Coping with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD

Written by Ruth Marlow (Clinical Psychologist), Eva Nielsen (Clinical Psychologist) and DAANA
ADHD Psychology team using the experience of people that we work with.

Updated Summer 2024

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Contents
A Note for People Using This Book Page 3

Before You Start Page 4

Information about ADHD Page 5

Tips for Difficulties With:

• Attention and Concentration Page 9

• Dealing with Distraction Page 12

• Procrastination Page 14

• Relationships Page 18

• Impulsivity Page 20

• Forgetfulness and Losing Things Page 23

• Organisation and Completing Tasks Page 26

• Time Management Page 29

Strengths Page 31

Other Sources of Advice and Support Page 32

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 “And yet their capacity to hope and to dream is immense. More than most people, individuals
with ADD have visionary imaginations. They think big thoughts and dream big dreams. They can
take the smallest opportunity and imagine turning it into a major break. They can take a chance
encounter and turn it into a grand evening out.” (Driven to Distraction by Hallowell and Ratey,
p.215)

A Note for People Using This Book

Many people find that they have difficulties with attention, concentration, organisation and
planning. We have put this book together to give you ideas of strategies that might be helpful.
This has been through gathering ideas from people who have a diagnosis of ADHD and talking
to them about what they find helpful. By strategies we mean plans or tactics that might make
your day to day life a bit better. You can read this book as a whole or dip in and out.
Other people in your life may like to read it and try and help you with some of the strategies.
These tips are designed to be used whether you are taking medication or not.
There is a list of these books at the end. If you wanted more ideas then look these up.

A Note for Professionals, Family, and Friends

This book could be used alongside the person you know with ADHD. Your support to use these
strategies could be really helpful.

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Before You Start…

 Learn as much as you can about ADHD from trusted sources. The more you know, the
better you’ll understand yourself and what may work for you. We’ve put some good
places to look up information about ADHD at the end of this book. There is also some
information in this book for you.

 Try and talk to others with ADHD, e.g. through websites, support groups etc. It can be
really useful to get other people’s perspectives and ideas and to know that you’re not
alone.

Acceptance is key!

 Struggling with denial or not wanting your difficulty can be exhausting. Acceptance of
your difficulties means that you can find space to try and tackle them.

 Remember that change will be difficult and progress might not be as fast as you’d like.
Stick with it, it takes time. Be ready for times when things might be harder and not to
give up – everybody has periods like this.

 While ADHD can mean you have some difficulties it also means that you have

many strengths!

 Remember ADHD is biological, not a weakness or a personality flaw.

 Strategies and notepads can be your best friends!

 Allow yourself time where you can do whatever you like or not do anything at all.

 Exercise regularly. This helps to burn off energy & can calm you down. Make it fun and
interesting so that you stick with it.

 Not every strategy will work for you, find what works and stick to it.

 If you practice skills often and regularly they should become a habit so you won’t have
to remember them.

 To start you may want to pick just one or two strategies that you think will work for you
and give them a go.

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Information about ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition, which

means it is brain-based and starts in childhood. It occurs in all situations and impacts
significantly on a person’s ability to function in day-to-day tasks. It often co-occurs with other
neurodevelopmental conditions (like Autism, Dyslexia etc.) and mental health difficulties (low
mood for example).

People with ADHD are diagnosed with either:

- ADHD -Hyperactive subtype – people who have primarily hyperactive symptoms
- ADHD Inattentive subtype – people who have primarily inattentive symptoms
- ADHD Combined – people who don’t fall more into one category than the other

Attention refers to how well you can concentrate/ focus. This could be concentrating on a task
you are doing at university, work or home, another person, a hobby etc.

Hyperactivity refers to being over-active or restless. This may mean you move around a lot,
fiddle with things or have constant racing thoughts.

For ease in this document the term ADHD will be used to refer to all of the above.

What is the cause of ADHD?

There are likely to be several factors that are important in why someone gets ADHD. We know
that it runs in families, therefore it is assumed that there is a genetic link. However, not all
people who have a genetic vulnerability have ADHD, therefore there are likely to be prenatal,
familial, biological, social, and psychological factors.

Research suggests that perhaps up to 6% of adults have ADHD. It has historically been more
often diagnosed in males, though this is changing.

