I'm a Neurodivergent Psychologist & These 5 Things Get My ADHD Brain Into Gear

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsReinforcement SchedulesDueling ProjectsScheduling That Works for YouLean Into Your InterestsOutsourcing

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Reinforcement Schedules

Dueling Projects

Scheduling That Works for You

Lean Into Your Interests

Outsourcing

Motivationis commonly a struggle for people with ADHD. We hear teachers, parents, employers, and others call us “lazy” as a result. It is true that many people with ADHD have issues with procrastination, fail to start or complete tasks, and struggle to self-motivate.We tend to internalize these negative messages, wearing on our self-esteem.

Standardtips and advice for self-motivatingare designed for neurotypical brains and, as a result, often do not work for people with ADHD. This further perpetuates the cycle of negative self-talk: Why aren’t these tips working for me? Why can’t I just do it?Why am I so lazy?

No one set of tricks will work for everyone. It is important to try different things and choose the best tactics foryouin your environment. That being said, here are five tips that have helped me as a psychologist who hasADHD.

Dopamineis the brain chemical that causes us to feel various positive experiences, including pleasure, satisfaction, and achievement. When we complete a task and feel good about it, that’s the dopamine surging through your brain.

People with ADHD tend to process dopamine differentlythan those without ADHD—while neurotypical brains often experience motivation as a result of dopamine, many of those with ADHD have disruptions in our dopamine pathways that interfere with this process. As a result, someone with ADHD might not experience the same dopamine effects when accomplishing non-preferred tasks or when we have to put in a lot of effort to achieve the desired outcome.

This means that those of us with ADHD do not experience the same automatic positive reinforcement and satisfaction that comes with completing a task as the other 90% of the population.

Have you wondered why you just can’t motivate yourself like other people can? Wondered why you can’t make yourself just Do The Task already? If you have ADHD, this may be the reason. Your brain is not providing automatic rewards.

So, when we have tasks to complete, it can help to set up our own reward system or reinforcement schedule. Then, we can identify specific achievement points in the task so that rewards come relatively frequently (for example, when writing a paper, we can earn a reward each time we write a certain number of words).

We might also struggle with holding off on rewards. When the person imposing the reinforcement schedule is you, giving yourself the reward ahead of schedule is easy. Ask someone you trust to dispense rewards to keep you motivated.

This is a strategy I came up with when I first became an author. Writing a book is not easy and takes a long time, and the dopamine of finishing a task is so far away, especially when you first get started. It can feel impossible even to start working on a large project, one that you know will take months to complete. In addition, since ADHD brain craves novelty, any topic will start to feel boring over a long enough period of time, andfocusbecomes more difficult.

My solution is always to have two projects in progress at a time. When one topic starts to feel boring, I can switch to the other project and make progress. When that topic starts to get boring, I switch back, and the first topic feels novel again.

The Link Between ADHD and Boredom

People with ADHD tend to have difficult relationships with sleep and are at higher risk for sleep disorders than the rest of the population; however, it’s theorized that this may be due in part to adifference in circadian rhythm for those with ADHD.Standard work schedules in the U.S. are typically 9 to 5, emphasizing starting work early in the morning and being productive during daytime hours.

But it’s not inherently superior to get something done at 9 in the morning compared to 9 at night (or any other time). Pay attention to the times when you feel at your best, your most alert, and your most energetic. Change your schedule so that those are the times when you do the things that need to get done.

An ADHD diagnosis entitles you toworkplace accommodations, so you can talk to your employer about changing your work schedule to fit your needs. You can also shift your sleep schedule based on your own natural rhythm.

In addition, some people with ADHD require specific,set schedulesto stay on top of things, but others do better withever-changing schedules. Determine what fits your needs and motivates your brain, and implement that.

It is much easier to focus on something that we enjoy. This is true for everyone, but even more so for us with ADHD.

ADHD Symptom Spotlight: Lack of Focus

Some tasks are not enjoyable, and we will not look forward to them regardless of how we frame them, break them down, or reward ourselves for completing them. Everything we do takes energy, and non-preferred tasks take even more energy because we have to overcome our reluctance to start or keep going. The more undesirable the task is, the harder it will be to start and continue.

You might realize that the energy that goes into certain tasks drains you and prevents you from having the bandwidth to do other important things. In that case, you might choose to outsource things that take up too much of your energy. It is okay to ask for help if you are struggling, and that includes outsourcing tasks that feel overwhelming or that cause a lot of trouble or stress.

For example, I struggle with keeping my home clean. There are so many tasks I would rather do than vacuum my living room, so I use a cleaning service that comes twice per month and does that for me. That frees up my energy for other tasks that do not drain me in the same way. I’ve spoken with other ADHDers who use services for things like laundry, meal prep, and other daily tasks that cause a lot of difficulties.

Even if something is not technically impossible for you, it is okay to seek support or outsource the task to professionals if it’s within your means. You deserve to access the support you need. If you can afford these services, there is no shame in using them.

Everyone’s brain motivates in its own way, and those with ADHD tend to have particular difficulty starting and following through on tasks. Finding the motivation techniques and schedule that work for you can make important tasks manageable.

As a Neurodivergent Psychologist, Here Are 7 Things I Wish People Knew About ADHD

3 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Skalski S, Pochwatko G, Balas R.Impact of motivation on selected aspects of attention in children with adhd.Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2021;52(4):586-595.Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Newcorn JH, et al.Motivation deficit in ADHD is associated with dysfunction of the dopamine reward pathway.Mol Psychiatry. 2011;16(11):1147-1154.Bijlenga D, Vollebregt MA, Kooij JJS, Arns M.The role of the circadian system in the etiology and pathophysiology of ADHD: time to redefine ADHD?ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord. 2019;11(1):5-19.

3 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Skalski S, Pochwatko G, Balas R.Impact of motivation on selected aspects of attention in children with adhd.Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2021;52(4):586-595.Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Newcorn JH, et al.Motivation deficit in ADHD is associated with dysfunction of the dopamine reward pathway.Mol Psychiatry. 2011;16(11):1147-1154.Bijlenga D, Vollebregt MA, Kooij JJS, Arns M.The role of the circadian system in the etiology and pathophysiology of ADHD: time to redefine ADHD?ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord. 2019;11(1):5-19.

Skalski S, Pochwatko G, Balas R.Impact of motivation on selected aspects of attention in children with adhd.Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2021;52(4):586-595.Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Newcorn JH, et al.Motivation deficit in ADHD is associated with dysfunction of the dopamine reward pathway.Mol Psychiatry. 2011;16(11):1147-1154.Bijlenga D, Vollebregt MA, Kooij JJS, Arns M.The role of the circadian system in the etiology and pathophysiology of ADHD: time to redefine ADHD?ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord. 2019;11(1):5-19.

Skalski S, Pochwatko G, Balas R.Impact of motivation on selected aspects of attention in children with adhd.Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2021;52(4):586-595.

Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Newcorn JH, et al.Motivation deficit in ADHD is associated with dysfunction of the dopamine reward pathway.Mol Psychiatry. 2011;16(11):1147-1154.

Bijlenga D, Vollebregt MA, Kooij JJS, Arns M.The role of the circadian system in the etiology and pathophysiology of ADHD: time to redefine ADHD?ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord. 2019;11(1):5-19.

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