. I did mention in my tags that I don’t think it’s impossible for any of the Losers to have a disorder of some kind. My issue was the fact that only Eddie and Stan, who are already treated as strangely fragile by some members of the fandom, are the ones targeted for, specifically - people to headcanon badly researched disorders onto as if it’s supposed to be something cute or quirky or something to make you go “aww poor baby :(” but not really take seriously/understand as a serious condition. I’m aware every fandom does it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t CARE about it, especially characters from a Special Interest.

I’m not neurotypical by the way and don’t appreciate the slur you used for me, even if it didn’t have the ‘re’ part, especially since you ironically called me ableist before using it. I don’t know which person you are, as in terms of eating disorders specifically I haven’t seen much, no, I just thought I’d include it because it’s a kind of disorder that often gets left off lists like that and I had seen it. So, are you the ‘clearly the only reason Eddie would be the kind of kid who cuts up his food into little chunks before eating is because he has an eating disorder’ person or are you the ‘Eddie and Stan have an eating disorder because some people who go through trauma use control over their food as a way to gain control over their life’, person? Either way, yeah, these kind of are the hcs I’m talking about where it felt like a bit of research had been done about ED, or some personal experience was put in, but overall it didn’t really fit the characters. 

You’re absolutely free to keep your headcanons, especially if you’re actually very serious about them and you know it’s not really canon and you’re just projecting. You can cope how you want, including having fun with your disorder, but that doesn’t mean people have to like it. It’s not like I actually went into YOUR inbox to call you a slur and tear you apart. I just made a post expressing my frustration at lack of substantial, well thought out and actually relatable headcanons for people except Eddie and Stan that make sense to me, personally. 

I actually do have headcanons of my own about the Losers not being NT/mentally well (I’m adding both because I think NT just means not autistic/ADHD/ADD? someone feel free to inform me on that) so you’re not doing a ‘haha gotcha!’ here. This includes Eddie having an actual anxiety disorder and lowkey pain med addiction and Stan having depression and self harming. I even hc that Bev could have an ED. In fact it makes the most sense for her, not just because she’s a girl, but because ‘If I stay thin, I don’t develop curves and don’t look like an adult’ is a very common thing people with ED do and Bev would totally do that so her growing curves wouldn’t attract more of her fathers lusty attention, maybe she then got a bit better, and then relapsed because of Tom Rogan’s constant picking at her either triggering her back to old habits or making her want to control her food because it’s the one aspect she did have control over.  Smoking is also an appetite suppressant.

Heck, all of the Losers especially Mike probably has symptoms or straight up PTSD even if they couldn’t remember Derry and don’t even get me started on Richie’s repression of his emotions and using humour to cope. So no, none of these people are mentally well and well-adjusted, but that doesn’t mean we HAVE to give them a specific condition. It’s not a competition to see who can be most inclusive, or project most onto a character.

tl;dr You can headcanon what you want but people are allowed to disagree with it specifically or the type of headcanon. I wasn’t targeting anyone specific but I apologise if it seems like I was. I do have my own headcanons in relation to not being mentally well because there is nothing wrong with those kind of headcanons when they’re well thought out. Don’t call me a slur please.

[kittynightterrors]

Medicine

Pairing: N/A Rating: T Content: Untreated ADHD, recreational drug use, depression, anxiety, shit ass hero society, unbeta’d vent fic ao3: right here Notes: Hey, so I’ve never written for My Hero before, and this is a vent fic centered around Presnt Mic. Uh, go easy on me? 

Knowing from a young age that something was wrong with you was a strange feeling, especially when the people who were supposed to take care of you didn’t do their job. In the age of the internet it was easy for Hizashi to look up how he was feeling and go “hey, mom, dad, I think I have ADHD.” They agreed he did, but they never took him to the doctor for it. “If we make this official, you’ll never be a hero.”

He wanted to be a hero so, so bad. So, he stopped trying to fix his brain. It was hard, his grades went from being great to being not so good. The classes he cared about, he would excel in. He could lose himself in an English paper, to the point of forgetting to eat. And when it came to the subjects he just didn’t care about, it wasn’t that he was bad at them, he just didn’t care. He was smart, but he just didn’t apply himself. “Hizashi, if you would stop listening to that damn music, you could get into any Imperial University you wanted!” But, he didn’t want to get into some big Imperial University, he hadn’t even been sure he wanted to go to college. Shouta and Nemuri pushed him to apply to something small, but respectable, and together the three of them worked on Hizashi being a semi functioning person. Alarms and check ins helped him eat and sleep properly. It was nice. College saw a huge shift in his grades, given that he could actually pick what he wanted to take. His attention was constantly captivated, and he went from borderline failing to honors. It was nice, like maybe his stupid brain wouldn’t get the best of him. This improvement landed him a semester abroad in America. College was so different over there than in Japan. Parties were everywhere, and Hizashi was sitting on the fence of joining that life style. The loud music, the flashing lights, it was more his style than anything back home. Out in America he picked up a side job DJing for small little house parties. People paid him to play music and run his mouth, it was the dream! The party scene had its downfalls though: namely drugs. Weed, fantastic, amazing, everyone who wanted to should be able to smoke it! Alcohol, eh, take it or leave it. Ecstasy, after doing his research, he had become so picky about the stuff he never did it. Adderall though, that had been something else. The only thing he knew about the stuff was it was very, very illegal back home. Americans were often detained for having a legitimate prescription of the stuff. His friends had told him it was a lot like coke, just legal coke. “You’ll feel great. And studying will go by so quick.” Except, he didn’t feel great and studying didn’t go by very quickly. He had watched everyone bump the pill and decided to follow suit. Everyone at the party was having fun, geeked out of their mind. And he just sat there with a mild headache from snorting a pill. This amazing, finals enhancing drug did nothing for him. “How ya feelin’ Zash?” “Like I have a headache?” “....Dumbass, do you have ADD?” Oh… There went his brain ruining everything again. Before leaving America, he had gone to his college’s psychiatric facilities to try to get a concrete answer about his ADHD. What he got was… enough. A yes without it being explicit. “Technically, I can’t diagnose you, but I can screen you. At this school, you need a diagnosis to get meds. Outside of the school, this screening is all you need to get a prescription.” The person he had seen had been kind enough to not make anything official without Hizashi’s say so. Not with how mental illness was still seen in the world. For such an advanced society, the hero world still held many old stigmas that should have died away a long time ago. Mental illness was still such a messy topic that most agencies would rather ignore a great hero with a problem than actually try to help said hero. There were some quirks that could help, but ethics and morals came into play a lot. It caused many people to just lie about having any problems, and lying often times got people hurt. While he had been in America, there was an incident with a female hero. She had untreated PTSD and snapped during a mission, taking her life along with the life of another hero and a villain. It wasn’t her fault, if her agency, hell if anyone, had been willing to help her, she would probably still be here. Instead, there was a larger wedge driven in the hero community. When Hizashi moved back to Japan, he had two semesters of college left, but it felt like an eternity. Having a professional reaffirm his suspicions about his own mental health might have been worse than just going against the grain. He was hyper aware of all of his mood changes, any time something was overwhelming he would just freak out. His usual happy go lucky personality had died away under the weight of trying to beat this illness with no help. If he got anything official, he would be screwed. He would never be a hero, though, if he was honest with himself, that was why he was in college. He couldn’t be a hero. He needed a degree so he could teach. At least being a teacher, he could help the next batch of heroes, right? At some point in his hectic life, Nemuri and Shouta had basically become his roommates. He hadn’t been sure when or how, but it was nice. Nemuri was very motherly and Shouta was super logical. It was the perfect combination for when he would absolutely lose his shit during finals. Higher level classes meant more projects, and Hizashi took on too many classes. So, he lost sleep. He’d get anxious and try and finish a month long project in a weekend. He would get it done, but it cost him a lot. How his friends stayed with him was a miracle because by the end of college he could barely function. His straight A’s dropped to C’s because he just stopped caring. Still, he had managed to get that piece of paper that said he could teach. That’s what he had resigned himself to doing: teaching and maybe he’d pick up another DJing gig. It was fun. He needed fun. Shouta and Nemuri, though, were not too thrilled with how easily Hizashi had just given up on being a hero. “You know your provisional license is still good. You can finish up the National License.”

“I don’t think I can, Sho. The stress, the stigma. I.. I think I’m good. I’ll just teach the newbies. It’ll be fun.” That was a lie, but it was one he was willing to live with. He liked teaching his friends English, so maybe teaching kids would be like that. It had to be, because if he didn’t have teaching, he really didn’t have anything. He didn’t want to think about not having anything, but each day he went without a job looked more and more grim. If he had a normal brain then maybe he could be a proper adult and he could go and be this hero. He could save people and function, and not lose his shit over the dumbest thing. A part of him wanted to finally get diagnosed and get on medication, but he knew the minute he did that he signed away any chance he would ever get of being a hero. So, he stayed unmedicated. Just living day to day. Sometimes he would be perfectly fine, just existing in his apartment with his friends. Other days he was freaking out for no real reason. He had looked it up, and apparently because he wasn’t treating his illness he was slowly developing new ones. Namely anxiety and depression. He could tell it was straining his relationship with his friends, but he couldn’t get diagnosed. He just couldn’t, and with medication being so hard to get, he just decided to take matters into his own hands. Energy supplements and weed eventually became Hizashi’s go to once he got himself a job at a radio station. The stuff he was drinking was great, it had vitamins and all this other crap, had little sugar. It helped him focus unlike caffeine pills. At least, that’s how he reasoned with himself. He’d drink the powdery drink before a show, go on for the six hours he needed to be hyped up, then go home and share a joint with his friends before sleeping. Rinse and repeat. Thankfully, his boss at the radio station let him have full reign of the show. So when the drink would make him hyperfocus on his anxiety rather than his music, he’d just queue a non stop playlist and freak out at his desk. It sucked so bad, but it paid his rent. And usually Nemuri or Shouta was out on patrol during his sets so they would bring him something to calm him down. This new regiment went on for a couple months before Nemuri came home one night and threw a bottle of pills at him. Confused, Hizashi read the label over and over, squinting at the prescription and the name attached. “Concerta… Tatsuya… Nem, whose are these?” “Yours.” “Nem, seriously.” “Zashi, seriously.” That night they had a long talk about everything, how Nemuri had suffered from depression. How Shouta found the pharmacist willing to illegally help heroes. How very, very illegal the whole process was. They didn’t bring it up because the process wasn’t guaranteed and it involved some unsavory people. He wasn’t exactly happy that they had gone behind his back with this, but they all knew if he knew he wouldn’t have gone. So he was a little less mad. He didn’t take the medicine immediately. It stayed untouched for about a month, just sitting on his nightstand as he decided what he was going to do. On one hand, he could be a hero. He could just lie about his mental illness and keep it pushing. On the other, he had read up on the medicine, and it was very scary. Just missing one dose could fuck him up. Missing several would put him in a bad spot. Hero work or self medication. That’s what his choice boiled down to. He couldn’t pinpoint why, but one day he just decided to take the medication. It felt great. He was focusing within the hour and he wasn’t drifting off to do other things. His radio show was just the right amount of hyper without going off the rails. He felt productive. It was great. He forgot to take it the next day, and while it wigged him out, he had red he hadn’t been on it long enough for it to do anything. So, he started setting alarms for himself again, a habit that died off at some point. He couldn’t remember why he stopped. Sleep, eat, medicine, clock in, sleep. Rinse and repeat. That’s what his alarms were for. After a couple of weeks he was able to silence all of them except the one that woke him up. It was nice. Having a schedule that he could stick to. After months of being on the medicine, he finally got the courage to go and get his National Hero License. It was scary, but his friends helped him through it. The medicine didn’t help too much with his anxiety, but he wasn’t really willing to fuck with more than one medicine. So he chose to deal with the anxiety by itself. Breathing helped, knowing that getting his NHL would be the best thing ever helped. When he walked out of the building with that piece of plastic, with his two friends waiting for him, he broke down in tears. He couldn’t help it He had come so far because of them... because of him, too. The months turned to two years, and Hizashi was starting to forget who that scared little boy was that he used to be. When he wasn’t a hero, he was still a radio DJ. He found that working multiple jobs was the best thing for him. The more occupied he was, the better off he was. Eventually, he even decided to apply for a teaching position too. Just to add one more thing for him to do. The talk with Principal Nezu was a little intimidating if he was honest. The furry little creature might be small in stature, but he could command the attention of a room. Still, Hizashi laid out his concerns and his own demands. He wanted to be open about his condition if a student had those concerns as well. He never wanted someone to suffer like he had. He wanted to change the stigma. Somehow. Nezu, surprisingly, was okay with this, so long as the student was the one who approached Hizashi with the question. As Hizashi started to teach, and students actually approached him on how to deal with their ADHD, the Pro wanted to push the stigma more. He went to his agency with a hypothetical, a student wanted to know what to do. They laughed and he threatened to leave. Sure, he wasn’t All Might or Endeavor, but he was Present Mic the DJ who brought in a decent chunk of change for his celebrity status, and money talked. They agreed on doing PSAs about ADHD, but they weren’t looking to bring on a hero with the condition. It wasn’t good enough, so he left. And it was a PR nightmare for the agency. “Dear Listeners, Present Mic just became a free agent…” Was it dumb to blast the agency on air? Oh yeah. Did Shouta chew him out? Fuck yeah he did. Did Hizashi feel great? Amazing. It felt so good to do things for himself, to make his own terms. Without an agency, Hizashi started to get more bold on his radio show, creating a monthly Monday show dedicated to mental health. It had its ups and downs, some people loved it, some people hated it. The radio station’s ratings were up so his boss didn’t care one way or another, especially when people would call in to threaten or belittle Mic. Still, he kept it pushing because if he was going to be the only advocate the he was going to be the loudest advocate.

