ADHD Blog Series
Caryn Lipkowitz
5 Tips To Divide Tasks into Manageable Tasks for ADHD
Getting started is the hardest part, sometimes. People with ADHD often face difficulties with complex problems or tasks that require sustained attention and organization.
Multi-step tasks can feel so overwhelming that people with ADHD get discouraged and shut down or avoid them all together.
However, there are effective strategies for breaking down projects. You can simplify the mission at hand and develop a systematic approach to problem-solving. Here are some strategies to help:
1. Prioritize tasks and set clear goals:
Do a brain dump by writing down everything you need to do in a dedicated location.
Identify the most critical steps that must be done first by ranking them with a 1, 2, or 3.
Use imposed deadlines to establish urgency.
Rewrite your list with only items that you assigned a 1.
You have your priorities for today!
By prioritizing tasks, and emptying a cluttered mind, individuals can allocate their attention and resources effectively. Use due dates to dictate the order of your tasks. This will relieve stress, and help you to stay on track toward achieving the desired outcome.
2. Break down the problem into smaller, more manageable parts:
Prioritize what needs to be accomplished today.
Estimate how long each step will take.
Set a realistic schedule with structured breaks built into your agenda.
Place a clock or timer in your field of view.
Focus on one component at a time.
Writing down what you need to do is essential to accomplishing any goal. Whether you jot it down on paper, on a whiteboard, or on your phone, this approach will help to organize your workflow. Celebrate the small victories of checking things off your to-do list!
3. Create visual representations:
Use mind maps, diagrams, or flowcharts to visually represent the problem and solutions.
Develop a color coding system to organize information and make connections.
Draw or doodle to help with understanding and recalling information.
Use emojis or icons to digitally plan your strategy on note-taking platforms like Notion.
Use your artistic side to organize your thoughts and plan your work.
Use your artistic side to organize your thoughts and plan your work.
This technique is best for visual learners. Creating a visual structure aids in understanding the interconnections between different elements, and can help identify potential solutions or alternative paths.
4. Develop a systematic approach:
Establish a step-by-step process that you can reproduce.
Use a system that works for you i.e., checklists, templates, calendars.
Promote organization and save time by optimizing your workspace.
Don’t give up, patience and perseverance will take time.
Creating effective habits takes practice. Once you commit to the process and become consistent, you will experience greater success and productivity.
5. Seek support and collaboration:
Meet with a coach, mentor, or trusted friend to hold you accountable.
Be open to feedback, and gain fresh perspectives and additional insights from others.
Use a body double to keep you productive.
Work in a public space i.e., a library or coffee shop with others who are quietly engaged.
Collaborating with others has a high rate of return!
Accessing a broader range of resources and expertise allows for growth and creative solutions. Collaborative problem-solving provides brainstorming and input that just might be the answer to you getting unstuck!
The chunking of tasks is a powerful strategy for individuals with ADHD to overcome the challenges of multi-part problems and projects. Prioritizing tasks, setting clear goals, and breaking down the problem into manageable parts, can alleviate feelings of overwhelm and improve focus and productivity.
Visual representations and systematic approaches further enhance organization and understanding, while seeking support and collaboration brings fresh perspectives and valuable input.
Conclusion
By implementing these strategies, people with ADHD symptoms can approach challenges with confidence, tackle them with ease, and achieve greater success. Remember, with practice and perseverance, breaking down tasks becomes a valuable skill that makes you feel accomplished. Start your next project knowing you have the tools to hack it.
ADHD and Growth Mindset: Learning from Your Mistakes
A growth mindset is a belief that intelligence and abilities can be developed through effort, practice, and learning from mistakes. For people with ADHD, cultivating a growth mindset becomes even more crucial in building problem-solving skills.
It allows them to approach challenges with resilience, perseverance, and a willingness to learn from their experiences. In this blog, we will explore the importance of developing a growth mindset and strategies to embrace mistakes as valuable learning opportunities.
Reframe Self-Talk and Internal Dialogue
One of the first steps in developing a growth mindset is to reframe self-talk and internal dialogue. Instead of viewing mistakes as failures or evidence of incompetence, individuals can choose to see them as stepping stones towards growth and improvement.
