Avoiding Toxic Productivity Advice for ADHD

Summary

In this engaging talk, Jesse J Anderson discusses the challenges of toxic productivity, particularly for individuals with ADHD. He shares his personal journey of discovering his ADHD as an adult and the struggles he faced with traditional productivity systems. Anderson emphasizes the need for an alternative approach, highlighting the four C's of motivation (Captivate, Create, Compete, Complete) that resonate with the ADHD brain. He offers practical strategies to overcome common pitfalls, such as embracing the pivot, using pomodoro timers, and setting micro-commitments, ultimately encouraging listeners to persevere and make a positive impact despite imperfections and failures.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Understanding ADHD: The speaker, Jesse J Anderson, discusses the impact of toxic productivity on ADHD brains, sharing his personal journey of discovering his ADHD as an adult and the struggles he faced in a system not designed for his brain type.
• 🚫 Ineffective 'Try Harder' Approach: The common advice to 'try harder' is not effective for those with ADHD, as it doesn't address the underlying challenges and can lead to more frustration and struggle.
• 🎯 Tailored Productivity Systems: Traditional productivity systems, like GTD, were not built with ADHD brains in mind, leading to a lack of trust in these systems and eventual failure.
• 🌟 Hamilton's Impact: A quote from Hamilton resonates with the speaker, highlighting the feeling of being misunderstood and labeled negatively in school, a common experience for those with ADHD.
• 💡 The Four C's of Motivation: ADHD brains are motivated by captivate, create, compete, and complete, which are different from the motivations that drive neurotypical individuals.
• 🔥 Overcoming Overwhelm: The ADHD brain is prone to shutting down under overwhelm, unlike neurotypical brains, which can push through discomfort to complete tasks.
• 🐸 The Frog Analogy: The popular productivity advice of 'eating the frog' first (tackling the hardest task first) does not work for everyone, especially those with ADHD, as it can lead to avoidance and inaction.
• 🛠️ Breaking Projects Down: While breaking down large projects seems logical, it can lead to procrastination and distraction for those with ADHD, as the task becomes too overwhelming when viewed in its entirety.
• 🔄 Embracing the Pivot: Recognize that productivity systems will likely fail at some point, and it's okay to pivot to new strategies when this happens, without shame or guilt.
• ⏰ Pomodoro Timers: Using timers to segment work and breaks can help maintain focus and provide a sense of urgency, though the specific intervals can be adjusted to suit individual needs.

Q & A

What is the main topic of Jesse J Anderson's talk?

The main topic of Jesse J Anderson's talk is toxic productivity and its effects on ADHD brains.

When did Jesse find out he had ADHD?

Jesse found out he had ADHD just a few years ago as an adult.

What was Jesse's initial reaction to finding out about his ADHD?

Jesse knew something was different about his brain early on, and he was having trouble getting things done, but he didn't know what to do about it.

What did Jesse's teachers think about his potential?

Jesse's teachers knew he wasn't reaching his potential, but they didn't tell him what his potential was or how to reach it.

What was Jesse's initial strategy to cope with his ADHD?

Jesse initially tried to cope with his ADHD by trying harder, but he found that it was not an effective solution.

What is the main problem with neurotypical productivity systems for people with ADHD?

The main problem with neurotypical productivity systems for people with ADHD is that they were not built with ADHD brains in mind, leading to issues with motivation, distractions, and overwhelm.

How does the 'eat the frog' strategy work for neurotypicals?

The 'eat the frog' strategy suggests that one should tackle the most difficult or undesirable task first thing in the morning to get it out of the way and make the rest of the day easier.

Why doesn't the 'eat the frog' strategy work well for people with ADHD?

The 'eat the frog' strategy doesn't work well for people with ADHD because they often end up staring at the 'frog' (the task) for hours without starting it, leading to feelings of failure and avoidance.

What are the four C's of motivation that Jesse suggests for people with ADHD?

The four C's of motivation for people with ADHD are Captivate, Create, Compete, and Complete.

How can embracing the pivot help someone with ADHD?