While he never out right admitted he had an illness, everyone could figure it out. The NHL had tried to strip him of his license, but with not real concrete diagnosis they had no reason to. They gave him a firm talking to, reminded him that they were not a fan of his “shenanigans.” So, Hizashi just got louder. He started selling merchandise with “Remember their names” on the front and the list of heroes that, globally, had lost their lives to untreated mental illness. The money went to advocacy groups. He was going to make sure that if the NHL did anything stupid, it would back fire on them.

His hero work was getting choked off by the NHL, he knew it was, but he was just going to keep fighting. Principal Nezu supported his fight, so did his students. He knew how Nemuri and Shouta felt. That was all that mattered. The people that mattered about him cared, and that was enough for him to keep fighting. After the merchandise came a forum, an anonymous place for people with and without quirks to discuss mental illness. At this point, his words had spread out past the hero community in Japan. He saw users from across the globe on his site and he knew he was slowly gaining traction. Slow and steady.

His twenty sixth birthday marked his two year fight for equality, and unfortunately no heroes had really spoken on it. He understood, they didn’t want to jeopardize everything, but it was still frustrating. It was a pretty standard day, outside of a little extra time spent with his best friends. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, until he got an email from All Might. He reread it at least ten times before shrieking, triggering his quirk on accident. Poor Nem and Sho, but seriously, All Might wanted to be on his radio show to talk about mental health and destigmatizing mental illness! They had to tell him to breathe in between his excited outbursts. He was feeling such a strange mix of emotions that he could feel the tears in his eyes. He wanted to be happy, but everything could go so wrong so quickly.

“I admire your tenacity, Present Mic. Everything you’ve done for Mental Health Awareness, it’s very admirable.”

Mic was speechless, but he played it cool, he had to, he was on air.

“I appreciate that, All Might! You’re the first Pro to say anything. So, seriously, I appreciate that.”

“I want to give money to the cause. I might not understand what people are going through, but I can empathize. Let me help.”

Who knew all it took was All Might opening his checkbook for the hero world to change their minds about mental health. Suddenly it was the in thing to be pro mental health. It was a blessing and a curse, but it was better than nothing. All Might helped Hizashi with getting in with some politicians to work on legislation. They worked with getting heroes, civilians, and even villains (in custody) access to whatever it was they needed. It was slow, but needed because Hizashi was not going to let another kid suffer like he did.

A year after the All Might interview, agencies were begging for him to join them. Hizashi had gone from being a smudge on the hero community to being this shining beacon. He declined them all, uninterested in dealing with people who would drop him when mental health was no longer the cool thing. He had heard that had happened when homosexuality was still something people fought for. Heroes would be used as a token, only to be dropped when being gay or queer wasn’t the in thing. No thanks, Hizashi was better off doing the independent thing. He wouldn’t go full underground like Shouta, but he certainly wasn’t going to an agency any time soon. No, he liked his odd hero jobs. Between teaching and the radio, he had just enough time to kick a couple of villain asses. He still had moments where worry crept up, that he would lose control and his illness would win, but that was all part of the fight. It was a long fight, and it was time people knew about it.

“Dear listeners, as you know, I’m closing in on my fifth year at the radio station, so I thought I’d do something a little different. How about I tell you my mental health journey.”

[krkrandstuff]

Kristin ponders about Kristin

still trying to figure myself out..

It’s hard to talk about struggling when there is nothing outwardly wrong and there has never been. Am I even struggling or am I just whining? Why can’t I move forward? Why am I stuck?

Lemme summarize and hopefully not ramble too much but this post is for me mainly, soooo, you know. My homelife has been idyllic, happy, I guess. No struggle, nothing traumatic. I’d call it vanilla. Everything was fine. Emotionally, maybe not so much, but growing up is a time of change, right?

I had some body image issues start up in intermediate school, but who doesn’t, honestly? Being a tall and fat female surrounded by petite and cute girls - I felt stupid wanting to be what they were. I shouldn’t be wearing makeup, shopping for skirts and dresses, liking ‘girly’ things, or revealing any bit of my figure. I felt I looked manly. I felt I would be an impostor. I felt that I hated them for having that whatever it was (it’s called confidence, Kristin). It was just better to avoid attention by wearing over-sized shirts and unintentionally ill-fitting jeans. How I ‘felt’ was a lie. Therapy in my early 20s helped with this and I realize now I’m heckin’ cute regardless of what I’m wearing. Oh, and I realized pink is an awesome color. Therapy.. it does help sometimes.

I’ve had some slumps of depression along with a steady stream of ‘eh’-veryday depression. I remember sitting on the playground in 4th grade tracing cracks in the asphalt with a woodchip for ‘fun’ because I had no friends in my class or in my school wing and my teacher wouldn’t let me stay inside to read. It wasn’t fun. That scenario repeated itself in sophomore year high school as none of my friends had a schedule that lined up with mine - not even lunch. We had been together constantly in junior high; to go from that to barely a glimpse of them my first year in a new building was awful (grades 10-12 were at the h.s.). While they ate together, had stories to tell from class, and did group projects together, I was alone. No amount of hanging out on the weekends made me feel like I wasn’t missing out. The following year, I was reunited with them until we graduated, and then all was reasonably well until we went our separate ways yet again.

University started. I tried being a typical college student. I joined some clubs. I did regularly go to my classes. I tried to meet people. I tried to have fun. My hometown friends were doing all these things and more at their schools, why couldn’t I? Eventually, I felt like my being there did not matter one way or the other. Miserable for a variety of reasons, I ended up transferring from one small university to another closer to home. The few people who reached out to me were surprised I was gone - I hadn’t told them as I hadn’t expected them to notice.

I tried again at my new university - joining a bible study, the anime club, and an Asian culture club. I slowly stopped trying. Again, I felt like my presence was negligible and unnecessary, so I withdrew into myself. I whittled my routine down to class, eat, screw around until everyone was asleep, study/work on projects, sleep. I would avoid the school building when I knew my classmates would be there outside of classtime. I even avoided the dining halls and c-stores if I couldn’t be there right when they opened (and were emptiest). I couldn’t focus unless the world was asleep, so working until dawn and beyond became a regular occurrence. I did all I could to avoid others while slowly drudging toward graduation.

Looking back, I can see the depression and anxiety eating at me. They still nip at my heels and make ugly reappearances, but I can mostly deal with them now thanks to therapy my parents forced me into attending due to a post-uni depression slump. The Buproprion I’m on helps some too. I just feel like there is still something more to be dealt with. Something that is still interfering with my life today.

All my life, I’ve been the worst procrastinator. Annoying assignments, enjoyable assignments, I would put them all to the last moment. In Viscom II, we got to design a CD case for our favorite band and I still could not work on it until the night before it was due. I would escape the guilt telling me to work by working on ‘beneficial’ hobbies. Reading is good for my education, so read more instead of working quite yet. Personal artwork was much the same. Why wouldn’t I work on my assignments ahead of time? Maybe it was that I couldn’t. In high school. I vividly recall cleaning the fridge at home top to bottom to prolong working on an essay. I used to blame laziness, but now I think it’s an inability to focus. Self-diagnosing oneself is frowned upon, but I do wonder if I have ADD. Eight paragraphs and I finally get to what I actually wanted to reflect on and ponder! Sorry self and any determined reader for the tangents. 

Current me, post-college, working a salaried 7:30-4:30 job, has been having struggles lately. My struggles stem from a worsening ability to focus at work and complete failure to do anything but ‘potato’ at home. I cannot procrastinate my work, certain tasks must be completed within certain time frames or our company faces consequences due to my inaction. However my brain still prefers to focus on every conversation and phone call around me so I can interject with information or a comment (sorry if I’m that annoying person, coworkers). My brain wants to think and talk about different cheesy dishes I desire to try and oh, where to buy Greek cheese to make saganaki. Let’s google that for 10 minutes at 8 in the morning for some reason (that train of thought was this past Thursday). Sometimes my brain gets overloaded listening to all these conversations while the printer is going, the phone is ringing, and someone is trying to get my attention. Sometimes I’m hopping between so many little projects that one more request pushes me to tears. 

There are times I want to scream, cry, and run away. None of those are office-appropriate behavior. I feel so wound up by pushing myself through my day that coming down from that at home takes all evening. That is what I call ‘potato-ing’. I zone out to Youtube and Reddit until it’s time to sleep and do it all over. I don’t know how people accomplish anything with their evenings. All I have as far as daily commitments are my job, a loving boyfriend, and two cats and still I do not have the mental energy for a fulfilling evening.

I used to define myself as a reader. I was an artist. I was a gamer. Except for the odd occasion, I don’t do these things anymore. I have a list of books I’ve been meaning to read, but I can’t find the energy to pick them up. I used to have a vivid imagination - much of it stemming from things I’ve read or watched. The source stopped, so I stopped having ideas for what I wanted to draw. I also can’t procrastinate at work, so drawing as a procrastination method is a no-go. I used to have a large list of fandoms I enjoyed, now I couldn’t name any. Some I did outgrow, but mostly, I haven’t been consuming new media because I can’t commit the energy to do so. When I do manage to start a drawing or a new book, I cannot stop. If I stop, I will never finish or go back to it. It is all or nothing.