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Here is a diagram outlining the core areas of difficulty for people with ADHD:

Diificulties with attention

and concentration Impulsivity/Restlessness

ADHD

Poor organisation and Forgetfulness/memory

planning difficulties

This includes difficulties with:

 Concentration
 Attention
 Impulsivity
 Dis-inhibition.
 Hyperactivity/restlessness.
 Organisation
 Planning
 Procrastination
 Short-term memory
 Working memory
 Dysphoria
 Emotion regulation
 Sleep difficulties

What else do people with ADHD struggle with?

People with ADHD frequently have some significant issues related to living with the condition
such as:
- Family difficulties
- Low self-esteem
- Being more likely to not complete education
- Increased contact with the criminal justice system

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 - Lower socio-economic status
- Have a higher chance of obesity
- Increased chance of having pain (perhaps linked to hypermobility)
- Increased chance of chronic fatigue
- Increased chance of POTS (Postural Tachycardia Syndrome).
- Increased chance of accidental injury and road traffic accidents
- Therefore more likely to have mild traumatic brain injury and accidental death
- Greater risk of suicide
- Greater risk of substance use disorder
Taken from the World Federation International Consensus on ADHD (2021)

Strengths
There are many strengths associated with ADHD also, and many people report getting by well
in life because of their ADHD, not despite it.

Strengths seen in individuals with ADHD include:

• Ability to focus on areas of high interest • Good entrepreneurial skills

• Good at project work • Like variability • Socially engaging

• See the bigger picture • Can see innovative ways of tackling problems

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Strategies
People have often developed many strategies to help them manage throughout their lives.
This book has been written based on years of experience working with people with ADHD
and listening to what strategies work.

Some people with ADHD may have problems with anxiety/ worry and feeling low. Having
the condition can also result in frustration, anger, low self-esteem, and difficulties with
relationships.
If you are finding that you have a lot of difficulty with your mood and self-esteem you may
consider going to your GP to talk to them about what further support there is for you.

ADHD is covered by the Equality Act (2010) as it is classified as a disability. This means that
employers are required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ so that you can access work.
Think as you go through this about whether there are any strategies/ changes that you think
would be helpful at work.

If you need additional help or guidance check out the Access to Work website:
https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work

We also have a list of reasonable adjustments that people with ADHD may require at work,
on our website page, here:
https://www.dpt.nhs.uk/our-services/adult-autism-and-adhd/what-is-adhd

How To Use This Book

Do not expect yourself to be able to read this book all in one go. Look at the contents and
pick the thing that you most want help with. Go to that section, read the tips and advice
about strategies. Think about which one sounds like it would be something you want to try
out. Pick one or two things maximum at a time. Go away and think about when and where
you could start trying the new strategy. Then put in place the strategy, make sure you
persist with it.

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 1. Attention and Concentration

Struggling with attention (selecting where to focus) and concentration (keeping your
attention on what you need to) is a real difficulty. There are a few different types of
attention, for example; moving from one task to another, keeping your attention on
something without getting distracted, picking out what you need to focus on and being able
to attend to more than one thing at once.

Strategies can be internal to you, i.e. what you can do to help with your attention, or
external to you: how you can change the environment to reduce distraction for example.
Here are some strategies for helping you with attention:

Taking In Information – Think about what the easiest way for you to take in information is
and then you can make adaptations at home/ work to work with your strengths, think
about:

 Do you prefer information that is visual (like pictures and diagrams) or written text?
 Do you need to hear instructions before you can actually do them?
 Do you need to be moving about and being active?
 Do you prefer practical tasks?
 Audio (read aloud can help) or written material
 Figuring out what works best for you can be really beneficial in trying to target your
day to day activities so that you are most likely to keep your concentration.

Movement Can Help – Some people find moving around or fidgeting helps them to
concentrate. If you need to do this, try to move to help concentration, for example:

 Fiddle with a pen

 Chew some gum.

 Use an inflatable ball to sit on.

Switching Tasks – Become aware of when you are getting bored and try to switch activities
before you get distracted. Give yourself permission to switch tasks. You may find this holds
your interest better and in turn feel more productive
There is no known consistent link with ADHD and foods, drinks etc. However for some
people there is an association. Try and figure out whether your concentration gets worse

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when you eat/drink certain things. For example products with ‘E’ numbers, carbohydrates,
sugar…

Seek support and understanding from others. This may include telling people what you find
difficult or what you need some help with, e.g. asking others to check you are listening.