Embracing the pivot means acknowledging that productivity systems will eventually fail and that it's okay to move on to something new when that happens, reducing feelings of shame and stress.

What is one strategy Jesse suggests to help build momentum for tasks?

One strategy Jesse suggests is to find tasks that align with the four C's of motivation (Captivate, Create, Compete, Complete) to build momentum and make it easier to tackle more challenging aspects of a project.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Understanding ADHD and Toxic Productivity

In this segment, Jesse Anderson introduces himself and shares his personal experience with ADHD. He discusses how he struggled with productivity and the realization that traditional productivity systems were not designed for ADHD brains. Jesse emphasizes the importance of recognizing that 'trying harder' is not an effective solution for ADHD and highlights the need for systems tailored to the unique challenges faced by individuals with ADHD.

05:02

🚧 The Flaws in Neurotypical Productivity Systems

Jesse delves into the three major flaws he identifies in productivity systems designed for neurotypical individuals. First, he explains that motivation for people with ADHD does not come from importance or rewards and consequences, unlike neurotypicals. Second, he points out that these systems are full of distractions, which can be particularly detrimental for those with ADHD. Lastly, he discusses the issue of overwhelm, explaining how ADHD brains often shut down in response to too much on their plate, making it difficult to push through tasks.

10:02

🌟 The Four C's of ADHD Motivation

Jesse introduces the concept of the 'Four C's of Motivation' for individuals with ADHD: Captivate, Create, Compete, and Complete. He explains that these elements can drive motivation in ways that traditional productivity systems fail to do. By focusing on tasks that captivate interest, create something new, involve competition, or have clear deadlines, individuals with ADHD can find the motivation to be productive and overcome the challenges posed by their ADHD.

15:03

🛠️ Strategies for ADHD Productivity

Jesse shares various strategies to help individuals with ADHD navigate productivity challenges. He talks about embracing the pivot, using pomodoro timers, finding side quests, making micro commitments, changing the environment, turning tasks into games, and setting time-based goals. These strategies are meant to adapt to the ADHD brain's need for novelty and to help build momentum in tackling tasks.

20:03

🌍 Making a Difference with ADHD

In the concluding part of the talk, Jesse encourages the audience to apply the strategies discussed to make a positive impact on the world. He acknowledges that there will be failures along the way but emphasizes the importance of perseverance and self-compassion. Jesse also invites the audience to follow him on social media and shares information about his upcoming book on ADHD, 'Refocus,' and his website where he offers a free ADHD newsletter.

Keywords

💡Toxic Productivity

The term 'toxic productivity' refers to the harmful effects of an excessive focus on productivity, often at the expense of mental health and well-being. In the context of the video, it specifically affects individuals with ADHD by causing them to feel inadequate or 'broken' when they cannot meet the unrealistic standards set by conventional productivity systems.

💡ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulty with attention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. In the video, the speaker shares their personal experience with ADHD and how it affects their productivity and ability to engage with traditional productivity systems.

💡Neurotypical Productivity Systems

Neurotypical productivity systems refer to the conventional methods and strategies designed to enhance productivity, which are typically created by and for individuals without ADHD or other neurodevelopmental disorders. These systems often do not take into account the unique challenges faced by those with ADHD, leading to ineffectiveness and frustration for this group.

💡Motivation

In the context of the video, motivation refers to the drive or incentive to take action or complete tasks. The speaker emphasizes that motivation for individuals with ADHD is often different from that of neurotypical individuals, being more responsive to interests and immediate rewards rather than long-term consequences or importance.

💡Distractions

Distractions are anything that diverts attention away from the task at hand. For individuals with ADHD, distractions can be particularly problematic as they can easily derail focus and lead to a decrease in productivity. The speaker discusses how neurotypical productivity systems are full of distractions that can be especially detrimental to those with ADHD.

💡Overwhelm

Overwhelm refers to the state of being overwhelmed by too much to do or too much information, which can lead to paralysis and inaction. The speaker explains that ADHD brains often shut down in response to overwhelm, making it difficult to initiate or continue tasks when faced with a large workload.

