How to manage adult ADHD!

Now you’ve got the diagnosis and some reading up on it, what’s next?
The tendency is to accept the medication that promises to heal all your symptoms.
However there are tangible things you can do to manage your ADHD with or without mediation.
Read on to learn some of my tips I acquired over the years!

Start observing
what you struggle with most
and how you work best.

Declutter for the win!

Take a day to go through things you don’t need so that theres minimal stuff in the way. A tidy home is a tidy mind as my mother used to say.
Play around with having your essentials in handy places and switch it up until you find the most intuitive place, even if it is toothbrush in the shower or vitamins next to the front door on your way out.
You’re likely to “go blind” and get used to things being there so you can change it around every so often which brings me to…

Lists baby!

Honestly I know we’ve all tried it but keep trying!
What works best for me is a daily written out to-do list, reminders on my phone, calendar notifications, lists on my fridge and post-it notes, all with different functions.
I need to keep track and write everything down otherwise it doesn’t get done and I forget.
Have fun with it, use pretty colours if you want, but write down even the most banal tasks so you get into the habit of ticking things off!

It’s time!

Force yourself to leave more time than you think you need.
This is one I still struggle with, but at least now I’m 15min late and not hours.
If your GPS says its a 30min trip, plan in 45min and 15min just to leave.
Set alarms for when you’re meant to start tasks, even if it makes you feel bad: thats kind of the idea! Play around with laying out outfits for the next day, showering at night and batch cooking to save time too.

Werk it!

How much freedom do you have over the hours you work?
If your brain can’t work in the morning, don’t force yourself to do so if you can and find other things you can do then.
Make friends with your ADHD brain instead of fighting it!
Whenever you don’t feel like it, have coping mechanisms ready such as a drawing pad, admin calls or a walk around but then get back into it once the cause has been resolved.
You’ll be able to tell after a while what it is thats stopping you from working.

ZZZ’s and noms!

Honestly THE most important thing for me.
If i don’t sleep enough and well, the whole day is wasted.
I still struggle with that because life is fun at night but try to make it a priority depending on what hours you need tot be up.
Eating regularly and eating food that nourishes you is important too as I feel sluggish when eating too much fast food and won’t do any work (and my IBS doesn’t like it either).
Set reminders if you forget to eat and have comfort foods frozen if you have to force yourself to eat.

Channel that ADHD energy!

It’s not all bad to have all this excess wiggle time!
However, if I don’t channel this energy myself, it will come out in the form of worrying and restlessness.
For me its running, if I don’t run for a while I will start having dreams of it.
Exercise, especially cardio, especially in the morning, is a great way to tire the ADHD in you out a bit.

All these tips will be able to make living with ADHD as an adult easier.
It’s also crucial to have a routine even if it means saying no to people and feeling like an inconvenience.
In my case, I try and keep my mornings just for myself as that works best for me.
It gets easier with time and remember, you’ve got this!
Do you have any tips for living with ADHD? I would love to hear them!