Think about where you do work and how you manage distractions:

 Quiet and calm environment

 Reduce distractions
 Wear earbuds or noise cancelling headphones
 Let others know you need to focus
 Think about where you are positioned, if you are next to a window, this could lead to
distraction

In conversations:

 Use eye contact to help you focus on what people are saying

 Check your understanding – e.g. using a person’s name in the conversation to help
you remember it

 Repeat back the information to the person to check you understood

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 Try the Pomodoro Technique to help your concentration:

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo

which uses a timer to break work into intervals separated by short breaks. Each interval is
usually 25 minutes long and each break is about 5 minutes.

Cirillo named the intervals as ‘pomodoros’, from the Italian word for tomato, inspired by the
tomato-shaped kitchen timer he used as a university student!

It can be particularly helpful when tasks are difficult to chunk down into discrete parts. The
Pomodoro is a good technique to increase motivation and use momentum, so if you manage
to start a task you gain some momentum from actually achieving that and then it is easier to
carry on. Some people tell themselves ‘just one pomodoro’ and find that this leads them to
be able to do more.

Pomodoro Step-by-Step:
1) Identify a task to be done
2) Set timer to 25 minutes
3) Work on task, without distractions
4) End task when timer goes off
5) Take 5 min break then restart timer
6) After 4 chunks take a longer break 15-30 min and start again

Adaptations: You can adapt the pomodoros - some people make them longer/ shorter
depending on how long their attention will last or depending on the task. Some people will
give themselves rules around their short breaks to reduce the potentials for distractions.

Some people skip breaks and this works for them, however some people find that doing this
decreases their motivation and productivity. There are no hard and fast rules, figure out
what works for you and notice if any changes increase or decrease motivation or
productivity and then go from there!

The Pomodoro method has been reported by many people with ADHD as an excellent way
to sustain attention through long tasks. Using the breaks as mini-rewards times can really
increase motivation and help you complete tasks that would be otherwise unappealing.

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 2. Dealing with distraction
Distraction is a real difficulty for most people with ADHD. Either getting distracted by
external event (noises, people, places, things you can see, or hear) or through internal
distractions (like following thoughts that are going through your mind). These may mean
that you are frequently late, or always early so that you aren’t distracted and therefore late!

 Think about the environment – Some people find when trying to concentrate that
they need total silence and lack of distraction. However, others find that they need
some music on in the background so that their mind can work. Find out what works
best for you.

 Arrange your environment to help you concentrate and reduce distractions, e.g. turn
your phone off, face your desk away from the window, clear your desk space, and
work away from other people if you need to. Play around with your environment
and find what works for you.

 Set an alarm to go off at regular intervals. When it goes off, ask yourself:
“Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing, or did I get distracted?”
If you were distracted, return to what you’re supposed to be doing
immediately, without beating yourself up because of it.

If you find yourself getting distracted by websites (such as social media or shopping sites),
you can use browser extensions to manage what sites you can visit. You can block websites
during your work hours or limit the amount of time you can spend on these sites each day.
These will usually work best in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Some good options for
this are:

 StayFocusd – Chrome Extension, Edge Extension

 Limit – Chrome Extension, Edge Extension

 Some people find that Apps can help them reduce the amount of time they spend
being distracted by notifications or checking their phones. People have told us that
these two are good options:

Forest: plant trees for time away from your phone – can join with a friend

Donut Dog: earn donuts to feed your dog by not looking at your phone

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 Mindfulness

Mindfulness has been around for centuries, but many of us in the Western world are only
just catching up with its benefits. Mindfulness can help you manage thoughts to reduce
internal distractions. The Calm App and Headspace App can talk you through how to
practice mindfulness. Mindfulness can be a useful technique for managing distractions. It
has many forms of practice, but they are all intended to improve our awareness of where
our attention is, notice any urges to get distracted, or that we have already got distracted,
and then let go of this and return to the intended focus. Have a look into local courses, there
are many around in local community centres, colleges, sports centres.

There are also loads of resources on the internet, for example:

http://www.freemindfulness.org/download
This has lots of MP3 files you can listen to.

There are mindfulness apps which you can use on your phone to help you to incorporate
mindfulness into your day to day life.

We have recommended a book on mindfulness and ADHD at the end of this book.

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 3. Procrastination

Procrastination means putting things off until the last possible minute. Do you remember in
school putting off essays and doing them the night before or getting them in late? Do you
find that people are always asking you whether you have yet finished a task? Completing
tasks that you need to get done will give you a good sense of achievement and mean that
you do not have to worry so much about things you haven’t done.