💡Interest-Based Nervous System

The term 'interest-based nervous system' is used by the speaker to describe the ADHD brain's motivation driven by interests and immediate rewards, as opposed to the long-term importance and consequences that motivate neurotypical individuals. This concept is central to understanding how individuals with ADHD can find motivation in a way that is different from the norm.

💡Four C's of Motivation

The 'Four C's of Motivation' is a concept introduced by the speaker to help individuals with ADHD find motivation through captivate, create, compete, and complete. These four elements are designed to align tasks with the ADHD brain's natural inclination towards interest and novelty, making it easier to engage and stay motivated.

💡Embracing the Pivot

Embracing the pivot is a strategy mentioned in the video where individuals acknowledge that their productivity systems may eventually fail or become ineffective. By accepting this reality, they can pivot to new systems without feeling shame or failure when the current system no longer works.

💡Pomodoro Timers

Pomodoro Timers are a time management technique that involves breaking work into intervals, typically 25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break. The speaker suggests adapting this method to suit their own work节奏, such as 15 minutes of work and 10 minutes of break, to provide a sense of urgency and help maintain focus.

Highlights

Jesse J Anderson discusses the impact of toxic productivity on ADHD brains, sharing personal experiences and insights.

Jesse was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult but recognized early on that his brain functioned differently.

Despite having good intentions, people with ADHD often struggle to connect their intentions with actual actions.

Neurotypical productivity systems are not designed for ADHD brains, leading to a lack of trust in such systems.

Jesse relates to the quote from Hamilton, feeling misunderstood and labeled in school due to his ADHD.

The Getting Things Done (GTD) movement and other productivity systems did not provide a lasting solution for Jesse.

Three major flaws in neurotypical productivity systems for ADHD brains: motivation, distractions, and overwhelm.

People with ADHD are not motivated by importance, rewards, or consequences in the same way as neurotypicals.

Distractions and 'shiny objects' within productivity systems can be particularly detrimental for those with ADHD.

Overwhelm causes ADHD brains to shut down, making it impossible to push through tasks and responsibilities.

Jesse shares the 'four C's of motivation' for ADHD: captivate, create, compete, and complete.

Embracing the pivot is a strategy to accept that productivity systems will eventually fail and to be ready to move on to new systems.

Using pomodoro timers can help manage work and break times effectively for people with ADHD.

Finding side quests or interesting angles within a project can help build momentum for more challenging tasks.

Micro commitments can help overcome the initial hurdle of starting a task.

Changing the environment can introduce novelty and stimulate creativity for those with ADHD.

Turning tasks into games or setting time-based goals can add interest and motivation for ADHD brains.

Jesse encourages listeners to persevere despite failures, emphasizing the importance of not self-blaming.

Jesse shares his online presence and invites listeners to engage with him on social media and his website.