Be nicer to yourself. Imagine how you would speak to your best friend who was experiencing a difficult time. Use the same kindness, encouragement, and honesty that you would towards them.
By recognizing that mistakes are an essential part of the learning process, people can approach predicaments with a more positive attitude and proactive mindset. They can shift their perspective from dwelling on mistakes to focusing on the lessons learned and the growth achieved through the process.
Give yourself the grace you deserve.
Focus on the Process
Another effective strategy is to shift the focus from solely on the outcome to the process itself. Encouraging ADHDers to pay attention to the effort, strategies, and focused approaches they employ allows them to appreciate the progress they are making, regardless of the immediate result.
Celebrating small victories and recognizing the efforts put into solving a problem nurtures a growth mindset. It motivates individuals to persevere even when facing challenges.
“Every small win gives your brain a spritz of dopamine, the feel-good neurochemical in your brain”. - Dr. Trish Leigh, Cognitive Neuroscientist
By acknowledging the steps taken and the progress made, individuals can stay motivated and maintain a positive attitude toward accomplishing goals.
Little successes remind you that you are evolving and provide a boost in confidence! By recognizing triumphs and development, people can stay motivated and keep a favorable attitude toward their progress if changes are made.
Seek Feedback and Constructive Criticism
Being open to constructive criticism is instrumental in fostering a growth mindset. Actively seeking input from others opens up opportunities for learning and personal growth.
Feedback provides insights into areas of improvement, alternative perspectives, and new strategies to try. Often, we learn something new.
Embracing feedback as a valuable tool for growth enhances problem-solving abilities and expands each person’s repertoire of strategies.
It's important to approach feedback with an open mind. Try viewing it as someone offering their advice, rather than a critique of your abilities.
Learning is an opportunity to grow.
The ability to listen without reacting allows your brain to process new information without an impulsive interruption. Take that first moment to focus on the input, not your reaction.
Create a Supportive Environment
Creating a supportive environment is essential for fostering a growth mindset. Surrounding oneself with people who believe in their potential and provide constructive support can make a significant difference.
Building a network of like-minded people who understand and appreciate the challenges of ADHD offers encouragement, shared experiences, and valuable insights.
This supportive network serves as a reminder that setbacks are part of the journey toward success. Collaborating with those who share similar goals can provide encouragement, accountability, and a sense of belonging.
Conclusion
By cultivating a growth mindset, those with ADHD can clear hurdles that go beyond immediate solutions. They become resilient people who embrace challenges, learn from their mistakes, and continuously adapt their strategies. With a growth mindset, you can be a little better each day!
ADHD and Smart Phones: Help or Hinderance for Students?
Navigating Classroom Device Dilemmas
Should students with ADHD use their phones in school? Both parents and schools have strong opinions on the subject. A 2022 Pew Institute study finds that 95% of 13–17-year-olds have a smartphone. In other words, teenagers have phones in their possession whether adults favor it or not.
How and when these devices are used is often up for debate for typical and neurodivergent students. Smartphones can be both a gift and a curse for adolescents with ADHD.
During the school day, phones provide access to research and productivity tools, helping students complete assignments. It can also be a major distraction for some. If casual scrolling, gaming, and checking social media derails concentration and negatively affects grades, smart devices may belong at home.
Teenagers use smartphones for everything.
What should I do?
As adults, how do you know if smartphones are hurting or helping your teen at school? Well, the answer is not so straightforward.
Just as every child is different, so is their ADHD. ADHD sits at one end of the executive function continuum. Therefore, some symptoms may include issues sustaining focus and procrastination, while others struggle with perfectionism and seeing things through to completion.
Analyze the situation.
Understanding your child’s strengths and weaknesses will help you to make informed decisions. Their unique qualities including academic responsibility, self-control, and organization should guide you.
Weigh the pros and cons of their usage. For instance, if your teenager can easily become overstimulated, then limiting their exposure to phones and smart watches may be practical. If they benefit from digital planning, then creating a classroom routine of recording assignments could be a lifesaver!
If your teen already has a phone, the decision may be how to enforce boundaries. This might be carried out by limiting screen time or access to certain websites and apps.