The only time I feel clear-headed is after everyone has gone to sleep/away and I have had hours to unwind and I am left with perfect solitude. Only then do the inklings of my old pastimes try to make themselves known. Right now, I still don’t usually have the energy to act on them. I’m only able to write this long-ass mess as Joshua has gone to the game shop for the evening. It’s just me, the cats and, the rain outside. 

I did do some reading on ADD in women online. The checklist on ADDitude’s site resonates with me a lot and so do posts from redditors on the ADHD subreddit. I feel choked by how much ‘stuff’ I have. Not even close to being a hoarder, but I feel like I can’t keep up or keep these things organized. I shutdown sometimes at work when I feel overloaded. I shutdown sometimes at the grocery store because of the number of bodies and the noise and chaos. I feel like I can’t keep up with what people demand of me, socially and at work.  I do start the day wanting to accomplish so much and when I fail because I can’t get the ball rolling, my depression just eats that up. 

Writing this all out makes it clearer to me that this is not normal. It is not normal to feel hollow like this. There are things I want to accomplish, but I can never get to them. I can’t get moving. I feel frustrated. I feel sad. I feel stuck. 

I, and medical professionals (probably), never considered ADD might be the culprit as, despite being a procrastinator, I always finished my assignments. I can count on one hand the few that I didn’t. I was primarily a straight A student (until college). I didn’t have any obvious focus issues in class. I don’t live in total chaos (probably because my anxiety goes berserk when there is too much clutter). I’m not all over the place, at least on the outside. I look at my sister who does have ADHD and I can very obviously tell when she’s taken her meds or not. These classic symptoms don’t fit me, but the others do.

I’ve addressed the depression and the anxiety and avoidant behaviors (that I didn’t touch on here). This last beast remains to be conquered. If it’s not ADD, it’s something. Something that I can’t handle on my own.  I’m going to talk to my primary care when I go in this month. She’ll probably tell me I need to see a psychiatrist again, but this time I think I will take that advice. I’m tired of feeling like this. 

Fingers crossed for an answer and hopefully a solution. 

Thanks for coming to to my TedRamble. :P

[apsbicepstraining]

What 8 successful ADHDers crave you to know about how they get stuff done.

Whenever I’m working with my family, acquaintances, or peers, they ever ask me how I’m able to get so much better done.

My answer: “I have ADHD.”

That might resonate confusing, but realistically, parties with ADHD don’t always have problems with attention at least , not when we’re is currently working on something that excites us. In reality, ADHD often means that we can hyperfocus on awesome things for hours on end, although sometimes that comes at the expense of all the less-thrilling acts were supposed to be doing.( Why soak the recipes when you can build a rocket ship out of a cardboard casket and a disassembled vacuum cleaner ?)

Most beings with ADHD have to work 10 epoches harder to achieve seemingly basic organizational and era administration abilities skills that other people develop naturally over occasion. While drug can certainly help, it doesn’t do all the work by itself. As a result, we offer more self-conscious attention to life hacks, remembrance maneuvers, productivity shortcuts and other mental managerial arrangements … because we have to .

GIF via Checkoofilm/ YouTube.

Some say that people with ADHD are much more likely to start their own professions, perhaps because were built to tackle imaginative and entrepreneurial challenges.

While other people dont necessary to discover the same ploys that we do, they can benefit from them. In information, Id “re saying that” ADHDers have some of best available advisory opinions and rehearses for get stuff done even if we dont ever listen to that admonition ourselves .

GIF from “Bruce Almighty.”

Here are 21 productivity gratuities from beings with ADHD that even non-ADHDers can learn from TAGEND

1. Habits are concepts you get free of charge. So get into ’em .

Even though Im not a natural creature of habit, I ever start my period with meds, then a shower, then breathes, then breakfast otherwise I know that Im going to forget one of those steps. Habits are virtually self-automation, which represents less brainpower spent on the interesting thing.

2. Always have a backup( or two, or three) and know where to find it .

I deter additional cables, chargers, adapters, medicine, and other things in my luggage at all periods. That way, whether Im going to the grocery store or on vacation, I dont have to worry about maintaining my phone charged.

3. Remember and alertings: love them and use them .

I even have a repetition 2 p.m. notification on my phone that says EAT SOME LUNCH, YOU IDIOT because, erm, I involve the reminder more than Id like to admit.( Also: IFTTT initiations to automate activities and sync between apps and accounts draw life behavior easier .)

GIF from “Despicable Me 2. “

4. Keep a calendar, and planned in the time it takes for “youve got to” do events .

If it takes you additional time to keep a calendar or get into the headspace for a meeting? Factor that in when youre projecting your daytime too.

5. Pay attention to the your day’s ups and downs, and use them to your advantage .

Do you get sleepy claim after lunch? Then perhaps dont dive into that intense assignment at 1 p.m. Are you better when you answer emails in the morning and get active tasks done subsequently? Then do that. Anatomy out what works for you, and follow that planned .

6. Find your tempo and stick with it .

Even if youre not the slow and steady category, a regular blueprint of sprint and remain can still help you reach the finish line. “Sometimes I’ll start counting trounces in my manager to create a lilt, ” says Tv columnist/ director Hadley Klein. “It sounds crazy but for whatever rationale, it helps me think through occasions in a different way.”

GIF via HIKAKIN/ YouTube.

7. Stir a schedule. Check it twice. Then make another list. And another .

Graphic novelist Tyler Page says, I keep one main to-do index on my computer in a Sticky or TextEdit file. Bigger activities get their own rolls where they get broken down into smaller and smaller factors. The rolls also help with prioritizing something that needs to be done right away goes on the daily to-do list.”

GIF from “Monsters University.”

8. Prioritize action over attainment. Doing the thing.

This one comes from Patty Carnevale, head of revenue at Man Repeller. Weighing your progress in a tangible road can assist you seem more successful, which will then give you the drive to keep going.

9. Reward yourself for your accomplishments no matter how small-time .

If you’re someone who needs frequent feedback to get the necessary dopamine lift, then they are able to fake it by lodging a carrot in front of yourself to keep you going. Alysa Auriemma, an English teach, provides an example: I can speak that breathtaking online fanfic IF I get three articles graded!

GIF from “Parks and Recreation.”

10. Turn the boring characters into a game .

I use a fitness watch which checks how many steps I take in a daylight and how many flights of stairs I clamber. Its fun to prepare the numbers go up , says Nalo Hopkinson, an award-winning scribe. She also reports her daily term count on Twitter, so that people are able to cheerlead her along.

11. Don’t dread the boring material. Just get it done. It’s faster that room .

Focus on the satisfaction that youre going to feel once youve finished the assignment, instead of on the time itll go for get onto done which, tells be honest, is perhaps less era than you think.( Of direction, although there are I know this works for me, it’s still easier said than done .)

12. The more you give occasions pile up, the easier it gets to ignore them . Find a route to keep it fresh . Im a addictive inbox zeroer because the longer that little red-faced notification bubble sits there on my phone, the more inclined I am to ignore it. So I differentiate all my emails as “read, ” then use an IFTTT trigger to prompt me later of things that is really require a follow-up or my attention.

GIF from “Community.”

13. If occasions decline your knowledge, visual clues can help .

You are well aware that mantra, “Out of view, out of mind? ” For parties with ADHD, that’s reasonably literal to a fault. So it makes it possible to stick events right in our own faces so that we can’t miss them . When I was in college, I videotapeed a postcard to my accommodation door with the times I needed to leave by to make it to morning castes on time, says Rebecca Eisenberg, Upworthys senior editor.

14. Work with your brain , not against it . Do you tend to lose your keys in the shower? Then make a new residence for them in the bathroom, where youre already inclined to leave them. That way, theyre always there. Don’t fight your impulses. Use their impetu to your advantage . And on that note

15. Embrace your peculiarities and find a way to draw them work for you.

Everyones brain is different. A mint of ADHDers need to figure out on our own what works for us, rather than having person tell us whats the right way to do stuffs. For illustration: If someone else leaves me a directory of instructions or things to do that’s organized by their thought, it exclusively reaches me disappointed and confused. I have to create my own to-do inventories in my own method even if it does take more time.

GIF from “Adventure Time.”

16. Take a end. Move around. Do a bit dance . Movement helps your intelligence get better. As alluring as it is to made the emphasis on discernible actions, its just as important to not do occasions and give yourself a chance to breathe. Sometimes a little interval can give you a lot of new view .

I use a portable movable stand table and a duet of bluetooth headphones so that I can mostly dance in place and write at the same duration. My partner reputes I’m weird, but it works.

17. Know when to call it a era . Its important to abide when youve reached the object of diminishing returns. Don’t be afraid to give your brain a respite, and come back to it fresh the next day . This’ll save you time in the long run too because the more you ability through your exhaustion, the longer it’ll take to recover.

GIF via ilvbunnies/ YouTube.

18. Identity your flaws and strengths, and be transmitted to others .

“My peers are well aware that in exchange for abiding all the things I do that reach me little dependable, they get a guy who are in a position think outside the box, that can create on the operate, that can wear numerous hats at once, ” says Upworthy’s fearless editor-at-large, Adam Mordecai.

“They also know that if they want something from me, I’m far likelier to get it done if they ping me immediately following chat rather than on email. Give your peeps know how to get the most out of you.”

19. Retain your seeing on the reward, but f orgive yourself and others . Everyones fighting their own uphill battles, and you’re not going to get anything done if you’re too busy hitting yourself up .( Youre not going to help anybody else be more productive if you externalize it and pick on them either .)

GIF from the SAG Awards.

20. Set your goals, but remain flexible.

Maybe you didnt get as much done today as you had hoped, but thats OK. Regroup, “re coming” with a new programme, and try to figure out what went wrong so you can do it better next time. Which fetches me to the last, and perhaps most important, lesson TAGEND

21. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

This is actually a quote from Samuel Beckett, but it also makes for the purposes of an good productivity mantra. The bad parts and failures are inescapable, and youll never overcome them all. But thats OK. Accept it, learn from it, and keep going anyway.

But you do have a mentality. So use it. GIF from “The Wizard of Oz.”

ADHDers understand one thing better than most people: Success is not a stationary target.

There’s no “one weird trick” that will actually bring you any closer to success.

Instead, the best we can hope for is to embrace ourselves for all our strengths and weaknesses, and continue feeling things to work toward. Perhaps that’s a new business seek, 15 simultaneous hobbies, or plainly recollecting to put your underwear on before your pants.

If that last part is a measurable clue, then for me, today was an extraordinary success.

The post What 8 successful ADHDers crave you to know about how they get stuff done. appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

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[theoutlettoendalloutlets]

So I have issues... (part 2)

Hello and welcome back to another addition of I have issues!

This week includes me self diagnosing… again and me being annoyed at myself cause if I read this post I would probably be thinking ‘stop self diagnosing, talk to your family and go see a doctor. ’

So before anyone starts having a go, I’ve probably already had a go at myself so you can just sit down and shut up.

Ok

Are you sitting comfortably?

Let’s begin…

Chapter 1: Self Diagnosis

First a bit of catch up, I can’t remember if I mentioned it in part 1 and I can’t be bothered to look but I have kinda self diagnosed myself with Social Anxiety Disorder. I’m pretty confident in that diagnosis however I don’t really put any wait on it cause I ain’t a doctor.

I don’t believe I always had it but it’s definitely been a problem for the last four years of my life. I’m very thankful it’s not as bad as it could be and I can just about get on without meds. Doesn’t make it fun though.

Even though I was pretty confident with this diagnosis, it still didn’t seem to account for a lot of other differences in the way my brain worked to other people.