Transcripts

hey my name is jesse j anderson it's

great to be here with you today i'm

really excited to talk about toxic

productivity and specifically how toxic

productivity affects our adhd brains

so for me i didn't find out i had adhd

until just a few years ago as an adult

probably like a lot of you

but i knew something was different about

my brain early on i knew that things

were working a little bit differently

and i was having trouble getting stuff

done and i didn't really know what to do

about it what i found was that all my

teachers knew

that i wasn't reaching my potential they

didn't really tell me what my potential

was or what i could do to reach that

potential but i knew i was not living up

to whatever they thought i should be

living up to and the only thing i could

really think of to try and live up to

that was to try harder and man did that

not work

trying harder is not a solution when you

have adhd it just doesn't like trying

harder isn't more effective it we're

still struggling just the same in fact

even more so most people with adhd are

trying harder than most because we're

just desperate for a solution and we

have these really good intentions and

we're just not

able to make them connect with our

actual action so trying harder is really

just kind of terrible advice for people

with adhd even though that's what we

naturally go to because we're just

trying to make it work

but the real problem is the systems

weren't built for us they weren't built

with our brains in mind there's a

specific quote from hamilton the musical

that i really love and it really just

sort of resonates with me and it's right

at the beginning hamilton says he looked

at me like i was stupid i'm not stupid

and man did this connect with me this is

so much how i felt in school i i knew i

wasn't stupid i knew that i was smart

and i was really clever at figuring

things out i was a great problem solver

i was great at brainstorming and i had

great ideas and things like that i knew

that i was smart and i would ace tests

too but things weren't connecting

somehow and people would say that they

thought it was stupid or all the other

labels that people that adhd get you

know being lazy unmotivated messy all

that sort of stuff was just piled onto

me and i didn't know why and i didn't

really know what to do with it i never

really did find a solution in school i

survived it because i was good at

testing and so i would end up with you

know c's and d's enough to pass because

i would ace my tests and then i would

just refuse to do any homework but a

little while after i got out of school i

discovered the getting things done

movement which was started when david

allen released his book getting things

done and then shortly after that the

blog 43 folders came out by merlin mann

and though that really started the

movement of productivity of getting

things done in the early 2000s you know

things were kind of revolutionary at the

time like email was becoming really

important to our lives and so there's

this whole new movement of how to get

things done and i thought this was

finally going to be the solution for me

there was all these great strategies and

tips and i ate it all up i loved it i

was going to do all the things i did the

getting things done inbox and i used the

context i even built a hipster pda which

if you don't know is basically just a

bunch of index cards kind of clipped

together i also tried kickless gtd which

was sort of the

predecessor to omnifocus and they did

inbox zero the whole idea being that

never touch an email more than once once

you see it

act on it and get it out of your inbox

so you have nothing in your inbox

anymore i did all these systems for

years i tried to make them work i would

spend weekends building up what i

thought was going to be the perfect

solution i thought this was the one this

will be the solution i'd spend a whole

weekend

and it would work for maybe a few days

or a few weeks or so but eventually it

would always come crashing down and i

never really knew why but the problem is

these weren't built for my brain these

were neurotypical productivity systems

they were built for neurotypicals they

were built even specifically for david

allen's brain uh gtd is the perfect

system for david allen but for the rest

of us it doesn't always work out

especially when you have an adhd brain

and in david allen's book he talks about

what you need requirements in a

productivity system and the crucial

requirement that you need for those

systems to work is trust and i did not

have trust i didn't know why at the time

i had no idea about adhd so i didn't

know why i couldn't trust myself but i

knew it was true

i knew that these systems would always

end up falling apart and i never really

knew why the problem is i couldn't trust

my own brain

and i think that really comes down to

these three major flaws and neurotypical

productivity the first one is motivation

and this one really is

huge this i think is maybe the most

important point i want to share today

and that's that neurotypicals are

motivated by importance and rewards and

consequences and these really aren't

motivating in the same way for people

with adhd like we understand when

something is important and we obviously

love rewards like if we do something and

get a reward at the end that's great

that's a great way to you know

potentially build a new habit

but if you tell us there's a big reward

at the end of the road that doesn't

really give us any motivation at the

beginning to get started even if you

increase that reward the reward could

keep getting bigger and it really