Parent solutions.
However, if you choose to proceed with phone privileges for your child with ADHD at school, you will need to set limits. Here are a few suggestions.
Create a contract. Develop a written contract with your child so they know the rules and consequences for upholding their end of the agreement, or not.
Maintain a consistent message. The standards relating to using their smartphone should never waiver. Be firm.
Use apps to limit screen time. Commit to toggling apps and phone settings on and off according to your child’s schedule.
Monitor device usage. Regularly check how much screen time your child is using as well as their digital footprint.
Do schools see phones as the enemy?
Although the pandemic forced students to learn how to use multiple forms of technology quickly, the educational system does not seem to have a way to manage phone usage on campus. The question remains, is it appropriate for schools to place restrictions on student cell phones or not?
Many students with ADHD who rely on apps or take photos of the blackboard are struggling with inconsistent messages about technology in school. They are unsure if their accommodations entitle them to use their devices or not.
Good boy!
Once you learn and practice a new skill, it is difficult to unlearn it. Imagine, we train our dog to “sit” and reward them with treats for perfecting it. After a while, when we no longer want them to perform this trick, we punish the behavior. Confusing huh?
Students were forced to learn how to use a variety of technology to succeed in school during lockdown. Educators rewarded them for typing, researching, and submitting assignments electronically.
Devices were required to attend class and communicate with instructors and classmates instead of raising their hands or asking a question in real-time. Distance learning demanded that our kids adapt, and they did.
They participated in accessing information in quicker ways and used electronic platforms and apps to check off items on their to-do list. Most managed their classes with electronic folders and Google calendars. More screen time became necessary to succeed in pandemic life, a necessary shift to stay afloat.
The world continues to use technology to simplify their lives and solve problems, students are no different.
School seems harder than ever.
If students have figured out how to make technology work for them, why are they often forbidden from using it? Expectations include working with traditional paper, pencil, and textbooks, marking up PDFs, embedding images, and word processing.
Several students I work with in my ADHD coaching business are frustrated and confused by school protocols. The feeling of being caught between two worlds is something I regularly hear from middle and high school students with ADHD.
They want to use their phones as a tool to take a picture of notes on the board or to use apps and calendars to organize their lives. Some teachers will not allow it. This is particularly challenging for people whose brain processes differently.
Managing written and digital assignments can be an organizational nightmare.
Many educators find phones to be a constant interruption.
Distraction from learning
Screen time affects focus
Bullying and hate speech
Cheating
Educators have their hands full. Managing classrooms of kids who have been set back due to distance learning, a lack of socialization, and emotional disconnection is intensely challenging. Unfortunately, this is what most school communities across the country are facing.
Our schoolteachers have historically been overworked and under-appreciated, but now it has reached disproportional levels. According to a survey in NEA Today, 55% of educators are planning to leave the profession earlier than they had anticipated.
Let’s compromise.
Is forbidding devices the best option, or should educators set expectations and consequences on par with other school rules?
Managing how students use their phones can be problematic and overwhelming. Yes, cheating has escalated due to digital assignments and artificial intelligence. However, it may be unrealistic to ban them.
One option for teachers is to help young people to use their phones to become more productive. School districts that embrace the evolution of technology and productivity can model how all students can use their devices to manage their course load, extracurricular activities, and personal lives.
“To my way of thinking, it’s about control. If I’m in control of the electronics, they are a benefit, but when they get out of control, they are an irritation and an interruption.” -Fred Baker, Engineer with Internet Engineering Task Force, Sysco
Conclusion
The debate around student smartphone use in school is complex, with reasonable perspectives on both sides. A balanced approach may be ideal - working with students as individuals, setting clear boundaries, and teaching positive usage. With good guidance, phones could become assets rather than liabilities.
The path forward requires open communication between parents, students, and schools to find reasonable compromises. If we listen to each other, have patience, and stay focused on what is best for children's growth and education, collaborative solutions are possible.
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Posted Aug 10, 2023
A series of blogs on various topics related to ADHD, including chunking tasks, perfectionism, and problem-solving. These were informative and entertaining.
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