 Check with yourself regularly if what you’re doing is actually important or if it

is just more enjoyable/interesting than what you should be doing.

 Once you’ve reached a break time, look at the list and decide if you want to deal
with the things now or later. Return to what’s left in your notebook at the end of the
day and do the things that are important

 Estimate how long you will be able to work on the task you are meant to be doing
and before bored/distracted & divide your day/task into chunks accordingly.

 Use a notebook - If things pop into your mind that distract you, write or
draw them down but continue with the task you’re supposed to be doing!

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 Rewards

Increase motivation to get something done by setting rewards OR making it challenging –

e.g. set a time limit to complete it by, see if you can do it faster than last time.

What do you find rewarding?

• Think about what rewards you could give yourself for achieving something (little – as you
go along, large – at the end). What do you like? tea, gym, walk, playing the guitar,
computer game - with a time limit, a dish of ice cream, a piece of chocolate, a
massage, going for a swim, standing outside, looking at your favourite photos…

• Think about ‘big rewards’ and ‘small rewards’.

• Big rewards being things that you would do if you completed a big task – got a job, did a
difficult thing you had been avoiding.

• Small rewards being those that you could do throughout the day to give yourself a pat on
the back for sitting at your computer.

Sometimes it can be hard to give ourselves a reward as we have automatic thoughts that tell
us we don’t deserve it. This strategy isn’t about whether or not we deserve to have nice
things, it’s about increasing the likelihood and motivation for doing that activity or task
again. Try it and see if it works for you.

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 Avoid Avoiding!!!

When early humans lived in caves, avoidance was a key strategy for survival. Avoiding
physical dangers – cliff edges, wild animals – kept us alive. Avoiding awkward or negative
social situations kept us in the tribe – and more likely to survive.
But in the complexity of modern life, this can easily extend into avoiding other activities and
situations, for example tasks that we find difficult, or where we fear failure or
embarrassment.
Often this type of avoidance is based on unhelpful – and often inaccurate – assumptions
about the likely outcome. So the best way to tackle avoidance, is to approach the situation –
to avoid avoidance!

One way to avoid avoidance is to use the Wall of Awful technique.

We all have difficult emotions from time to time when we feel like
we don’t do something well or people tell us that we don’t.
These emotions turn into stronger feelings of shame, worry,
loneliness, disappointment which we carry forward with
us. Each one of these feelings is a brick in the wall we have
to overcome every time we start a task. This is called the
‘Wall of Awful’, the emotional barrier that prevents us
from starting tasks and doing activities that we need to.

When you are trying to get things done it is important to

recognise this wall of awful and to think about how to
overcome it. You could:

- Stare at the wall – But this won’t get anything don’t or complete any tasks.

- Go around the wall – Try to ignore it, but this won’t help you because your emotions will
still be there. Most people’s walls are just too big to go around.

- Try going through the wall – This will be tough, and exhausting.

- Climb the wall – This is a way to acknowledge how you feel when
you are faced with this wall. It means that you are taking one step
at a time to move forward and achieve a task. Importantly this
means that it is hard and difficult on the way. But it means that
you will get some tasks done.

Also see this YouTube video for more information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo08uS904Rg

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 Red Flag Thoughts for Procrastination:

Often people say that they are fully procrastinating – putting something off – before they
realise they’ve done this. So it’s really helpful to spot the warning signs – the red flags – that
procrastination is about to happen. That way, you give yourself the opportunity to choose
whether or not you continue into procrastination, or not. Examples of common red flags
are:

• “I’m too tired/ busy. I’ll do it tomorrow”

• “I don’t have everything I need, I can’t start it now”

• “I don’t have enough time to do it all, so I will wait until I do”

• “It’s too late to start now”

• “I will do it once this other thing has finished”

• “It’s better to do it when I am in the mood or feeling inspired”

• “I will miss out on the fun happening now, I can do it another time”

• “I have plenty of time I can do it later”

• “I work better when I am stressed, so I will leave it to the last minute”

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 Relationships

ADHD can affect relationships in many ways. Your partner/ family or friend may think that
you are doing things like forgetting appointments and not listening on purpose. People may
misinterpret your behaviours as irresponsible, lazy and disorganised, selfish or uncaring. You
may find yourself saying ‘sorry I’m late… again’, ‘I don’t know where the time went’, ‘I
forgot’, ‘I got caught up’.