Things like: Some days being able to completely reorganizing and clean my room when the next day I would struggle picking up a top of the floor and putting it away.

Struggling to complete projects even though it was something I loved.

Only being able to do homework the week/day/night before it was due and sometimes not finishing it until after the deadline even though I really did try to be organized and do it before.

There are plenty more but I won’t bore you with the details.

So I did the thing you always do. Take every Psych central test there is.

Children don’t follow my example.

Ok, I’ll give myself some credit. I didn’t try every single one.

I did try depression and bipolar disorder. However neither of them seemed to fit. So I kinda have up and went with what I’ve always thought. I’m just lazy.

Until last weekend, I don’t know why I thought of it. I think it was just a random thought. ‘I wonder if I have ADHD? ’

So I took a test… And another… And another… Then I watched a few hundred YouTube videos.

I think I have ADHD.

[yua-shizuka]

What 8 successful ADHDers want you to know about how they get stuff done.

Whenever I’m working with my family, friends, or colleagues, they always ask me how I’m able to get so much done.

My answer: “I have ADHD.”

That might sound confusing, but realistically, people with ADHD don’t always have problems with attention at least, not when we’re working on something that excites us. In fact, ADHD often means that we can hyperfocus on awesome things for hours on end, although sometimes that comes at the expense of all the less-thrilling things were supposed to be doing. (Why wash the dishes when you can build a rocket ship out of a cardboard box and a disassembled vacuum cleaner?)

Most people with ADHD have to work 10 times harder to achieve seemingly basic organizational and time management skills skills that other people develop naturally over time. While medication can certainly help, it doesn’t do all the work by itself. As a result, we pay more conscious attention to life hacks, memory tricks, productivity shortcuts and other mental managerial systems … because we have to.

GIF via Checkoofilm/YouTube.

Some say that people with ADHD are much more likely to start their own businesses, perhaps because were built to tackle creative and entrepreneurial challenges.

While other people dont need to learn the same tricks that we do, they can benefit from them. In fact, Id argue that ADHDers have some of the best advice and practices for getting stuff done even if we dont always listen to that advice ourselves.

GIF from “Bruce Almighty.”

Here are 21 productivity tips from people with ADHD that even non-ADHDers can learn from:

1. Habits are things you get for free. So get into ’em.

Even though Im not a natural creature of habit, I always start my day with meds, then a shower, then pants, then breakfast otherwise I know that Im going to forget one of those steps. Habits are essentially self-automation, which means less brainpower spent on the little things.

2. Always have a backup (or two, or three) and know where to find it.

I keep extra cables, chargers, adapters, medicine, and other things in my bag at all times. That way, whether Im going to the grocery store or on vacation, I dont have to worry about keeping my phone charged.

3. Reminders and alerts: love them and use them.

I even have a recurring 2 p.m. notification on my phone that says EAT SOME LUNCH, YOU IDIOT because, erm, I need the reminder more than Id like to admit. (Also: IFTTT triggers to automate actions and sync between apps and accounts make life way easier.)

GIF from “Despicable Me 2.”

4. Keep a calendar, and schedule in the time it takes for you to do things.

If it takes you extra time to keep a calendar or get into the headspace for a meeting? Factor that in when youre planning your day too.

5. Pay attention to the your day’s ups and downs, and use them to your advantage.

Do you get sleepy right after lunch? Then maybe dont dive into that intense project at 1 p.m. Are you better when you answer emails in the morning and get active tasks done later? Then do that. Figure out what works for you, and follow that schedule.

6. Find your rhythm and stick with it.

Even if youre not the slow and steady type, a regular pattern of sprint and rest can still help you reach the finish line. “Sometimes I’ll start counting beats in my head to create a rhythm,” says TV writer/director Hadley Klein. “It sounds crazy but for whatever reason, it helps me think through things in a different way.”

GIF via HIKAKIN/YouTube.

7. Make a list. Check it twice. Then make another list. And another.

Graphic novelist Tyler Page says, I keep one main to-do list on my computer in a Sticky or TextEdit file. Bigger projects get their own lists where they get broken down into smaller and smaller components. The lists also help with prioritizing something that needs to be done right away goes on the daily to-do list.”

GIF from “Monsters University.”

8. Prioritize action over accomplishment. Doing the thing.

This one comes from Patty Carnevale, head of revenue at Man Repeller. Measuring your progress in a tangible way can help you feel even more successful, which will then give you the drive to keep going.

9. Reward yourself for your accomplishments no matter how small.

If you’re someone who needs frequent feedback to get the necessary dopamine boost, then you can fake it by sticking a carrot in front of yourself to keep you going. Alysa Auriemma, an English instructor, gives an example: I can read that awesome online fanfic IF I get three papers graded!

GIF from “Parks and Recreation.”

10. Turn the boring parts into a game.

I use a fitness watch which monitors how many steps I take in a day and how many flights of stairs I climb. Its fun to make the numbers go up, says Nalo Hopkinson, an award-winning author. She also reports her daily word count on Twitter, so that people can cheerlead her along.

11. Don’t dread the boring stuff. Just get it done. It’s faster that way.

Focus on the satisfaction that youre going to feel once youve finished the task, instead of on the time itll take to get it done which, lets be honest, is probably less time than you think. (Of course, even though I know this works for me, it’s still easier said than done.)

12. The more you let things pile up, the easier it gets to ignore them.

Find a way to keep it fresh. Im a compulsive inbox zeroer because the longer that little red notification bubble sits there on my phone, the more inclined I am to ignore it. So I mark all my emails as “read,” then use an IFTTT trigger to remind me later of things that actually require a follow-up or my attention.

GIF from “Community.”

13. If things slip your mind, visual cues can help.

You know that mantra, “Out of sight, out of mind?” For people with ADHD, that’s pretty literal to a fault. So it helps to stick things right in our own faces so that we can’t miss them. When I was in college, I taped a postcard to my apartment door with the times I needed to leave by to make it to morning classes on time, says Rebecca Eisenberg, Upworthys senior editor.

14. Work with your brain, not against it.

Do you tend to lose your keys in the bathroom? Then make a new home for them in the bathroom, where youre already inclined to leave them. That way, theyre always there. Don’t fight your instincts. Use their momentum to your advantage. And on that note

15. Embrace your idiosyncrasies and find a way to make them work for you.

Everyones brain is different. A lot of ADHDers need to figure out on our own what works for us, rather than having someone tell us whats the right way to do things. For example: If someone else leaves me a list of instructions or things to do that’s organized by their mind, it only makes me frustrated and confused. I have to create my own to-do lists in my own way even if it does take more time.

GIF from “Adventure Time.”

16. Take a break. Move around. Do a little dance.

Movement helps your brain work better. As tempting as it is to put the emphasis on measurable actions, its just as important to not do things and give yourself a chance to breathe. Sometimes a little distance can give you a lot of new perspective.

I use a portable adjustable standing desk and a pair of bluetooth headphones so that I can basically dance in place and write at the same time. My wife thinks I’m weird, but it works.

17. Know when to call it a day.

Its important to accept when youve reached the point of diminishing returns. Don’t be afraid to give your brain a rest, and come back to it fresh the next day. This’ll save you time in the long run too because the more you power through your exhaustion, the longer it’ll take to recover.

GIF via ilvbunnies/YouTube.

18. Identity your flaws and strengths, and communicate them to others.

“My colleagues know that in exchange for tolerating all the things I do that make me less reliable, they get a guy who can think outside the box, that can create on the fly, that can wear many hats at once,” says Upworthy’s fearless editor-at-large, Adam Mordecai.

“They also know that if they want something from me, I’m far likelier to get it done if they ping me immediately on chat rather than on email. Let your peeps know how to get the most out of you.”

19. Keep your eye on the prize, but forgive yourself and others.

Everyones fighting their own uphill battles, and you’re not going to get anything done if you’re too busy beating yourself up. (Youre not going to help anyone else be more productive if you externalize it and pick on them either.)

GIF from the SAG Awards.

20. Set your goals, but stay flexible.

Maybe you didnt get as much done today as you had hoped, but thats OK. Regroup, come up with a new strategy, and try to figure out what went wrong so you can do it better next time. Which brings me to the last, and perhaps most important, lesson:

21. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

This is actually a quote from Samuel Beckett, but it also makes for an excellent productivity mantra. The bad parts and failures are inevitable, and youll never overcome them all. But thats OK. Accept it, learn from it, and keep going anyway.

But you do have a brain. So use it. GIF from “The Wizard of Oz.”

ADHDers understand one thing better than most people: Success is not a stationary target.

There’s no “one weird trick” that will actually bring you any closer to success.

Instead, the best we can hope for is to embrace ourselves for all our strengths and weaknesses, and keep finding things to work toward. Perhaps that’s a new business endeavor, 15 simultaneous hobbies, or simply remembering to put your underwear on before your pants.

If that last part is a measurable indication, then for me, today was an extraordinary success.

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done

from https://www.makingthebest.com/2017/04/16/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done/

[fangirl-with-a-shoulder-fettish]

What 8 successful ADHDers want you to know about how they get stuff done.

Whenever I’m working with my family, friends, or colleagues, they always ask me how I’m able to get so much done.

My answer: “I have ADHD.”

That might sound confusing, but realistically, people with ADHD don’t always have problems with attention at least, not when we’re working on something that excites us. In fact, ADHD often means that we can hyperfocus on awesome things for hours on end, although sometimes that comes at the expense of all the less-thrilling things were supposed to be doing. (Why wash the dishes when you can build a rocket ship out of a cardboard box and a disassembled vacuum cleaner?)

Most people with ADHD have to work 10 times harder to achieve seemingly basic organizational and time management skills skills that other people develop naturally over time. While medication can certainly help, it doesn’t do all the work by itself. As a result, we pay more conscious attention to life hacks, memory tricks, productivity shortcuts and other mental managerial systems … because we have to.

GIF via Checkoofilm/YouTube.

Some say that people with ADHD are much more likely to start their own businesses, perhaps because were built to tackle creative and entrepreneurial challenges.

While other people dont need to learn the same tricks that we do, they can benefit from them. In fact, Id argue that ADHDers have some of the best advice and practices for getting stuff done even if we dont always listen to that advice ourselves.

GIF from “Bruce Almighty.”

Here are 21 productivity tips from people with ADHD that even non-ADHDers can learn from:

1. Habits are things you get for free. So get into ’em.

Even though Im not a natural creature of habit, I always start my day with meds, then a shower, then pants, then breakfast otherwise I know that Im going to forget one of those steps. Habits are essentially self-automation, which means less brainpower spent on the little things.

2. Always have a backup (or two, or three) and know where to find it.

I keep extra cables, chargers, adapters, medicine, and other things in my bag at all times. That way, whether Im going to the grocery store or on vacation, I dont have to worry about keeping my phone charged.

3. Reminders and alerts: love them and use them.

I even have a recurring 2 p.m. notification on my phone that says EAT SOME LUNCH, YOU IDIOT because, erm, I need the reminder more than Id like to admit. (Also: IFTTT triggers to automate actions and sync between apps and accounts make life way easier.)

GIF from “Despicable Me 2.”

4. Keep a calendar, and schedule in the time it takes for you to do things.

If it takes you extra time to keep a calendar or get into the headspace for a meeting? Factor that in when youre planning your day too.

5. Pay attention to the your day’s ups and downs, and use them to your advantage.

Do you get sleepy right after lunch? Then maybe dont dive into that intense project at 1 p.m. Are you better when you answer emails in the morning and get active tasks done later? Then do that. Figure out what works for you, and follow that schedule.