doesn't bring the motivation that we

need to get going the second major flaw

in neurotypical productivity systems are

distractions and shiny objects

productivity systems are full of

distractions and anyone can get caught

up fiddling with all the little bits and

bobs like there's so much to tweak

and continue to refine

even for those that don't have adhd but

it's especially bad for us that do

distractions are just can be so

detrimental to us it can can completely

derail us where we just can't get

anything done because we're we're

spending so much time tweaking the

system following all these fun trails

looking for the new shiny objects but at

the end of the day we don't have a

system that actually works for us and

the third major flaw is overwhelm our

brains have learned to shut down in

response to overwhelm uh when we have

too much on our plate we just don't do

anything there's a point where we can be

flying get a ton of stuff done and then

we hit that point of overwhelm and

you're just done i'm gonna drop

everything at once

um and everything's gonna fail and

neurotypicals often give the advice of

like well just

suck it up and do the hard work just

force yourself to do it

even if it's boring even if it's not fun

just make yourself do it but with an

adhd brain we're incapable of doing that

it's not really a choice it's not that

we're choosing to sit on the couch and

do nothing our brain is like shut down

completely it's def desperate to get

dopamine working and it knows that

that's not going to give us the dopamine

so when we hit that overwhelm point

we're completely shut down and there's

no way we can just push through it to

make it happen it reminds me of one of

my favorite jim gaffigan lines he talks

about when he had his fourth kid and

people would ask him hey what's it like

jim what's it like having a fourth child

and he said imagine you're drowning

and someone hands you a baby and that is

what it feels like for our brain that's

lacking that dopamine when it doesn't

hap when it's not absorbing the dopamine

right it just can't survive it's

desperate it can't breathe it's like it

doesn't have oxygen and you're trying to

have it more and more tasks and

responsibilities and stuff that it's got

to work on it's like i can't even

breathe here i need that dopamine i

can't just ignore

this basic need of dopamine to get these

hard tasks done i'm drowning and you're

tossing me a babe you're tossing me more

work and responsibilities and we hear

this advice from like productivity gurus

or experts or from books that are trying

to help you get stuff done they'll tell

you stuff like get up earlier do inbox

zero be a stoic workout two hours a day

don't eat any carbs or sugar or fat or

calories and finally eat the frog first

and this is actually one of my favorite

examples of neurotypical productivity

advice that doesn't really work for most

people with adhd

it comes from a mark twain quote that

says if it's your job to eat a frog it's

best to do it first thing in the morning

and people have taken this and the idea

is that the frog is that really ugly

that task you don't want to do that

difficult thing the advice goes take

that thing and do it first thing in the

morning and get it out of the way and

then the rest of your day will be so

much easier i first heard this advice

and i was like of course why wouldn't i

do this this totally is logical it makes

sense to me that if i tackle this

difficult task if i eat the frog first

the rest of the day should go so much

easier just get out of the way right

another popular neurotypical

productivity tip is to take a big

project and break it into all of its

individual steps and then you can see

what the tasks are that you need to do

to get it done and it's another

productivity axiom that really makes

sense you hear that and you're like oh

yeah it's hard to get going on a project

if i don't know what all is going to be

involved so let me break out all those

steps and then i can throw them into my

system and then know all the things that

need to be done to be able to complete

it but the problem with these is it

doesn't work it just doesn't work for us

we try to eat the frog first but what

ends up happening

is we just stare at the frog for hours

and feel like a failure for avoiding the

frog all day and getting nothing done at

all meanwhile wondering what is wrong

with you and why you can't follow this

basic advice that must work perfectly

for everyone else and dread seeing that

same frog waiting for you tomorrow we

get stuck on that big task it's too much

and we just avoid it and stare at it all

day and not get anything done at all and

with the other advice the breaking a big

project into all of its steps

it sounds logical it makes sense but

then when we try to do it instead of

breaking a big project into all of its

steps we break that overwhelming project

into all of its steps oh wow that is a

lot of steps i'm terrible estimating

time so it sort of feels like this is an

infinite project now with the

never-ending steps maybe i should check

twitter or put something on netflix and

maybe i can start this project tomorrow

um or maybe instead of that this is what

you do you start breaking your project

into steps but eventually get so bored

of steps that you think of something

interesting and open 50 tabs on that

topic and end up reading about the

history of the space program and did you

know that the apollo 11 had to change

course at the last second and landed

four miles from their planned

destination wait what was the project

i'm supposed to be working on again uh i