 Both of you learning about ADHD is really important. Your family or friend may find
that this helps them to understand your behaviour rather than taking it personally.

 It is important to communicate about the difficulties that you are having. Although
there may be a lot of shame and embarrassment about these difficulties, the more
that you can communicate about what is realistic for you the better understanding
you will build and the more you will be able to work together.

 Work together and try to work towards the same goals

 Although it is important to try to develop skills to help yourself manage it is also OK

to rely on someone else (as long as it’s OK with them). Your family member or friend
may not mind sending you a text to remind you of an appointment, writing things on
a calendar or setting an alarm in good time for you to catch a train. Often if people
understand why you are asking for their help and what you think would be helpful
they don’t mind helping out.

 At times people can find that they hyper-focus on certain activities, this can make
others feel ignored, forgotten and unimportant. If you explain when this happens to
you and what may be the best way to interrupt you or how long to leave you to do
this activity, this may help your family member or friend feel less ignored or
unimportant.

 If you find that you are always talking over people or blurting things out try chewing
gum or at least recognise when this is happening.

 Talk to people about the best times to get and hold your attention, e.g. particular
environments, times of day, when you are not doing something else.

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  Discuss with people how long you are normally able to listen and take in information
for.

 Write things down when people tell you them.

 See the funny side of things and use humour with your symptoms as this can help
people be more forgiving.

 Seek encouragement from others as this can be particularly motivating.

 Make sure you listen to feedback from other people too.

 Schedule activities with friends and stick with them. It is important to keep these
contacts and scheduling things might help you to neglect friends less.

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 5. Impulsivity

Many people with ADHD find that they are very emotionally driven, the brakes that you have
that slow you down when impulses happen may be a bit leaky. So you need to find some
strategies to help you to stop and think through what you are doing. The same is true for
emotions, they may happen very suddenly without much notice and be quite strong.

Learn from experience!

 Are you feeling a certain way (e.g. already anxious/ agitated?)

 Is there a certain time of day?

 Is there a certain place?

 Are there other things that make you more likely to be impulsive (e.g. food, alcohol)?

 Is there a certain environment?

 Are there certain people you are more likely to be impulsive with?

Before acting:

 Ask the opinion of someone you trust.

 Take time to think it through.

 Perform a simple action to allow yourself time, e.g. put your hand over your mouth
for a few seconds or breath in and out and say a phrase to yourself like “let me think
about this”.

 Write your ideas down and add pros and cons to work out whether they’re good or
not.

 Some impulsive behaviour can be driven by emotions. Learning about your emotions
can help you to more easily recognise when you are feeling a certain way and
therefore to not react so emotionally. An example of some support with this is:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/emotional-intelligence-
toolkit.htm

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  Learn what helps you to change an emotion you don’t want, for example,
distraction, watching a film which gives you a different emotion.

 Pay attention to your emotions

 Exercise to let out frustration

 Develop ‘Red Flags’ – So the same process you may have used in the procrastination
section you can use here, but for impulsive actions. You may find yourself thinking
the same common thoughts when you are about to act impulsively, these can act as
red flags for you to warn you that you are about to do something impulsive. For
example: ‘it’ll be ok’ or ‘I’ll just…’ or ‘It doesn’t matter’ etc. Think about what yours
are and this will help you to think twice about what you are about to do.

 Try the STOPP Technique: This technique (described on the next page) helps us to
pause and think before we act or respond to something.

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 6. Forgetfulness and Losing Things

People can find that they frequently forget items that they need every day. Some ideas to
help you remember are:

 Get into the habit when you are going out of checking that you have the essential
items before you stand up and leave. So check; keys, wallet phone and notebook do
this over and over and it will become a habit.

 Repetition and rehearsal - Repeating and practicing recall of information, e.g.

through self-talk.

 Create a visual cue- Pairing a verbal task with a visual image can help you to
remember. The more bizarre and exaggerated the image, the easier it will be to
remember. For example, if remembering to pay a water bill, think of white-water
rafting to the bank!

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 “A place for everything, and everything in its place”

Make a specific place to keep essential things such as keys, wallet, diary etc.
Put them in an obvious, clear place where they can easily be seen.

Get into the habit of putting the things straight there and checking there before you leave
the house.

Tell others in the house to remind you of this.