6. Find your rhythm and stick with it.

Even if youre not the slow and steady type, a regular pattern of sprint and rest can still help you reach the finish line. “Sometimes I’ll start counting beats in my head to create a rhythm,” says TV writer/director Hadley Klein. “It sounds crazy but for whatever reason, it helps me think through things in a different way.”

GIF via HIKAKIN/YouTube.

7. Make a list. Check it twice. Then make another list. And another.

Graphic novelist Tyler Page says, I keep one main to-do list on my computer in a Sticky or TextEdit file. Bigger projects get their own lists where they get broken down into smaller and smaller components. The lists also help with prioritizing something that needs to be done right away goes on the daily to-do list.”

GIF from “Monsters University.”

8. Prioritize action over accomplishment. Doing the thing.

This one comes from Patty Carnevale, head of revenue at Man Repeller. Measuring your progress in a tangible way can help you feel even more successful, which will then give you the drive to keep going.

9. Reward yourself for your accomplishments no matter how small.

If you’re someone who needs frequent feedback to get the necessary dopamine boost, then you can fake it by sticking a carrot in front of yourself to keep you going. Alysa Auriemma, an English instructor, gives an example: I can read that awesome online fanfic IF I get three papers graded!

GIF from “Parks and Recreation.”

10. Turn the boring parts into a game.

I use a fitness watch which monitors how many steps I take in a day and how many flights of stairs I climb. Its fun to make the numbers go up, says Nalo Hopkinson, an award-winning author. She also reports her daily word count on Twitter, so that people can cheerlead her along.

11. Don’t dread the boring stuff. Just get it done. It’s faster that way.

Focus on the satisfaction that youre going to feel once youve finished the task, instead of on the time itll take to get it done which, lets be honest, is probably less time than you think. (Of course, even though I know this works for me, it’s still easier said than done.)

12. The more you let things pile up, the easier it gets to ignore them.

Find a way to keep it fresh. Im a compulsive inbox zeroer because the longer that little red notification bubble sits there on my phone, the more inclined I am to ignore it. So I mark all my emails as “read,” then use an IFTTT trigger to remind me later of things that actually require a follow-up or my attention.

GIF from “Community.”

13. If things slip your mind, visual cues can help.

You know that mantra, “Out of sight, out of mind?” For people with ADHD, that’s pretty literal to a fault. So it helps to stick things right in our own faces so that we can’t miss them. When I was in college, I taped a postcard to my apartment door with the times I needed to leave by to make it to morning classes on time, says Rebecca Eisenberg, Upworthys senior editor.

14. Work with your brain, not against it.

Do you tend to lose your keys in the bathroom? Then make a new home for them in the bathroom, where youre already inclined to leave them. That way, theyre always there. Don’t fight your instincts. Use their momentum to your advantage. And on that note

15. Embrace your idiosyncrasies and find a way to make them work for you.

Everyones brain is different. A lot of ADHDers need to figure out on our own what works for us, rather than having someone tell us whats the right way to do things. For example: If someone else leaves me a list of instructions or things to do that’s organized by their mind, it only makes me frustrated and confused. I have to create my own to-do lists in my own way even if it does take more time.

GIF from “Adventure Time.”

16. Take a break. Move around. Do a little dance.

Movement helps your brain work better. As tempting as it is to put the emphasis on measurable actions, its just as important to not do things and give yourself a chance to breathe. Sometimes a little distance can give you a lot of new perspective.

I use a portable adjustable standing desk and a pair of bluetooth headphones so that I can basically dance in place and write at the same time. My wife thinks I’m weird, but it works.

17. Know when to call it a day.

Its important to accept when youve reached the point of diminishing returns. Don’t be afraid to give your brain a rest, and come back to it fresh the next day. This’ll save you time in the long run too because the more you power through your exhaustion, the longer it’ll take to recover.

GIF via ilvbunnies/YouTube.

18. Identity your flaws and strengths, and communicate them to others.

“My colleagues know that in exchange for tolerating all the things I do that make me less reliable, they get a guy who can think outside the box, that can create on the fly, that can wear many hats at once,” says Upworthy’s fearless editor-at-large, Adam Mordecai.

“They also know that if they want something from me, I’m far likelier to get it done if they ping me immediately on chat rather than on email. Let your peeps know how to get the most out of you.”

19. Keep your eye on the prize, but forgive yourself and others.

Everyones fighting their own uphill battles, and you’re not going to get anything done if you’re too busy beating yourself up. (Youre not going to help anyone else be more productive if you externalize it and pick on them either.)

GIF from the SAG Awards.

20. Set your goals, but stay flexible.

Maybe you didnt get as much done today as you had hoped, but thats OK. Regroup, come up with a new strategy, and try to figure out what went wrong so you can do it better next time. Which brings me to the last, and perhaps most important, lesson:

21. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

This is actually a quote from Samuel Beckett, but it also makes for an excellent productivity mantra. The bad parts and failures are inevitable, and youll never overcome them all. But thats OK. Accept it, learn from it, and keep going anyway.

But you do have a brain. So use it. GIF from “The Wizard of Oz.”

ADHDers understand one thing better than most people: Success is not a stationary target.

There’s no “one weird trick” that will actually bring you any closer to success.

Instead, the best we can hope for is to embrace ourselves for all our strengths and weaknesses, and keep finding things to work toward. Perhaps that’s a new business endeavor, 15 simultaneous hobbies, or simply remembering to put your underwear on before your pants.

If that last part is a measurable indication, then for me, today was an extraordinary success.

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done

from https://www.makingthebest.com/2017/04/16/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done/

[otaku-douchebag-ponytail]

What 8 successful ADHDers want you to know about how they get stuff done.

Whenever I’m working with my family, friends, or colleagues, they always ask me how I’m able to get so much done.

My answer: “I have ADHD.”

That might sound confusing, but realistically, people with ADHD don’t always have problems with attention at least, not when we’re working on something that excites us. In fact, ADHD often means that we can hyperfocus on awesome things for hours on end, although sometimes that comes at the expense of all the less-thrilling things were supposed to be doing. (Why wash the dishes when you can build a rocket ship out of a cardboard box and a disassembled vacuum cleaner?)

Most people with ADHD have to work 10 times harder to achieve seemingly basic organizational and time management skills skills that other people develop naturally over time. While medication can certainly help, it doesn’t do all the work by itself. As a result, we pay more conscious attention to life hacks, memory tricks, productivity shortcuts and other mental managerial systems … because we have to.

GIF via Checkoofilm/YouTube.

Some say that people with ADHD are much more likely to start their own businesses, perhaps because were built to tackle creative and entrepreneurial challenges.

While other people dont need to learn the same tricks that we do, they can benefit from them. In fact, Id argue that ADHDers have some of the best advice and practices for getting stuff done even if we dont always listen to that advice ourselves.

GIF from “Bruce Almighty.”

Here are 21 productivity tips from people with ADHD that even non-ADHDers can learn from:

1. Habits are things you get for free. So get into ’em.

Even though Im not a natural creature of habit, I always start my day with meds, then a shower, then pants, then breakfast otherwise I know that Im going to forget one of those steps. Habits are essentially self-automation, which means less brainpower spent on the little things.

2. Always have a backup (or two, or three) and know where to find it.

I keep extra cables, chargers, adapters, medicine, and other things in my bag at all times. That way, whether Im going to the grocery store or on vacation, I dont have to worry about keeping my phone charged.

3. Reminders and alerts: love them and use them.

I even have a recurring 2 p.m. notification on my phone that says EAT SOME LUNCH, YOU IDIOT because, erm, I need the reminder more than Id like to admit. (Also: IFTTT triggers to automate actions and sync between apps and accounts make life way easier.)

GIF from “Despicable Me 2.”

4. Keep a calendar, and schedule in the time it takes for you to do things.

If it takes you extra time to keep a calendar or get into the headspace for a meeting? Factor that in when youre planning your day too.

5. Pay attention to the your day’s ups and downs, and use them to your advantage.

Do you get sleepy right after lunch? Then maybe dont dive into that intense project at 1 p.m. Are you better when you answer emails in the morning and get active tasks done later? Then do that. Figure out what works for you, and follow that schedule.

6. Find your rhythm and stick with it.

Even if youre not the slow and steady type, a regular pattern of sprint and rest can still help you reach the finish line. “Sometimes I’ll start counting beats in my head to create a rhythm,” says TV writer/director Hadley Klein. “It sounds crazy but for whatever reason, it helps me think through things in a different way.”

GIF via HIKAKIN/YouTube.

7. Make a list. Check it twice. Then make another list. And another.

Graphic novelist Tyler Page says, I keep one main to-do list on my computer in a Sticky or TextEdit file. Bigger projects get their own lists where they get broken down into smaller and smaller components. The lists also help with prioritizing something that needs to be done right away goes on the daily to-do list.”

GIF from “Monsters University.”

8. Prioritize action over accomplishment. Doing the thing.

This one comes from Patty Carnevale, head of revenue at Man Repeller. Measuring your progress in a tangible way can help you feel even more successful, which will then give you the drive to keep going.

9. Reward yourself for your accomplishments no matter how small.

If you’re someone who needs frequent feedback to get the necessary dopamine boost, then you can fake it by sticking a carrot in front of yourself to keep you going. Alysa Auriemma, an English instructor, gives an example: I can read that awesome online fanfic IF I get three papers graded!

GIF from “Parks and Recreation.”

10. Turn the boring parts into a game.

I use a fitness watch which monitors how many steps I take in a day and how many flights of stairs I climb. Its fun to make the numbers go up, says Nalo Hopkinson, an award-winning author. She also reports her daily word count on Twitter, so that people can cheerlead her along.

11. Don’t dread the boring stuff. Just get it done. It’s faster that way.

Focus on the satisfaction that youre going to feel once youve finished the task, instead of on the time itll take to get it done which, lets be honest, is probably less time than you think. (Of course, even though I know this works for me, it’s still easier said than done.)

12. The more you let things pile up, the easier it gets to ignore them.

Find a way to keep it fresh. Im a compulsive inbox zeroer because the longer that little red notification bubble sits there on my phone, the more inclined I am to ignore it. So I mark all my emails as “read,” then use an IFTTT trigger to remind me later of things that actually require a follow-up or my attention.

GIF from “Community.”

13. If things slip your mind, visual cues can help.

You know that mantra, “Out of sight, out of mind?” For people with ADHD, that’s pretty literal to a fault. So it helps to stick things right in our own faces so that we can’t miss them. When I was in college, I taped a postcard to my apartment door with the times I needed to leave by to make it to morning classes on time, says Rebecca Eisenberg, Upworthys senior editor.

14. Work with your brain, not against it.

Do you tend to lose your keys in the bathroom? Then make a new home for them in the bathroom, where youre already inclined to leave them. That way, theyre always there. Don’t fight your instincts. Use their momentum to your advantage. And on that note

15. Embrace your idiosyncrasies and find a way to make them work for you.

Everyones brain is different. A lot of ADHDers need to figure out on our own what works for us, rather than having someone tell us whats the right way to do things. For example: If someone else leaves me a list of instructions or things to do that’s organized by their mind, it only makes me frustrated and confused. I have to create my own to-do lists in my own way even if it does take more time.

GIF from “Adventure Time.”

16. Take a break. Move around. Do a little dance.

Movement helps your brain work better. As tempting as it is to put the emphasis on measurable actions, its just as important to not do things and give yourself a chance to breathe. Sometimes a little distance can give you a lot of new perspective.