don't say that one light-hearted it's

kind of a joke but it's also true i've

done that and i'm sure you have too and

so the problem with these even though

they sound like logical advice logical

tips that we should apply they just

don't work it doesn't work for us which

results in self-blame we start to think

hey this advice is working for other

people these gurus or whoever are

recommending it so it must be working

for other people why isn't it working

for me something must be broken with me

you try to force it to work which

doesn't help the problem another issue

is great intentions and failed actions

we wonder why our actions always fall

short of our intentions people with adhd

often have really good intentions but

our actions just don't line up and we

don't know why and following this

neurotypical advice often makes that

compound even worse this makes labels

like lazy or whatever even more hurtful

because we know

how hard we are trying to make it work

and we know that our intentions are in

the right place and it just doesn't pan

out and the third one is shiny objects

and this is one that anyone has

experienced neurotypical people included

there are a lot of little distractions

when you're building a productivity

system when you're trying to figure out

tips and advice and applying things to

your life to make you more productive

but for people with adhd these

distractions are much more detrimental

like we can spend a whole weekend

working on the project

and then get nothing done but we keep

going in to tweak the system thinking

that oh if i just do this little thing

and that little thing that'll be the

solution and we just get tied into all

these little distractions that are

available when you're working with a

complex productivity system so what do

we do about it we need to acknowledge

the problems of motivation overwhelm and

distractions productivity advice

normally relies on those neurotypical

motivations those that importance

consequences and rewards and that

doesn't work for us so we need to find

another way to be motivated the way

people with adhd find motivation is

through interest dr william dodson calls

this the interest-based nervous system i

like to refer to it as just the four c's

of motivation because i find it easier

to remember and those four c's are

captivate create compete complete with

captivate it's all about finding

something that captivates your interest

something that you find fascinating or

interesting and you want to dive more

into and with create it's all about

novelty something new creating something

new those creative activities they

provide dopamine because there's this

anticipation of oh what is going to be

the result of this creative activity and

that motivates the adhd brain the third

one is compete and a lot of us know how

much we love a good challenge a good

competition if you're anything like me

there's nothing that motivates you more

than someone telling you like you can't

do that that's impossible suddenly i am

gonna prove them wrong and it becomes my

life goal and then that motivation shows

up because i'm meeting this challenge

head on on the fourth one is complete

and this is all about setting due dates

and deadlines something that makes

urgency show up in our lives a lot of

times we'll have a big project and we'll

avoid it for weeks but then suddenly

when it's due when that completion date

is right around the corner then we can

fly into action and get a lot of stuff

done so finding those deadlines and due

dates is paramount in motivating us to

get things done the other thing that

happens when we use these four c's when

we find a task that uses captivate

create compete or complete

it fuels our motivation so we're able to

use the energy that we gain doing that

task and it kind of spills over into

doing other work we're building up this

momentum it's like we've got a train on

the tracks and it's not moving at all

but then we find something captivating

or creative and we start doing this

project and then that that train starts

going we start building up that momentum

and then when we want to eat the frog

it's a lot easier so rather than eating

the frog first we should eat the ice

cream first we need to find those things

that give us that energy that motivation

so we can build up the momentum and

similarly with the break your project

into all of its individual steps instead

we should just break it into the first

few steps and then pick the ones that

match those four c's captivate create

compete complete which one of those

steps is going to line up with one of

those so that you're going to be able to

find that motivation and get yourself

rolling down the tracks so with all that

in mind i've got some strategies i want

to share with you and none of these are

going to work for everyone and even the

ones that work for you they're not going

to work every time the way our brains

work we just need things to be new

sometimes and we'll get bored of a

routine that works so take these and try

them out if they work use it while it

works i mean if it doesn't put it down

for a while and try a different strategy

but hopefully this this will help you

put those four c's into action my first

strategy i like to call embracing the

pivot and this is all about knowing

ahead of time that our productivity

system is going to fail we are going to

lose faith in it at some point and give

up so if you know that going forward

it's okay we don't have to feel bad when

it doesn't work but then we can know

that going forward so that when we when

we're trying a new app or a new system

we don't pour everything into it as if

