10 Strategies for sustainable ADHD motivation

How curiosity increases motivation

When it comes to building motivation - especially when you’re starting from ground zero - the most important first step is to practice this simple motto:

“Be curious.”

If you are wondering what curiosity has to do with motivation, chances are you are reading this sentence to find out the answer. In exactly the same way, when we are genuinely curious about what is making a task feel impossible, we start down a path of seeking solutions, while at the same time clearing out the insta-guilt of labeling ourselves as “unmotivated.”

For example:

Situation: “Ugh, I just don’t want to do any of the things I should be working on right now!”

Getting curious: “I wonder why that is? Why don’t I feel like doing anything?”

Going deeper: “Well, I am pretty tired. It’s been a long day, and I really went for it this morning. My energy is pretty low now.”

Don’t quit at this point! Continue to ask yourself questions…

Identifying solutions: “Okay, my energy is low – how can I refuel? I can rest for now, or I could start with something small and easy, and see how I’m feeling after that. What feels right for me?”

Here’s another one:

Situation: “I haven’t opened my mail in so long it is piling up, and now I’m afraid I may be behind in my bills. Why can’t I just stay on top of this stuff?!”

Getting curious: “Actually, why is this hard for me?”

Going deeper: “It does feel pretty overwhelming to open everything and not know if there will be a bunch of stuff I have to take care of. I wonder if there is a way to make it less overwhelming?”

Identifying solutions: “Maybe I could stop at my recycle bin after picking up the mail and get rid of the obvious junk mail before going in the house. That way there will at least be less to deal with, and that would probably help – it’s at least a start.”

Curiosity is powerful, because it is an antidote to shame. That is because shame is a value-judgment. Curiosity says, “this feeling comes from somewhere – what can I do about it?” while shame says, “I am the problem.” For that reason, curiosity can lead to forward movement, while shame holds us back.

10 ADHD motivation strategies

The following strategies are designed to boost motivation by supporting executive function skills in individuals with ADHD. Think of these strategies as tools you can pick from to accomplish any particular task. Your choice of tools will be guided by curiosity and what feels possible for you in the moment.

Create a zone of clarity. Environment is everything. If distractions are the problem, you may benefit from creating a workspace where focus is enhanced by less stimulus. That means reducing the number of things that catch your eye, that draw your ear, or that claim your attention in any other way. Go to a closet, work in an office, or a private room in a library.

Bonus tip: Try sitting on the floor to work. Many people with ADHD find the grounding nature of sitting on the floor helpful to reduce fidgeting and to keep things visually organized around them.

Create a zone of defense (limit accessibility). Ride into battle like a general, armed and surrounded by defenders. Enlist support by asking for help in specific ways. “I really need to get this report done. Will you help me stay focused by keeping people from asking me questions?” Or, “Hey, I’m really struggling to get this email written and I need to get it done before we leave. Would you help me stick to that goal?”

Bonus tip: Try body doubling! Body doubling is working alongside another person, and it is a surprisingly simple and effective way to stay focused. It even works virtually.
Bonus Bonus Tip: Shimmer holds virtual body doubling sessions four times a week for those enrolled in ADHD coaching!

Start small(er). If you only try one tool on this list, this is the one. When you are feeling super resistant to doing a task, ask yourself what the smallest part of it you could do is. Then, give yourself permission to just do that thing, and be done. This is not about tricking yourself into doing more. Look, if it comes down to not doing anything with my messy room, or just moving a cup to the kitchen, then moving the cup is a win.

If that still feels like a lot, try this: The more resistance you feel, the sillier the small first step. (Laughter boosts dopamine!) If you don’t want to work on that math assignment that is due soon, throw a dart at the paper and do just the problem it hits. Think creatively! That first step may well lead to doing another because it will feel more manageable after each step. But if not, that’s okay.

The future self. Doing something anyway, when you don’t want to do it right now, is self-care for your future self. So maybe you don’t want to do the dishes right now, but Future You would love to not have to do it at the start of the day. The future self is not everyone’s cup of tea, as it is a delayed reward. But there is a visualization aspect to this that can be effective. Imagine your future self as a real person, like a friend or family member. It’s often easier to do the same task for others that we wouldn’t do for ourselves, so lean on that. “Boy, the me of an hour from now is sure going to be happy I took care of this!”

Bonus tip: Make it a practice to talk to your past and future selves. It may sound silly, but talking out loud can make that other version of you feel more real. “Hey, thanks past self – I feel so much less stressed right now since you took care of that for me!” Or, “Hey there future self. What can I do right now to support you?”

Verbalize/process the things you have to do to someone else. There is a scarcity of information in terms of the benefits of verbal processing, but we can reason out some conclusions. Our brains think faster than we speak. (Like, by a lot.) On average, most of us speak at a rate of about 125-175 words per minute. But we think at a rate of 400-800 words per minute. Now, consider that it takes time for sensory information in our environment (like listening to ourselves speak) to be incorporated into our minds. By talking something out, we are dramatically slowing ourselves down. We are forcing a pause upon our impulsivity and regulating ourselves in ways that can have a dramatic impact on our ability to plan and prioritize – that is, to organize our decisions.

Automate and/or delegate. The simple fact is that some of the things we are berating ourselves for may not be as high of a priority as we think, and that’s why we haven’t been doing them. We only have so much time in the day, and putting out fires usually takes the top slot. To increase the amount of usable time in the day, it is worth asking if there are things in our lives that can be automated or delegated so we can spend our time on things that either matter more or require undivided attention.

Create an energy map and check in with it. Take notes of the ebbs and flows of energy throughout your day and week. When are you at your best and when are you dragging? What patterns do you notice? Are there reasons for those patterns that need addressed? For example, are you drawn to working late into the evening because it is quiet and less distracting? Planning your day according to predictable shifts in energy is working smarter, not harder. There may not be much you can do about your boss scheduling a meeting during your 2pm slump time, but you can certainly plan work on the project when you are feeling at your best, rather than right after the meeting, when your brain feels like it’ melting out of your ears.

Find a new way to do the task. The ADHD mind is drawn to novelty. It’s also great at thinking outside the box. So, use those powers to find a new way to do a boring task. (Come to think of it, this way of thinking has probably led to the invention of a number of things.) New methods, new tools, new locations, new perspectives…heck, even a new background soundtrack could be just enough to get the ball rolling.

Friendly competition – with self or others. Making a game out of a dreaded task is an excellent way to power through. From, “I wonder how many of these I can get through in 5 minutes?” to challenging a friend to a bit of friendly competition, gamifying activates the reward centers of our brain, tapping into our ability to get started and stay focused all the way through tasks.

Pair one task with another. Bundling tasks allows you to lean on something you are already doing to hold up something you want to be doing. If you are feeling unmotivated to start a task, ask yourself if you can pair it with something more enjoyable. Really hate folding laundry? Do it while you listen to a podcast.

Moving motivational mountains

Trying a new way of doing something is stimulating for our brains, so give one of these strategies you haven’t tried before a go. Not quite sure how to implement them? Trying, but can’t seem to find one that works? An ADHD coach can help you adapt these strategies, and more, to better fit your brain and life. Over time you will find the strategies that tend to work best for you, and using them will become second nature. They probably won’t help you get excited about doing taxes or doing the laundry, but they may just help you get started – and that’s definitely a win.

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