I use a portable adjustable standing desk and a pair of bluetooth headphones so that I can basically dance in place and write at the same time. My wife thinks I’m weird, but it works.

17. Know when to call it a day.

Its important to accept when youve reached the point of diminishing returns. Don’t be afraid to give your brain a rest, and come back to it fresh the next day. This’ll save you time in the long run too because the more you power through your exhaustion, the longer it’ll take to recover.

GIF via ilvbunnies/YouTube.

18. Identity your flaws and strengths, and communicate them to others.

“My colleagues know that in exchange for tolerating all the things I do that make me less reliable, they get a guy who can think outside the box, that can create on the fly, that can wear many hats at once,” says Upworthy’s fearless editor-at-large, Adam Mordecai.

“They also know that if they want something from me, I’m far likelier to get it done if they ping me immediately on chat rather than on email. Let your peeps know how to get the most out of you.”

19. Keep your eye on the prize, but forgive yourself and others.

Everyones fighting their own uphill battles, and you’re not going to get anything done if you’re too busy beating yourself up. (Youre not going to help anyone else be more productive if you externalize it and pick on them either.)

GIF from the SAG Awards.

20. Set your goals, but stay flexible.

Maybe you didnt get as much done today as you had hoped, but thats OK. Regroup, come up with a new strategy, and try to figure out what went wrong so you can do it better next time. Which brings me to the last, and perhaps most important, lesson:

21. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

This is actually a quote from Samuel Beckett, but it also makes for an excellent productivity mantra. The bad parts and failures are inevitable, and youll never overcome them all. But thats OK. Accept it, learn from it, and keep going anyway.

But you do have a brain. So use it. GIF from “The Wizard of Oz.”

ADHDers understand one thing better than most people: Success is not a stationary target.

There’s no “one weird trick” that will actually bring you any closer to success.

Instead, the best we can hope for is to embrace ourselves for all our strengths and weaknesses, and keep finding things to work toward. Perhaps that’s a new business endeavor, 15 simultaneous hobbies, or simply remembering to put your underwear on before your pants.

If that last part is a measurable indication, then for me, today was an extraordinary success.

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done

from https://www.makingthebest.com/2017/04/16/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done/

[lavendermiilk]

What 8 successful ADHDers want you to know about how they get stuff done.

Whenever I’m working with my family, friends, or colleagues, they always ask me how I’m able to get so much done.

My answer: “I have ADHD.”

That might sound confusing, but realistically, people with ADHD don’t always have problems with attention at least, not when we’re working on something that excites us. In fact, ADHD often means that we can hyperfocus on awesome things for hours on end, although sometimes that comes at the expense of all the less-thrilling things were supposed to be doing. (Why wash the dishes when you can build a rocket ship out of a cardboard box and a disassembled vacuum cleaner?)

Most people with ADHD have to work 10 times harder to achieve seemingly basic organizational and time management skills skills that other people develop naturally over time. While medication can certainly help, it doesn’t do all the work by itself. As a result, we pay more conscious attention to life hacks, memory tricks, productivity shortcuts and other mental managerial systems … because we have to.

GIF via Checkoofilm/YouTube.

Some say that people with ADHD are much more likely to start their own businesses, perhaps because were built to tackle creative and entrepreneurial challenges.

While other people dont need to learn the same tricks that we do, they can benefit from them. In fact, Id argue that ADHDers have some of the best advice and practices for getting stuff done even if we dont always listen to that advice ourselves.

GIF from “Bruce Almighty.”

Here are 21 productivity tips from people with ADHD that even non-ADHDers can learn from:

1. Habits are things you get for free. So get into ’em.

Even though Im not a natural creature of habit, I always start my day with meds, then a shower, then pants, then breakfast otherwise I know that Im going to forget one of those steps. Habits are essentially self-automation, which means less brainpower spent on the little things.

2. Always have a backup (or two, or three) and know where to find it.

I keep extra cables, chargers, adapters, medicine, and other things in my bag at all times. That way, whether Im going to the grocery store or on vacation, I dont have to worry about keeping my phone charged.

3. Reminders and alerts: love them and use them.

I even have a recurring 2 p.m. notification on my phone that says EAT SOME LUNCH, YOU IDIOT because, erm, I need the reminder more than Id like to admit. (Also: IFTTT triggers to automate actions and sync between apps and accounts make life way easier.)

GIF from “Despicable Me 2.”

4. Keep a calendar, and schedule in the time it takes for you to do things.

If it takes you extra time to keep a calendar or get into the headspace for a meeting? Factor that in when youre planning your day too.

5. Pay attention to the your day’s ups and downs, and use them to your advantage.

Do you get sleepy right after lunch? Then maybe dont dive into that intense project at 1 p.m. Are you better when you answer emails in the morning and get active tasks done later? Then do that. Figure out what works for you, and follow that schedule.

6. Find your rhythm and stick with it.

Even if youre not the slow and steady type, a regular pattern of sprint and rest can still help you reach the finish line. “Sometimes I’ll start counting beats in my head to create a rhythm,” says TV writer/director Hadley Klein. “It sounds crazy but for whatever reason, it helps me think through things in a different way.”

GIF via HIKAKIN/YouTube.

7. Make a list. Check it twice. Then make another list. And another.

Graphic novelist Tyler Page says, I keep one main to-do list on my computer in a Sticky or TextEdit file. Bigger projects get their own lists where they get broken down into smaller and smaller components. The lists also help with prioritizing something that needs to be done right away goes on the daily to-do list.”

GIF from “Monsters University.”

8. Prioritize action over accomplishment. Doing the thing.

This one comes from Patty Carnevale, head of revenue at Man Repeller. Measuring your progress in a tangible way can help you feel even more successful, which will then give you the drive to keep going.

9. Reward yourself for your accomplishments no matter how small.

If you’re someone who needs frequent feedback to get the necessary dopamine boost, then you can fake it by sticking a carrot in front of yourself to keep you going. Alysa Auriemma, an English instructor, gives an example: I can read that awesome online fanfic IF I get three papers graded!

GIF from “Parks and Recreation.”

10. Turn the boring parts into a game.

I use a fitness watch which monitors how many steps I take in a day and how many flights of stairs I climb. Its fun to make the numbers go up, says Nalo Hopkinson, an award-winning author. She also reports her daily word count on Twitter, so that people can cheerlead her along.

11. Don’t dread the boring stuff. Just get it done. It’s faster that way.

Focus on the satisfaction that youre going to feel once youve finished the task, instead of on the time itll take to get it done which, lets be honest, is probably less time than you think. (Of course, even though I know this works for me, it’s still easier said than done.)

12. The more you let things pile up, the easier it gets to ignore them.

Find a way to keep it fresh. Im a compulsive inbox zeroer because the longer that little red notification bubble sits there on my phone, the more inclined I am to ignore it. So I mark all my emails as “read,” then use an IFTTT trigger to remind me later of things that actually require a follow-up or my attention.

GIF from “Community.”

13. If things slip your mind, visual cues can help.

You know that mantra, “Out of sight, out of mind?” For people with ADHD, that’s pretty literal to a fault. So it helps to stick things right in our own faces so that we can’t miss them. When I was in college, I taped a postcard to my apartment door with the times I needed to leave by to make it to morning classes on time, says Rebecca Eisenberg, Upworthys senior editor.

14. Work with your brain, not against it.

Do you tend to lose your keys in the bathroom? Then make a new home for them in the bathroom, where youre already inclined to leave them. That way, theyre always there. Don’t fight your instincts. Use their momentum to your advantage. And on that note

15. Embrace your idiosyncrasies and find a way to make them work for you.

Everyones brain is different. A lot of ADHDers need to figure out on our own what works for us, rather than having someone tell us whats the right way to do things. For example: If someone else leaves me a list of instructions or things to do that’s organized by their mind, it only makes me frustrated and confused. I have to create my own to-do lists in my own way even if it does take more time.

GIF from “Adventure Time.”

16. Take a break. Move around. Do a little dance.

Movement helps your brain work better. As tempting as it is to put the emphasis on measurable actions, its just as important to not do things and give yourself a chance to breathe. Sometimes a little distance can give you a lot of new perspective.

I use a portable adjustable standing desk and a pair of bluetooth headphones so that I can basically dance in place and write at the same time. My wife thinks I’m weird, but it works.

17. Know when to call it a day.

Its important to accept when youve reached the point of diminishing returns. Don’t be afraid to give your brain a rest, and come back to it fresh the next day. This’ll save you time in the long run too because the more you power through your exhaustion, the longer it’ll take to recover.

GIF via ilvbunnies/YouTube.

18. Identity your flaws and strengths, and communicate them to others.

“My colleagues know that in exchange for tolerating all the things I do that make me less reliable, they get a guy who can think outside the box, that can create on the fly, that can wear many hats at once,” says Upworthy’s fearless editor-at-large, Adam Mordecai.

“They also know that if they want something from me, I’m far likelier to get it done if they ping me immediately on chat rather than on email. Let your peeps know how to get the most out of you.”

19. Keep your eye on the prize, but forgive yourself and others.

Everyones fighting their own uphill battles, and you’re not going to get anything done if you’re too busy beating yourself up. (Youre not going to help anyone else be more productive if you externalize it and pick on them either.)

GIF from the SAG Awards.

20. Set your goals, but stay flexible.

Maybe you didnt get as much done today as you had hoped, but thats OK. Regroup, come up with a new strategy, and try to figure out what went wrong so you can do it better next time. Which brings me to the last, and perhaps most important, lesson:

21. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

This is actually a quote from Samuel Beckett, but it also makes for an excellent productivity mantra. The bad parts and failures are inevitable, and youll never overcome them all. But thats OK. Accept it, learn from it, and keep going anyway.

But you do have a brain. So use it. GIF from “The Wizard of Oz.”

ADHDers understand one thing better than most people: Success is not a stationary target.

There’s no “one weird trick” that will actually bring you any closer to success.

Instead, the best we can hope for is to embrace ourselves for all our strengths and weaknesses, and keep finding things to work toward. Perhaps that’s a new business endeavor, 15 simultaneous hobbies, or simply remembering to put your underwear on before your pants.

If that last part is a measurable indication, then for me, today was an extraordinary success.

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done

from https://www.makingthebest.com/2017/04/16/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done/

[txny-archxr]

What 8 successful ADHDers want you to know about how they get stuff done.

Whenever I’m working with my family, friends, or colleagues, they always ask me how I’m able to get so much done.

My answer: “I have ADHD.”

That might sound confusing, but realistically, people with ADHD don’t always have problems with attention at least, not when we’re working on something that excites us. In fact, ADHD often means that we can hyperfocus on awesome things for hours on end, although sometimes that comes at the expense of all the less-thrilling things were supposed to be doing. (Why wash the dishes when you can build a rocket ship out of a cardboard box and a disassembled vacuum cleaner?)

Most people with ADHD have to work 10 times harder to achieve seemingly basic organizational and time management skills skills that other people develop naturally over time. While medication can certainly help, it doesn’t do all the work by itself. As a result, we pay more conscious attention to life hacks, memory tricks, productivity shortcuts and other mental managerial systems … because we have to.

GIF via Checkoofilm/YouTube.

Some say that people with ADHD are much more likely to start their own businesses, perhaps because were built to tackle creative and entrepreneurial challenges.

While other people dont need to learn the same tricks that we do, they can benefit from them. In fact, Id argue that ADHDers have some of the best advice and practices for getting stuff done even if we dont always listen to that advice ourselves.

GIF from “Bruce Almighty.”