it's gonna be the end-all be-all

solution we know that it's going to

eventually fail us most likely and then

we just pivot to a new system and that's

okay we don't need to feel bad about it

it's not about shame for that system

failing it didn't fail it worked for

that amount of time and now we're moving

on to something new we just embrace the

fact that our brain wants those new

things every once while and we pivot

when the time comes another strategy is

pomodoro timers you don't have to be

strict to the i think it's 25 minutes of

working five minutes a break i like to

do maybe 15 minutes of work 10 minutes

of break and then sometimes i'll be i'll

get hyper focused and get into a groove

i'll still set a timer so that i don't

lose track of things but then i might

say okay i'm going to go 40 minutes and

then i'll take a 10 minute break and i

just mix it up by by having those timers

i can glance down and see it and then i

know that it like provides that that

urgency to get something done another

strategy is looking for side quests now

you have to be careful here because

obviously side quests can derail us big

time but sometimes you're staring at a

project and it's really important it's

the one you have to get done and you

can't get rolling on it try and find

that side angle that might be a little

bit more interesting and then you can

kind of build momentum that way because

we might be worried about distractions

it might be helpful to set a due date or

a timer here so you don't end up doing

side quests all day long but it can help

again to build up that momentum so that

then you can tackle the more difficult

aspects of that project another strategy

is just micro commitments sometimes

getting started can be really hard so if

you make just a little commitment to get

yourself moving that can make a really

big difference so instead of saying i'm

going to clean up the kitchen or even

i'm going to do the dishes maybe it's

just i'm going to go put five dishes

away or two dishes away something really

tiny and then a lot of the time that'll

build up like okay well now while i

started i can do some more but give

yourself the freedom to walk away if

that's enough like you know what i did

the two dishes i did that micro

commitment and that's enough but getting

that those little commitments can help

get the ball rolling for stuff like that

another strategy is changing your

environment we crave that novelty

something new and so a lot of the time

i'll go work in a coffee shop even

though there's distractions and

sometimes for some work that won't work

very well but a lot of time the novelty

of people moving around it just sparks

creativity and can get me motivated to

getting some things done part of it

might be the body doubling aspect of it

but part of it is just the hustle and

bustle that can be sort of interesting

as long as it's not too distracting for

whatever you're working on just a few

more strategies here another one is

making tests or paperwork into like a

game and this is really it sounds silly

but you can do stuff like i'm gonna

answer the questions in reverse order or

i'm only going to do every third

question first something like that which

doesn't sound like a big deal can add

just a little bit more interest to it

that will help you get motivated to get

things done i know it sounds silly but

that little thing of like i'm gonna just

do every other one first it does seem to

add a little bit of that extra

motivation and you can even add that

challenge or urgency to it set a

five-minute timer and challenge yourself

to see how many you can get done

following up on that another strategy is

to use time-based goals so instead of

saying i'm gonna write a thousand words

tonight maybe you could just say i'm

gonna write for 20 minutes tonight

instead of saying i'm going to clean the

whole office just say i'm going to clean

the office for 10 minutes i'm going to

do this for 15 minutes and an added

bonus of doing this is you learn a

little bit about how long tasks take

because we're usually not very good at

estimating time so by setting the time

up front and then just seeing how much

it can get done

one you can feel accomplished like hey i

did my goal of trying to do this thing

for 10 minutes and two now i know hey 10

minutes of work on this this is about

what it looks like and finally i just

want to say

change the world and make it a better

place hopefully you can use these

strategies put them into practice and

make a change make a difference in the

world it's not always gonna be perfect

you will fail sometimes i fail all the

time uh it's a struggle we're always

gonna struggle but when you persevere

and you don't blame yourself it can make

all the difference in the world it can

really make a huge impact thanks for

listening to this talk i hope you

enjoyed it i hope you have found

something helpful if so i would love to

hear from you you can follow me on

twitter and instagram and tick tock all

the same username which is just my first

name middle initial last name so jesse j

anderson i have got the same username

for all those places you can also find

my website where i've got a link to my

free adhd newsletter and that's also

jessejanderson.com finally i'm writing a

book on adhd called refocus a practical

guide to adhd i'd love for you to check

it out it's at refocusbook.com

i'm writing it in public so you can see

on the website the current table of

contents and stuff i'm working on and

you can even suggest things that you

think would make sense to have in this

book and you can also sign up for the

wait list while you're there