There is an entire industry around providing productivity advice and tips and tricks to get tasks done. Indeed, Bored Panda has featured some bits of advice, from things people wished they had known earlier, to absurd, out-of-touch recommendations from baby boomers.
But one netizen with ADHD came to the realization that this disorder made a lot of common tips and tricks irrelevant. So they asked the internet to share their similar examples. So get comfortable as you scroll through and be sure to upvote your favorite examples. If you have any of your own, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
#1
Also … take breaks. Like this sounds lovely but if I’m on a roll I should stay on it. Taking a break means I’ll probably never come back to what I was doing
Image source: OpenDragonfly3374
#2
“Go and sit in a quiet room with no distractions”
But Mother, I AM the distraction!
Image source: fififeet_aw, Imani Bahati
#3
“Just be yourself”
Um, no. I’m hyperactive, hyperverbal, impulsive, and extremely loud. Better advice is to read the room, pause, try to model social behavior, and pace myself.
Image source: lookingaroundxyz, Taylor Smith
#4
Clear away your clutter so you have a clean workspace. Ma’am/Sir, the moment that thing goes out of sight, it ceases to exist. Then I will waste time, energy, and/or money recreating it when I need it.
Image source: Anonymousmuch2, Humairah L.
#5
“Just get up & try”, in terms of task paralysis.
FYI, non-ADHD people: I’m not procrastinating. I’m not being lazy. I’m not ignoring you.
I am literally *unable to function* due to my brain’s inability to organise & prioritise. I can’t “just give it a go”; I am literally paralysed by the stress of the number of minor actions I’m going to have to follow in order to complete this “simple task” you’re talking about.
I once tried to explain to my mum that progressively shouting at me louder & louder did *not* in fact help my task paralysis, & actually made it much worse.
She then told me that I’m “wrong”, & that her shouting at me is meant to “snap me out of it”.
Image source: Traditional-Wear6623, Dyu – Ha
#6
When it comes to cleaning: Just do a little bit at a time. That’s not how my brain works. I’m either glued to the chair, or I’m cleaning for at least an hour.
Image source: Fine-Community-4535, Towfiqu barbhuiya
#7
Any that essentially boils down to “so I know you have a disorder that makes it hard to self-regulate, but have you tried self-regulating?”
Image source: Faust_8, Reinhart Julian
#8
“buy a planner”
I own so many empty planners
Image source: singleoriginsalt, 2H Media
#9
Basically any advice that wasn’t written by an adhd person. My least favourites are the ones around habits.
“Just do something at the same time, for the same amount of time, every day for 21 days until it becomes a habit!”
Dude, I can’t do something at the same time every day for two days in a row, what makes you think I can do 21.
It’s especially frustrating because I wish I could. There are things I want to learn and skills I want to develop, but consistency does not exist in my reality.
Image source: ChaoticKinky, Sincerely Media
#10
I think the idea of rewarding yourself after a task is a flawed one for us ADHDers. My brain just thinks “well I can just have this reward now” so because of my impulsivity I reward myself regardless of doing the task or not. I stumbled upon the concept after reading the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, which at first I thought was a very good book but it just doesn’t apply to people with ADHD.
Image source: Electrical-Spinach42
#11
I’ve been a night owl since I was literally born and most school nights I would lay in bed tossing and turning all night til the sun came up. This caused me to miss a lot of school because I was constantly exhausted and the only advice I got for it was “go to bed earlier!” Always after me saying I couldn’t fall asleep until 6-7 am despite laying in bed all night. A lot of people seriously just don’t understand or care how adhd actually affects you.
Image source: UneasyBranch
#12
I’ve always been told the best way to work/study is to find a quiet space and focus on the sole task you need to do, but recently I’ve found that listening to heavy/energetic music as I’m working on a task just works so much better for me.
Image source: AlexanderTroup, Thought Catalog
#13
Just meditate. Even worse: no screens before or in bed. Are you freaking kidding me?!
Image source: Glittering_Tea5502, Jared Rice
#14
“If they wanted to, they would.”
Newsflash: There have been *COUNTLESS* times I have mentally yelled at myself to do something I know I *need* to do while being stuck on the couch doom-scrolling on my phone. Depression and anxiety doesn’t help.
Image source: bandicoot4
#15
“Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself”.
No, it turns out people do want regular communication and birthday presents, and don’t always want Fun Facts.
Image source: leafshaker, Jessica Da Rosa
#16
Anything that effectively suggests treatment isn’t needed.
Metanalysis has found that not treating leads to a 5-fold increase in negative outcomes compared to any other approach. Depression, anxiety, substance abuse, … We cause a significant portion of traffic accidents (when younger), high rates of teen pregnancy, or just starting a family ~8 years earlier than the general population on average.
The idea that it’s just a personality type, or that everyone has adhd, or that it’s a lack of discipline, or that all you need is a planner, etc etc. All bad advice.
Tools and discipline help, for sure. But it’s effectively the fact that they aren’t a solution that makes ADHD a disorder in the first place..
Image source: Gr1pp717
#17
Time blocking. I’m sorry but do you really expect me to stop studying in the middle of a chapter just because I finished my block?? Nah, there’s no break until I’m done
Image source: eekhaa, Aaron Burden
#18
I was in a management class and we talked about “Deep Work”. She said there’s absolutely no way you’re able to do deep work while listening to anything.
