Show your ADHD brain how tiny that 5-minute task is
Classic ADHD at work moment
Sometimes you have a little task you want to do...but you put it off day after day after day...after day after day…after day…
…And then when you finally do it, it takes 5 minutes, leaving you to wonder why you wasted all that energy feeling bad about procrastinating on it. (This isn’t featured in the classic list of ADHD symptoms, but it must be a runner-up.)
Time to try something new!
Mark it as a small task
Marking 5-minutes-or-less-to-complete tasks on your to-do list with a '5' can help you actually do that task, by letting your brain know that it's a quickie. This technique helps you manage your ADHD at work.
When I look at my to-do list, my brain sees a bunch of similar-looking demands. It can't easily tell the difference between a big task and a speedy one. This makes me more at risk of getting overwhelmed and doing nothing, or of focusing on interesting projects while ignoring tiny and important admin details.
By marking 5-minutes-or-less tasks with a 5, I can see that they're quick (and rewarding) to smash out.
ADHD motivation tool
Showing your brain that a task is small and easy is a great motivation tool for adult ADHDers. Once I have a 5 on my quick tasks, I do them:
- when I want a gentle way to get started on my work
- when I have an awkward bit of working time left
- when I can't face doing anything big
- when I want a quick hit of task completion satisfaction!
Doing something for five minutes is hard for me to argue with. How bad can it be? And so, using this technique, I get to jump to the 'DONE' state on that task without even having to procrastinate for weeks! (I then make an effort to remind myself of how amazing this feels, to encourage myself to do it again in future. Whatever the science of dopamine and ADHD, it really works to get the action we want more of and absolutely slather it in positive emotions.)
I believe I learnt this 5 technique from someone brilliant running an ADDA webinar (thank you, whoever you are). When I was first learning about ADHD, I became a paying member for a few months for not many dollars, and watched (or often listened to) hours and hours of their excellent webinars. This tip, and many others, came out of that learning splurge.
If you want more help with ADHD at work, you are welcome to book a free introductory chat with me!