If you see the things anywhere else in house, make sure you put them back in their set
place

 If items are “out of sight”, in a drawer or in a cupboard, write a list of the contents
and tape it inside (or outside, whichever is more effective).

 Mnemonics – Learning cues or mnemonics can be a useful method of condensing

information for later recall and can appear less overwhelming for someone with
ADHD. For example, S.T.O.P. = sausages, tomatoes, oranges, potatoes

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Problem Solving – A good method for finding lost or mislaid possessions is to mentally
retrace steps in a systematic way. This can be done by asking a series of questions such as:

 'When did I last have my keys?'

 'Where did I go when I got in?'
 'Where would I put that key now?'

Use Reminders – Set reminders 1 day before, and 1 hour before (or whatever works for
you).

Use attention grabbing items: for example a shiny / colourful object on your key rings, or
the end of your car aerial or a diary / phone that will really grab your attention.

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 7. Organisation and Completing Tasks

People with ADHD have a number of difficulties related to organisation, for example; not
being able to get to appointments, pay bills, and remember significant events. Some people
are also really messy at home. Not finishing tasks is also a difficulty for most people with
ADHD, you may find that after the novelty of starting a new task has gone you end up losing
interest in it and not being able to return to it. Here are some ideas about things which may
help.

Trying to organise yourself so that you can do things like pay bills, plan a holiday. Here are
some ideas:

 Use a calendar

 Get used to writing appointments in the calendar.

 Keep using it and checking it every day.

 If you check it at the same time every day you are more likely to remember.

 Use reminders on your phone or alarms that tell you what you are meant to be doing
at certain times. Be careful not to set too many, as you could be tempted to ignore
them or get confused

 Or use a diary/ notebook that is small enough to carry with you. It should preferably
be a bright noticeable colour so that it can be easily seen if you put it down. Often
the very act of writing something down, because it involves effort and concentration,
enhances the chance of remembering the information.

 When using a notebook put the date that you wrote something down to help you to
remember and help you to decide whether it is a priority.

 Write in it appointments or specific tasks or notes about conversations you have just
had, or something you heard on the TV or radio, or just something you want to
remember. By writing it in on the day it happened you anchor the event in time,
which further helps prompt your memory.

 Break big tasks down into manageable steps, making sure they’re realistic and give
yourself achievable deadlines for these tasks.

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  Pin up a note, or notes, in obvious places (for instance, on the kitchen door, on the
fridge, etc.) to remind you of what you need to do or appointments etc., or use a pin
board for vital information.

 Recognise and reward success!

 Set fixed weekly times for your regular tasks/appointments, e.g.: Thursday at 18:30 =
time to clean the kitchen, Monday and Wednesday at 17:00 = gym. Put these in your
diary or weekly schedule and eventually they’ll become automatic.

You may find you’ve read this list and seen strategies you’ve tried before. They do work,
but practise, and using them regularly and consistently, is key.

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 Prioritising

Prioritise tasks according to importance, not what seems more fun or interesting. Prioritise
the tasks you have to do. You could rate each one depending on when they need
completing and how important they are. Do the ones that are most important first.

 How do you prioritise?

 Do you use a things to do list?

Suggestions on How to Prioritise Things To Do:

 Use a list everyday (this can be in your notebook)

 Rate each task according to priority, for example:

Needs to be done today

Needs to be done this week
No specific timeframe

 You could also use different colours

 Practice doing all the A tasks before the B tasks and then the C tasks

 Carry tasks over

 Cross out the ones that have been done

 Reward yourself for doing them!

 Colour code your ‘to do’ list:

 Important must-do-today things are one colour, less important things another etc.

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 8. Time Management

Time can have a different meaning for people with ADHD, it can be harder to track the
passing of time so you may let others down by not getting somewhere you said you were
going to be when you said you were going to be there. Often people with ADHD struggle
with knowing how long a task takes which can mean that you get into bother at work or
home because you over promise.

• Set alarms to help you to check the time so that you are not late finishing work or getting
home.

• Some people set their phones or watches to go off every hour so they have a sense of time
passing.