Here are 21 productivity tips from people with ADHD that even non-ADHDers can learn from:

1. Habits are things you get for free. So get into ’em.

Even though Im not a natural creature of habit, I always start my day with meds, then a shower, then pants, then breakfast otherwise I know that Im going to forget one of those steps. Habits are essentially self-automation, which means less brainpower spent on the little things.

2. Always have a backup (or two, or three) and know where to find it.

I keep extra cables, chargers, adapters, medicine, and other things in my bag at all times. That way, whether Im going to the grocery store or on vacation, I dont have to worry about keeping my phone charged.

3. Reminders and alerts: love them and use them.

I even have a recurring 2 p.m. notification on my phone that says EAT SOME LUNCH, YOU IDIOT because, erm, I need the reminder more than Id like to admit. (Also: IFTTT triggers to automate actions and sync between apps and accounts make life way easier.)

GIF from “Despicable Me 2.”

4. Keep a calendar, and schedule in the time it takes for you to do things.

If it takes you extra time to keep a calendar or get into the headspace for a meeting? Factor that in when youre planning your day too.

5. Pay attention to the your day’s ups and downs, and use them to your advantage.

Do you get sleepy right after lunch? Then maybe dont dive into that intense project at 1 p.m. Are you better when you answer emails in the morning and get active tasks done later? Then do that. Figure out what works for you, and follow that schedule.

6. Find your rhythm and stick with it.

Even if youre not the slow and steady type, a regular pattern of sprint and rest can still help you reach the finish line. “Sometimes I’ll start counting beats in my head to create a rhythm,” says TV writer/director Hadley Klein. “It sounds crazy but for whatever reason, it helps me think through things in a different way.”

GIF via HIKAKIN/YouTube.

7. Make a list. Check it twice. Then make another list. And another.

Graphic novelist Tyler Page says, I keep one main to-do list on my computer in a Sticky or TextEdit file. Bigger projects get their own lists where they get broken down into smaller and smaller components. The lists also help with prioritizing something that needs to be done right away goes on the daily to-do list.”

GIF from “Monsters University.”

8. Prioritize action over accomplishment. Doing the thing.

This one comes from Patty Carnevale, head of revenue at Man Repeller. Measuring your progress in a tangible way can help you feel even more successful, which will then give you the drive to keep going.

9. Reward yourself for your accomplishments no matter how small.

If you’re someone who needs frequent feedback to get the necessary dopamine boost, then you can fake it by sticking a carrot in front of yourself to keep you going. Alysa Auriemma, an English instructor, gives an example: I can read that awesome online fanfic IF I get three papers graded!

GIF from “Parks and Recreation.”

10. Turn the boring parts into a game.

I use a fitness watch which monitors how many steps I take in a day and how many flights of stairs I climb. Its fun to make the numbers go up, says Nalo Hopkinson, an award-winning author. She also reports her daily word count on Twitter, so that people can cheerlead her along.

11. Don’t dread the boring stuff. Just get it done. It’s faster that way.

Focus on the satisfaction that youre going to feel once youve finished the task, instead of on the time itll take to get it done which, lets be honest, is probably less time than you think. (Of course, even though I know this works for me, it’s still easier said than done.)

12. The more you let things pile up, the easier it gets to ignore them.

Find a way to keep it fresh. Im a compulsive inbox zeroer because the longer that little red notification bubble sits there on my phone, the more inclined I am to ignore it. So I mark all my emails as “read,” then use an IFTTT trigger to remind me later of things that actually require a follow-up or my attention.

GIF from “Community.”

13. If things slip your mind, visual cues can help.

You know that mantra, “Out of sight, out of mind?” For people with ADHD, that’s pretty literal to a fault. So it helps to stick things right in our own faces so that we can’t miss them. When I was in college, I taped a postcard to my apartment door with the times I needed to leave by to make it to morning classes on time, says Rebecca Eisenberg, Upworthys senior editor.

14. Work with your brain, not against it.

Do you tend to lose your keys in the bathroom? Then make a new home for them in the bathroom, where youre already inclined to leave them. That way, theyre always there. Don’t fight your instincts. Use their momentum to your advantage. And on that note

15. Embrace your idiosyncrasies and find a way to make them work for you.

Everyones brain is different. A lot of ADHDers need to figure out on our own what works for us, rather than having someone tell us whats the right way to do things. For example: If someone else leaves me a list of instructions or things to do that’s organized by their mind, it only makes me frustrated and confused. I have to create my own to-do lists in my own way even if it does take more time.

GIF from “Adventure Time.”

16. Take a break. Move around. Do a little dance.

Movement helps your brain work better. As tempting as it is to put the emphasis on measurable actions, its just as important to not do things and give yourself a chance to breathe. Sometimes a little distance can give you a lot of new perspective.

I use a portable adjustable standing desk and a pair of bluetooth headphones so that I can basically dance in place and write at the same time. My wife thinks I’m weird, but it works.

17. Know when to call it a day.

Its important to accept when youve reached the point of diminishing returns. Don’t be afraid to give your brain a rest, and come back to it fresh the next day. This’ll save you time in the long run too because the more you power through your exhaustion, the longer it’ll take to recover.

GIF via ilvbunnies/YouTube.

18. Identity your flaws and strengths, and communicate them to others.

“My colleagues know that in exchange for tolerating all the things I do that make me less reliable, they get a guy who can think outside the box, that can create on the fly, that can wear many hats at once,” says Upworthy’s fearless editor-at-large, Adam Mordecai.

“They also know that if they want something from me, I’m far likelier to get it done if they ping me immediately on chat rather than on email. Let your peeps know how to get the most out of you.”

19. Keep your eye on the prize, but forgive yourself and others.

Everyones fighting their own uphill battles, and you’re not going to get anything done if you’re too busy beating yourself up. (Youre not going to help anyone else be more productive if you externalize it and pick on them either.)

GIF from the SAG Awards.

20. Set your goals, but stay flexible.

Maybe you didnt get as much done today as you had hoped, but thats OK. Regroup, come up with a new strategy, and try to figure out what went wrong so you can do it better next time. Which brings me to the last, and perhaps most important, lesson:

21. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

This is actually a quote from Samuel Beckett, but it also makes for an excellent productivity mantra. The bad parts and failures are inevitable, and youll never overcome them all. But thats OK. Accept it, learn from it, and keep going anyway.

But you do have a brain. So use it. GIF from “The Wizard of Oz.”

ADHDers understand one thing better than most people: Success is not a stationary target.

There’s no “one weird trick” that will actually bring you any closer to success.

Instead, the best we can hope for is to embrace ourselves for all our strengths and weaknesses, and keep finding things to work toward. Perhaps that’s a new business endeavor, 15 simultaneous hobbies, or simply remembering to put your underwear on before your pants.

If that last part is a measurable indication, then for me, today was an extraordinary success.

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done

from https://www.makingthebest.com/2017/04/16/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done/

[nepaca]

What 8 successful ADHDers want you to know about how they get stuff done.

Whenever I’m working with my family, friends, or colleagues, they always ask me how I’m able to get so much done.

My answer: “I have ADHD.”

That might sound confusing, but realistically, people with ADHD don’t always have problems with attention at least, not when we’re working on something that excites us. In fact, ADHD often means that we can hyperfocus on awesome things for hours on end, although sometimes that comes at the expense of all the less-thrilling things were supposed to be doing. (Why wash the dishes when you can build a rocket ship out of a cardboard box and a disassembled vacuum cleaner?)

Most people with ADHD have to work 10 times harder to achieve seemingly basic organizational and time management skills skills that other people develop naturally over time. While medication can certainly help, it doesn’t do all the work by itself. As a result, we pay more conscious attention to life hacks, memory tricks, productivity shortcuts and other mental managerial systems … because we have to.

GIF via Checkoofilm/YouTube.

Some say that people with ADHD are much more likely to start their own businesses, perhaps because were built to tackle creative and entrepreneurial challenges.

While other people dont need to learn the same tricks that we do, they can benefit from them. In fact, Id argue that ADHDers have some of the best advice and practices for getting stuff done even if we dont always listen to that advice ourselves.

GIF from “Bruce Almighty.”

Here are 21 productivity tips from people with ADHD that even non-ADHDers can learn from:

1. Habits are things you get for free. So get into ’em.

Even though Im not a natural creature of habit, I always start my day with meds, then a shower, then pants, then breakfast otherwise I know that Im going to forget one of those steps. Habits are essentially self-automation, which means less brainpower spent on the little things.

2. Always have a backup (or two, or three) and know where to find it.

I keep extra cables, chargers, adapters, medicine, and other things in my bag at all times. That way, whether Im going to the grocery store or on vacation, I dont have to worry about keeping my phone charged.

3. Reminders and alerts: love them and use them.

I even have a recurring 2 p.m. notification on my phone that says EAT SOME LUNCH, YOU IDIOT because, erm, I need the reminder more than Id like to admit. (Also: IFTTT triggers to automate actions and sync between apps and accounts make life way easier.)

GIF from “Despicable Me 2.”

4. Keep a calendar, and schedule in the time it takes for you to do things.

If it takes you extra time to keep a calendar or get into the headspace for a meeting? Factor that in when youre planning your day too.

5. Pay attention to the your day’s ups and downs, and use them to your advantage.

Do you get sleepy right after lunch? Then maybe dont dive into that intense project at 1 p.m. Are you better when you answer emails in the morning and get active tasks done later? Then do that. Figure out what works for you, and follow that schedule.

6. Find your rhythm and stick with it.

Even if youre not the slow and steady type, a regular pattern of sprint and rest can still help you reach the finish line. “Sometimes I’ll start counting beats in my head to create a rhythm,” says TV writer/director Hadley Klein. “It sounds crazy but for whatever reason, it helps me think through things in a different way.”

GIF via HIKAKIN/YouTube.

7. Make a list. Check it twice. Then make another list. And another.

Graphic novelist Tyler Page says, I keep one main to-do list on my computer in a Sticky or TextEdit file. Bigger projects get their own lists where they get broken down into smaller and smaller components. The lists also help with prioritizing something that needs to be done right away goes on the daily to-do list.”

GIF from “Monsters University.”

8. Prioritize action over accomplishment. Doing the thing.

This one comes from Patty Carnevale, head of revenue at Man Repeller. Measuring your progress in a tangible way can help you feel even more successful, which will then give you the drive to keep going.

9. Reward yourself for your accomplishments no matter how small.

If you’re someone who needs frequent feedback to get the necessary dopamine boost, then you can fake it by sticking a carrot in front of yourself to keep you going. Alysa Auriemma, an English instructor, gives an example: I can read that awesome online fanfic IF I get three papers graded!

GIF from “Parks and Recreation.”

10. Turn the boring parts into a game.

I use a fitness watch which monitors how many steps I take in a day and how many flights of stairs I climb. Its fun to make the numbers go up, says Nalo Hopkinson, an award-winning author. She also reports her daily word count on Twitter, so that people can cheerlead her along.

11. Don’t dread the boring stuff. Just get it done. It’s faster that way.

Focus on the satisfaction that youre going to feel once youve finished the task, instead of on the time itll take to get it done which, lets be honest, is probably less time than you think. (Of course, even though I know this works for me, it’s still easier said than done.)

12. The more you let things pile up, the easier it gets to ignore them.

Find a way to keep it fresh. Im a compulsive inbox zeroer because the longer that little red notification bubble sits there on my phone, the more inclined I am to ignore it. So I mark all my emails as “read,” then use an IFTTT trigger to remind me later of things that actually require a follow-up or my attention.

GIF from “Community.”

