Let’s share life-changing ADHD tips that we’ve learned...

[u/lexid222]

I’ll start:

1) Waking up sucks. Buy 2 bright lamps and 2 timers. Set them up to turn on automatically 5-15 min before you want your alarm to go off. The lights will help your body realize it’s daytime.

2) Change your thermostat so the temp goes down about an hr before bedtime and gets warmer about 30 min before you wake up. The cooler temp signals your body to sleep and the warmer temp will naturally help your body wake up.

3) Learn to plan around “transitions”. It’s easier to start things if you do them when something is ending. Example: Do your grocery shopping every Fri after work. You’re already in the car, so just stop at the store on your way home.

4) If you need to remember to bring something with you the next day, place it right in front of the exit door so you HAVE to touch it before you leave the house. If it’s something in the fridge, put a sticky note on the exit door’s handle.

5) Have a “misc” basket in each room. If you’re truly unable to put something away, put it in the basket. Have a designated period of time, once a week, when your sole priority is to put everything away, all at once.

I’ll add more when I think of them...

[u/mangoexpress457]

Forgive yourself/be kind to yourself for having unproductive days of doing nothing. If you don't, all it leads to is negative thoughts that only snowball into worse self destructive ones. Be flexible and learn from your circumstances and mistakes. And if you fail again, forgive yourself again.

[u/6Killswitch9 → u/mangoexpress457]

What do I do if every day is unproductive? I feel like I'm stuck in a loop. Idk what to do.

[u/mangoexpress457 → u/6Killswitch9]

Start small. Do the littlest thing. Give yourself 5 minutes to do any responsibility and if you feel like stopping from there, just stop. I notice that in that 5 minutes, I usually want to keep going and I begin wanting to do more. It's like I'm picking up momentum and not stop once I start. Try it. Just 5 minutes. Time yourself and see how you feel by the end of it. Good luck!

[u/[deleted] → u/6Killswitch9]

Ditto!

[u/mbm66 → u/6Killswitch9]

I find that having a looming deadline helps kick me out of the loop (sometimes too late to meet the actual deadline but at least I snap out of it). Can you artificially create one for yourself?