Time Estimation

Time can be a difficult concept to those with ADHD. Sometimes this is called Time Blindness.
You might want to compare how long you THINK a task takes, and then record how long it
ACTUALLY takes. Sometimes, we don’t realise how much preparation or clearing up is
actually part of the time that a task takes, and so we underestimate it. At other times, a task
we predict could take hours will only take a few minutes. Or we realise that when doing one
task, we fit in two or three others at the same time, so it takes a lot longer than predicted.
So it can help to use the chart below, to get a good idea of how long tasks take, and also to
think about what else might be involved in completing that task – to build in time for that
too. We talk about preparation time, journey time etc. to broaden their field of vision when
we talk about time to not just the singular task.

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 9. A reflection on strategies

It is important to recognise that while you may struggle with certain things in your life
people with ADHD have many strengths. Lots of famous people have ADHD, including
Olympic athletes like Louis Smith (Olympic gymnast) and Michal Phelps (the swimmer),
musicians (Dave Grohl for example), and business people (the person who developed Ikea is
noted as having ADHD).

They talk about their experiences of living with the condition and how having ADHD has
helped them in lots of ways. Louis Smith talks about how his ADHD brain helps him to make
split second decisions and succeed at his sport. Dave Grohl’s energy and enthusiasm has
given him great drive to perform and create consistently through his life. Thinking outside
the box can really help in business.

Here are some strengths that we have noticed in the people we have worked with who have
a diagnosis of ADHD, which ones do you think apply to you?

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 Where can I get further help and support?

There are surprisingly few good websites or good information sources about adult ADHD.
However there are some good books which might be of help to you. There are also some
great Apps which can support you in areas you find difficult. Pick one area you find difficult
and then try an app in that area.

ADHD-Friendly Apps
(most are free with the option to pay for the premium edition)

Name of App

Time Timer

Evernote

Routinely

Mindmeister

Mindly

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Google keep

Remember the milk

Habit now

My therapy pill

Brain focus

Pomodone

Todoist

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Forest

Screen time and

focus modes

Freedom

Otter

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 Calm

Headspace

Mindfulness coach

Sleepio

Sleep cycle

Catch it

Cove

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 WorryTree

Balance

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 Websites

https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/resource-category/adults/
This is a website for a neurodiversity charity. It has lots of ADHD resources which you may
find helpful. Including sleep, relationships, education about ADHD, co-occurring conditions.

http://aadduk.org/
A comprehensive website about ADHD in adults, with links to support groups. Ideas of
strategies that may be helpful and information about your rights and policies.

Blogs
Totally ADD
Rick Green founded Totally ADD to tackle the shame and stigma of living with ADHD by
sharing personal stories of people living with it. Totally ADD tackles common myths about
ADHD, how ADHD affects relationships, and procrastination.
https://totallyadd.com/blog

Untapped Brilliance
Author and ADHD coach Jacqueline Sinfield writes about how adults can manage their ADHD
in everyday life, from making sense of a new diagnosis to tips and tricks to use when tasks
feel overwhelming. Her blog posts cover topics like the links between ADHD and obsessive-
compulsive disorder (OCD), overthinking, and using a Kindle with ADHD.
https://untappedbrilliance.com/blog/

Books

Your Life Can Be Better: Using Strategies for adult ADD/ADHD

Douglas Puryear
Talks in an informative yet informal way about his experiences of living with ADD and
provides ideas about what strategies you can use to help.

The Mindfulness Prescription for Adult ADHD

Lidia Zylowska
Mindfulness is a method that you can learn to help you get control of your thoughts and to
help you live in the present moment. This book outlines mindfulness skills and how you can
apply them to ADHD.

Taking Charge of Adult ADHD

Russell Barkley
This book outlines the impact of ADHD in adulthood and discusses strategies for managing
work, relationships and finances as well as treatment and management of symptoms.

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 Useful Videos

How to ADHD
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nPM1_kSZf91ZGkcgy_95Q
A YouTube channel you can subscribe to with lots of videos covering strategies to manage
ADHD symptoms, but also for those wanting to find out more about ADHD and some of the
associated difficulties. The videos are concise at 10 minutes or shorter, and cover topics
such as: what is ADHD, how to get things done, ADHD and sleep, and many more.

TED Talk – Failing at Normal: An ADHD Success Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiwZQNYlGQI
A TED talk by someone who received an ADHD diagnosis in adulthood. She talks about some
of the difficulties she faced growing up with undiagnosed ADHD.

Healthline: The Best ADHD Videos of 2020

https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/best-videos-adhd
Healthline put together a list of the year’s best ADHD videos based on their commitment to
educating, inspiring, and empowering viewers about this condition.

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