13. If things slip your mind, visual cues can help.

You know that mantra, “Out of sight, out of mind?” For people with ADHD, that’s pretty literal to a fault. So it helps to stick things right in our own faces so that we can’t miss them. When I was in college, I taped a postcard to my apartment door with the times I needed to leave by to make it to morning classes on time, says Rebecca Eisenberg, Upworthys senior editor.

14. Work with your brain, not against it.

Do you tend to lose your keys in the bathroom? Then make a new home for them in the bathroom, where youre already inclined to leave them. That way, theyre always there. Don’t fight your instincts. Use their momentum to your advantage. And on that note

15. Embrace your idiosyncrasies and find a way to make them work for you.

Everyones brain is different. A lot of ADHDers need to figure out on our own what works for us, rather than having someone tell us whats the right way to do things. For example: If someone else leaves me a list of instructions or things to do that’s organized by their mind, it only makes me frustrated and confused. I have to create my own to-do lists in my own way even if it does take more time.

GIF from “Adventure Time.”

16. Take a break. Move around. Do a little dance.

Movement helps your brain work better. As tempting as it is to put the emphasis on measurable actions, its just as important to not do things and give yourself a chance to breathe. Sometimes a little distance can give you a lot of new perspective.

I use a portable adjustable standing desk and a pair of bluetooth headphones so that I can basically dance in place and write at the same time. My wife thinks I’m weird, but it works.

17. Know when to call it a day.

Its important to accept when youve reached the point of diminishing returns. Don’t be afraid to give your brain a rest, and come back to it fresh the next day. This’ll save you time in the long run too because the more you power through your exhaustion, the longer it’ll take to recover.

GIF via ilvbunnies/YouTube.

18. Identity your flaws and strengths, and communicate them to others.

“My colleagues know that in exchange for tolerating all the things I do that make me less reliable, they get a guy who can think outside the box, that can create on the fly, that can wear many hats at once,” says Upworthy’s fearless editor-at-large, Adam Mordecai.

“They also know that if they want something from me, I’m far likelier to get it done if they ping me immediately on chat rather than on email. Let your peeps know how to get the most out of you.”

19. Keep your eye on the prize, but forgive yourself and others.

Everyones fighting their own uphill battles, and you’re not going to get anything done if you’re too busy beating yourself up. (Youre not going to help anyone else be more productive if you externalize it and pick on them either.)

GIF from the SAG Awards.

20. Set your goals, but stay flexible.

Maybe you didnt get as much done today as you had hoped, but thats OK. Regroup, come up with a new strategy, and try to figure out what went wrong so you can do it better next time. Which brings me to the last, and perhaps most important, lesson:

21. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

This is actually a quote from Samuel Beckett, but it also makes for an excellent productivity mantra. The bad parts and failures are inevitable, and youll never overcome them all. But thats OK. Accept it, learn from it, and keep going anyway.

But you do have a brain. So use it. GIF from “The Wizard of Oz.”

ADHDers understand one thing better than most people: Success is not a stationary target.

There’s no “one weird trick” that will actually bring you any closer to success.

Instead, the best we can hope for is to embrace ourselves for all our strengths and weaknesses, and keep finding things to work toward. Perhaps that’s a new business endeavor, 15 simultaneous hobbies, or simply remembering to put your underwear on before your pants.

If that last part is a measurable indication, then for me, today was an extraordinary success.

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done

from https://www.makingthebest.com/2017/04/16/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done/

[saintofsunflowers]

What 8 successful ADHDers want you to know about how they get stuff done.

Whenever I’m working with my family, friends, or colleagues, they always ask me how I’m able to get so much done.

My answer: “I have ADHD.”

That might sound confusing, but realistically, people with ADHD don’t always have problems with attention at least, not when we’re working on something that excites us. In fact, ADHD often means that we can hyperfocus on awesome things for hours on end, although sometimes that comes at the expense of all the less-thrilling things were supposed to be doing. (Why wash the dishes when you can build a rocket ship out of a cardboard box and a disassembled vacuum cleaner?)

Most people with ADHD have to work 10 times harder to achieve seemingly basic organizational and time management skills skills that other people develop naturally over time. While medication can certainly help, it doesn’t do all the work by itself. As a result, we pay more conscious attention to life hacks, memory tricks, productivity shortcuts and other mental managerial systems … because we have to.

GIF via Checkoofilm/YouTube.

Some say that people with ADHD are much more likely to start their own businesses, perhaps because were built to tackle creative and entrepreneurial challenges.

While other people dont need to learn the same tricks that we do, they can benefit from them. In fact, Id argue that ADHDers have some of the best advice and practices for getting stuff done even if we dont always listen to that advice ourselves.

GIF from “Bruce Almighty.”

Here are 21 productivity tips from people with ADHD that even non-ADHDers can learn from:

1. Habits are things you get for free. So get into ’em.

Even though Im not a natural creature of habit, I always start my day with meds, then a shower, then pants, then breakfast otherwise I know that Im going to forget one of those steps. Habits are essentially self-automation, which means less brainpower spent on the little things.

2. Always have a backup (or two, or three) and know where to find it.

I keep extra cables, chargers, adapters, medicine, and other things in my bag at all times. That way, whether Im going to the grocery store or on vacation, I dont have to worry about keeping my phone charged.

3. Reminders and alerts: love them and use them.

I even have a recurring 2 p.m. notification on my phone that says EAT SOME LUNCH, YOU IDIOT because, erm, I need the reminder more than Id like to admit. (Also: IFTTT triggers to automate actions and sync between apps and accounts make life way easier.)

GIF from “Despicable Me 2.”

4. Keep a calendar, and schedule in the time it takes for you to do things.

If it takes you extra time to keep a calendar or get into the headspace for a meeting? Factor that in when youre planning your day too.

5. Pay attention to the your day’s ups and downs, and use them to your advantage.

Do you get sleepy right after lunch? Then maybe dont dive into that intense project at 1 p.m. Are you better when you answer emails in the morning and get active tasks done later? Then do that. Figure out what works for you, and follow that schedule.

6. Find your rhythm and stick with it.

Even if youre not the slow and steady type, a regular pattern of sprint and rest can still help you reach the finish line. “Sometimes I’ll start counting beats in my head to create a rhythm,” says TV writer/director Hadley Klein. “It sounds crazy but for whatever reason, it helps me think through things in a different way.”

GIF via HIKAKIN/YouTube.

7. Make a list. Check it twice. Then make another list. And another.

Graphic novelist Tyler Page says, I keep one main to-do list on my computer in a Sticky or TextEdit file. Bigger projects get their own lists where they get broken down into smaller and smaller components. The lists also help with prioritizing something that needs to be done right away goes on the daily to-do list.”

GIF from “Monsters University.”

8. Prioritize action over accomplishment. Doing the thing.

This one comes from Patty Carnevale, head of revenue at Man Repeller. Measuring your progress in a tangible way can help you feel even more successful, which will then give you the drive to keep going.

9. Reward yourself for your accomplishments no matter how small.

If you’re someone who needs frequent feedback to get the necessary dopamine boost, then you can fake it by sticking a carrot in front of yourself to keep you going. Alysa Auriemma, an English instructor, gives an example: I can read that awesome online fanfic IF I get three papers graded!

GIF from “Parks and Recreation.”

10. Turn the boring parts into a game.

I use a fitness watch which monitors how many steps I take in a day and how many flights of stairs I climb. Its fun to make the numbers go up, says Nalo Hopkinson, an award-winning author. She also reports her daily word count on Twitter, so that people can cheerlead her along.

11. Don’t dread the boring stuff. Just get it done. It’s faster that way.

Focus on the satisfaction that youre going to feel once youve finished the task, instead of on the time itll take to get it done which, lets be honest, is probably less time than you think. (Of course, even though I know this works for me, it’s still easier said than done.)

12. The more you let things pile up, the easier it gets to ignore them.

Find a way to keep it fresh. Im a compulsive inbox zeroer because the longer that little red notification bubble sits there on my phone, the more inclined I am to ignore it. So I mark all my emails as “read,” then use an IFTTT trigger to remind me later of things that actually require a follow-up or my attention.

GIF from “Community.”

13. If things slip your mind, visual cues can help.

You know that mantra, “Out of sight, out of mind?” For people with ADHD, that’s pretty literal to a fault. So it helps to stick things right in our own faces so that we can’t miss them. When I was in college, I taped a postcard to my apartment door with the times I needed to leave by to make it to morning classes on time, says Rebecca Eisenberg, Upworthys senior editor.

14. Work with your brain, not against it.

Do you tend to lose your keys in the bathroom? Then make a new home for them in the bathroom, where youre already inclined to leave them. That way, theyre always there. Don’t fight your instincts. Use their momentum to your advantage. And on that note

15. Embrace your idiosyncrasies and find a way to make them work for you.

Everyones brain is different. A lot of ADHDers need to figure out on our own what works for us, rather than having someone tell us whats the right way to do things. For example: If someone else leaves me a list of instructions or things to do that’s organized by their mind, it only makes me frustrated and confused. I have to create my own to-do lists in my own way even if it does take more time.

GIF from “Adventure Time.”

16. Take a break. Move around. Do a little dance.

Movement helps your brain work better. As tempting as it is to put the emphasis on measurable actions, its just as important to not do things and give yourself a chance to breathe. Sometimes a little distance can give you a lot of new perspective.

I use a portable adjustable standing desk and a pair of bluetooth headphones so that I can basically dance in place and write at the same time. My wife thinks I’m weird, but it works.

17. Know when to call it a day.

Its important to accept when youve reached the point of diminishing returns. Don’t be afraid to give your brain a rest, and come back to it fresh the next day. This’ll save you time in the long run too because the more you power through your exhaustion, the longer it’ll take to recover.

GIF via ilvbunnies/YouTube.

18. Identity your flaws and strengths, and communicate them to others.

“My colleagues know that in exchange for tolerating all the things I do that make me less reliable, they get a guy who can think outside the box, that can create on the fly, that can wear many hats at once,” says Upworthy’s fearless editor-at-large, Adam Mordecai.

“They also know that if they want something from me, I’m far likelier to get it done if they ping me immediately on chat rather than on email. Let your peeps know how to get the most out of you.”

19. Keep your eye on the prize, but forgive yourself and others.

Everyones fighting their own uphill battles, and you’re not going to get anything done if you’re too busy beating yourself up. (Youre not going to help anyone else be more productive if you externalize it and pick on them either.)

GIF from the SAG Awards.

20. Set your goals, but stay flexible.

Maybe you didnt get as much done today as you had hoped, but thats OK. Regroup, come up with a new strategy, and try to figure out what went wrong so you can do it better next time. Which brings me to the last, and perhaps most important, lesson:

21. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

This is actually a quote from Samuel Beckett, but it also makes for an excellent productivity mantra. The bad parts and failures are inevitable, and youll never overcome them all. But thats OK. Accept it, learn from it, and keep going anyway.

But you do have a brain. So use it. GIF from “The Wizard of Oz.”

ADHDers understand one thing better than most people: Success is not a stationary target.

There’s no “one weird trick” that will actually bring you any closer to success.

Instead, the best we can hope for is to embrace ourselves for all our strengths and weaknesses, and keep finding things to work toward. Perhaps that’s a new business endeavor, 15 simultaneous hobbies, or simply remembering to put your underwear on before your pants.

If that last part is a measurable indication, then for me, today was an extraordinary success.

Read more: http://www.upworthy.com/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done

from https://www.makingthebest.com/2017/04/16/what-8-successful-adhders-want-you-to-know-about-how-they-get-stuff-done/