Thriving with ADHD is not about “trying harder.” It’s about understanding how your brain works and designing systems that support it. As discussed in the post Understanding Adult ADHD: Symptoms and Neuroscience Insight, ADHD affects executive functions.
Research shows that medication is one of the most effective treatments for ADHD. However, medication alone is often not enough to create lasting changes in daily functioning. Combining medication with strategies that support executive functioning leads to more meaningful and sustainable improvements.
This blog intends to give you some practical strategies to help you thrive with ADHD and it will demonstrate how these techniques help with your executive functions.
1. Have Routines
🎯: Distractibility – Organization- Working memory – Time blindness
Rationale:
Following the same sequence every day reduces planning and memory demands and supports task initiation. To prevent hyperfocusing, avoid including activities such as social media, gaming, or unstructured screen time, especially early in the day.
Example:
- Morning routine for someone working from home: wake up → take medication → hygiene → breakfast → check emails (15 minutes) → go for a walk → start work
- Plan when and where you will exercise during the week
2. Make Time Visible
🎯: Time blindness – Working memory -Organization
Rationale:
ADHD affects the ability to predict how long a task will take, as well as how we perceive the passage of time. Externalizing time makes it easier to plan, pace, and complete tasks.
Example:
- Have clocks in your home and office to be more aware of the passage of time
- Set alarms to prepare for transition (leave the house, get ready for bed)
- Time yourself to know how long a daily task really takes you
3. FEEL THE FUTURE NOW
🎯: task initiation, procrastination, time blindness
Rationale:
The ability to anticipate future outcomes plays a key role in decision-making. ADHD makes it more difficult to act based on delayed consequences, as immediate experiences tend to outweigh future impact. Action is often postponed until discomfort or urgency becomes unavoidable, which often means it’s already too late.
Rather than waiting for motivation, focusing on how future-you will feel can increase follow-through and reduce avoidance. Use past experiences to make those consequences feel real, immediate and important.
Example:
- Ask yourself: “How will tomorrow-me feel about having to do those dishes before preparing breakfast and packing the kids’ lunches?“
- Instead of waiting to feel motivated to go to the gym, connect with how good you typically feel after the workout
4. Externalize Working Memory
🎯: Poor working memory – Distractibility – Organization
Rationale:
ADHD makes it difficult to hold information in mind, especially when multiple tasks or steps are involved. Externalizing working memory reduces cognitive load and prevents important information from being lost.
Example:
- Write down tasks, ideas, and reminders in one consistent place (ie, Apple Calendar, planner, notes app)
- Use physical objects as visual reminders by placing them in an unusual or unavoidable location. Ex: Put the laundry hamper in front of your bedroom door as a cue to remember laundry in the washing machine.
- Set reminders on your phone. Complete the task when the reminder appears or reschedule it to a specific time when you know you will be able to follow through.
5. Break Tasks into Small Steps
🎯: Task initiation – Overwhelm – Procrastination – Organization
Rationale:
Breaking tasks into small, clearly defined steps reduces cognitive load. It makes progress more visible. It also provides more frequent opportunities for reinforcement. All of these support initiation, persistence, and follow-through.
Example:
- Make a menu plan for the week: choose 4 dinner recipes → review the ingredient list for each recipe → check what you already have at home → write a grocery list with the missing items.
- Reorganize your closet: divide your closet into 2-3 sections (e.g., top shelf, hanging clothes, shoes) → pick a section to start with → sort the items from that section into: keep/store for the season/donate →put keep items back into the closet → take a break before next section
6. Change YOUR Environment
🎯: Distractibility – Impulsivity – Poor organization
Rationale:
Structuring the environment reduces reliance on willpower and supports sustained attention and behavioural regulation.
Example:
- Leave your phone in another room while working
- Use website/apps blockers during focus time
- Keep only task-relevant materials on your desk
7. Add movement to your day
🎯: restlessness, distractibility, impulsivity, emotional dysregulation
Rationale:
Research shows that exercise is the best treatment for ADHD after medication. Executive functions are significantly improved after only 15 minutes of movement.
Example:
- Take a break from work: stand up and stretch, roll your arms/neck/shoulders
- Use transitions to add movement: take the stairs, pace during phone calls, walk to nearby destinations instead of driving
- Play: choose movement-based video games, engage in active play with children or pets, team sports
- Do active household tasks: vacuuming, gardening, shoveling snow
- Guided workout video: yoga, Pilates, Zumba, HIIT
- Move outdoors: walking, hiking, running, cycling, swimming
8. PRACTICE Mindfulness
🎯: distractibility, impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, response inhibition
Mindfulness increases awareness of internal states (thoughts, emotions, urges) and helps create a brief pause between impulse and action. Rather than aiming to “clear the mind,” mindfulness helps individuals notice when attention has drifted, and intentionally guide it back to the present moment.
Example:
A 10-minute guided meditation after work can help you feel more present, patient, and available for your spouse/children during the evening.
CONCLUSION
Thriving with ADHD is possible when you have strategies that support how your brain works. If you’d like guidance in finding the strategies that fit your life and putting them into practice, you can book an appointment HERE.