ADHD work life hack: Make the task easier
For adult ADHDers, it's common to procrastinate on doing a task because it feels too difficult. (Or impossible, even.) For those managing their ADHD symptoms at work, this can become a biiiiiiig problem. We can end up hiding emails from ourselves, crafting entire presentations at midnight for the big meeting in the morning, and wondering if this week is the week when Everyone Finally Finds Out About Me.
Sometimes we believe that the task feeling so difficult proves that we're uniquely useless. We may pressure ourselves to do things the way that others do them, or that we've been told is the proper way (a classic form of ADHD masking). No more! No more, I say!
If a task feels too difficult, maybe you haven't made it easy enough yet.
Make that task easier!
Here are some ways to make a task easier:
- Break it down into smaller steps (try Goblin Tools to help with this)
- Check for emotionally charged bits (do them separately and cool off afterwards)
- Check for decision-making bits (do you need to get more knowledge, have more time to think, or seek trusted feedback?)
- Make the task more fun or interesting
- Get clear on all the steps (find a template, write out the steps on paper, ask for advice)
- Do whatever bit seems most doable right now
- Shift between steps within the task as you feel like it
- Leave the task when you want to, and return again soon
- Set a timer for 10 minutes and engage with the task for that long
- Remember why you want to do the task (imagine this with images and positive emotions if possible)
...and whatever else you already do to make a task easier, maybe without even noticing.
It’s not you, it’s the task
What if the problem isn't you or your character? What if the problem is that your brain sees the task as a muddled thunderstorm of doubt and discomfort? Don't go changing. Change the task instead - find a way to make it easier!
If you want my support to find strategies to make tasks easier, you can book a free introductory chat with me.