My dude, I literally don’t even pay attention to what I’m listening to, I just need SOME kind of stimulus in order to function. I am at my least focused when I’m working in silence!
One of the rules of deep work is literally “embrace boredom” without realizing that boredom often translates as depression in individuals with ADHD. I physically cannot take it, it’s like someone’s pulling hairs out of my skin every moment I’m understimulated. Easily was my least favorite class because it really did just hammer home that business does not give a f**k, even in health (as it was a healthcare-focused management class)
Image source: lemonspritz, Kelly Sikkema
#19
I feel like “ADHD is a superpower” is corny and unhelpful.
Image source: VivrantMuvuh, Hiki App
#20
“Don’t worry about it”.
As if I can switch off my thoughts. I have literally 5 trillion thoughts going through my mind at any given moment, at least a few of those thoughts are going to be worrying about “it”. I wish it wasn’t the case, but I’m literally worrying about everything everywhere all at once.
Image source: Sleepy_Zenitsu23, Kelly Sikkema
#21
After talking to a therapist about my struggles with the work, she said to me “you have to be disciplined”
Image source: Lyderhorn, Kateryna Hliznitsova
#22
Generally any type of advice that questions why you do something a certain way when you could do it a cheaper/better/more environmentally friendly/more natural way. This messed with my ability to function for years before I got a handle on it.
Examples:
– Why would you drink protein shakes? It’s more natural to get your nutrients from food you can get that same protein from x amount of lentils!
-Why do you pay to have your car cleaned? You can do that yourself for free!
-Why are you paying for pre prepped fruit and veg?! It’s cheaper to buy the bag of whole carrots and they don’t come wrapped in plastic!
These are real life examples but it’s now absolutely everywhere especially with the rise of TikTok, a lot of content is aimed at efficiency and streamlining our budgets so I see a lot of this cropping up. Even one hairdresser making videos about ‘Why buy an airwrap? You can create this style with a hairdryer and hairbrush!”
If someone with ADHD or any condition impacting their executive function has found a way to do the thing then that is perfectly fine. The advice above led me to 1. Not eat, because protein shakes were now wrong and I didn’t have it in me to prep lentils daily, shockingly. 2. Have a car so messy I couldn’t have passengers. 3. Not get any fruit or veg at all in my diet.
Image source: Weemag
#23
I have to, HAVE TO, be listening to something that stimulates my brain or I will completely zone out at work. Also while driving.
Image source: Uzielsquibb
#24
“break a task into smaller tasks” except now I have a hundred little blocks instead of one huge block and I still have to do it, great.
Image source: beepbeepsheepbot, Glenn Carstens-Peters
#25
“You need to make a list and write these things down”
I have lists. I have text files saved on my desktop and documents, google docs, google sheets, google keep, apple stickies, apple notes, 2 black moleskines, a handful of legal pads, Microsoft one note, and random folder up pieces of paper in my pocket.
Image source: nothing3141592653589
#26
When you start to get depressed – go and do stuff! Wow, really, tell me how? Second – when depressed, I was depressed ever only because I was burnt out.
Going out and socializing just made me more overstimulated, tired and desperate due to not being able to keep up with others.
So my new advice would be – when getting depressed, first sleep and be alone for a few days, engage with hobbies/hyperfication, and then after this see people and do some light excersise.
Image source: yellowleavesmouse, Dmitry Schemelev
#27
“Just make a schedule for the day and follow it!”
Excuse me, I’d rather rip my own eyes out, thank you.
Image source: ExtensionGrapefruit8
#28
My dad is fond of telling me: “Ya gotta want it.” I hate when he implies that I don’t want to get better. The kicker is that he has ADHD too (diagnosed or not I don’t know, but he says he does and I believe it). It’s really frustrating and makes me feel like nothing I do is good enough.
Image source: cecily61224
#29
Pomodoro technique. Its the worst.
When I finally get to do the task I need to do the task. Otherwise I am again stuck in getting to do the task.
Same with 45minute school lessons. Literature begins, 30 minutes into it I finally accept that we begun literature, 15 minutes to go and now I have to transform myself into math?? How?
Image source: bonnie-galactic
#30
“If you can’t get yourself to focus on something, just take a s**t ton of breaks!” This includes all pomodoro bs and adjacent stuff.
I don’t know about y’all, but if I took breaks like that, I’d never be able to focus. I need at least half an hour to even *start* focusing at all, and I’ll need another half an hour after I take that break. And if I do manage to focus on something, I need to cram that s**t several hours straight because I know if I break that focus when I have it, I won’t be able to get back into it. I won’t put a f*****g alarm to distract me every 30 minutes, that will just kill me more.
This kind of extends to any kind of “slow, steady and consistent”. People say I need to do a little bit of x every day in order to stay motivated and not burn myself out and I believed that lie until I realized that is precisely how I’ll burn myself out. Doing things in intense bursts is the only thing that has ever worked for me. “slow and steady” has never done me any good. I need to do things in bursts, go as fast and as long as I want to, and then take a break when it comes to it. It’s the only way I can get anything done.
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