11 Clever Ways to Trick Yourself Into Focusing with ADHD

…and a Road Map to get you to the RIGHT one for you today!

The office muzak is pumping,  your cubicle mates are chatting, your phone is buzzing, and that overwhelming, utterly confusing report your boss assigned you is the last thing you want to tackle.

And so, the day unfolds into an endless merry-go-round of bathroom breaks, coffee refills, chats with your neighbor, and email checking. And as you pack up your bag for the day, you have that sinking knowing that Nothing. Got. Done.

Why is it so darn hard to get focused?

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The 5 Factors that Bust ADHD Focus

It may seem like it’s just the nature of an ADHD brain to lack focus.  There are times when all the stars are aligned when not only are we on task, but we’re hyper-focused.  So, lack of focus isn’t necessarily the default setting.  It’s one of our on/off switches, and there are 4 factors that are custom-made to switch it into OFF mode pretty darn quickly.

Distraction

Okay, so this one sounds obvious. But the number one focus impairer is distraction.  

And distractions can come from all kinds of sources. We have internal distractions like hunger and boredom and random thoughts that fly through our heads at mind-numbing speed. And we have external distractions like people asking for a favor,  the laundry molding in the washer, kids screaming nearby,  requests and notifications that chime, the squirrel playing outside the window, and the dog barking next door.. and on and on and on.

The thing about distraction is that fighting it takes enormous executive functioning energy.  And so we may be able to fight the fight for a little while, but given our limited supply, we can’t keep it up for long.  And so, down the distraction rabbit hole, we go.

Avoidance and Procrastination

Procrastination, at its heart, is a reaction to big, uncomfortable feelings.  We dread, we fear, we feel anxious or confused about something, and we don’t like that feeling. So we avoid it.  We push the yucky feeling away and move on to something else.  Something that feels light, fun, or interesting.  

This makes sense.

But… it also stinks and makes it worse.  And we’re all too familiar with why.  We avoid the hard thing.  It feels harder and harder and makes us feel more anxious and shamey.  Until finally, enough time passes that we absolutely have to do it, and now there’s not enough time to get it done well.

So here’s the thing- tackling procrastination doesn’t really have much to do with the task.  It has everything to do with dealing with the feelings surrounding the task (but more on that in a minute).

Overwhelm and Confusion

Okay, so overwhelm may be one of the big feelings that lead to procrastination, but it deserves its own category because we don’t only avoid and procrastinate when overwhelmed; we also get stuck or wander from one task to the next, never really finding our way. 

Task Switching (I’m looking at you, Slack Notifications!)

Switching from one task to the next, leaving an endless trail of tasks behind you, not only leaves you feeling drained by 10:30 am, but it drains all the novelty out of all those tasks.  Picking up and finishing a half-finished task?  That’s 10 times harder than the already monstrous task of starting it to begin with!  And there are few things more task-switch-inducing than emails, meetings, and notifications- all things our lives are coming down within spades!

Fatigue/ An Empty Regulation Battery

You can have everything lined up and perfect- you have a plan, it’s broken down, notifications are turned off, no one is interrupting you, and you feel excited and up for the task at hand.  But if you were awake 5 times the night before or spent half the night scrolling on your phone– that focus is going to be hard to find.  That’s because the focus is an executive function, and nothing drains our executive functioning capacity quite like fatigue.

11 Strategies for Getting Focused

There is no one size fits all solution for staying focused.  Instead, the trick is figuring out which of the 4 factors gets in your way the most and targeting that specific issue- this gives these focus tricks an extra supercharge with targeted effort.

Found the trick for you today? Great! Read on below to get back on track:

Distraction Tricks

Resisting distraction is exhausting and never works for long. The trick to not getting distracted is to avoid as many distractions as possible so you don’t have to keep resisting them all the time.

1.Clear the Visual Distractions

Clear the desk, get rid of the trash, face an empty wall, pull the blinds.  Whatever you do, get rid of all of the extra things grabbing your brain's attention by cluttering your field of vision.

2. Block the Auditory Distractions

Noise-canceling headphones are the greatest defense against auditory distraction. I love over-the-ear headphones because they tackle two birds with one stone– telling other people that you’re working all while blocking out unnecessary noise. Not sure what to listen to on those headphones? Try Brown noise for its anxiety-calming, focus-boosting power or the Calm app music for a zen-like Focus.

3. Erect those Interpersonal Boundaries

If it's people that create the biggest distractions for you, boundaries and time blocking are going to be your best friend. Physical boundaries like closed doors and over-the-ear headphones provide a passive yet explicit signal to others that you're not available.

Time blocking is also a form of a boundary- setting parameters around your time to make it work best for your brain.  More information on time-blocking below.

4. Regulate the Internal Distractions

Other people aren't the only thing that can distract you. All the stuff going on inside your brain and body are an endless source of rabbit holes and distraction. It could be the thoughts running through your head, your ruminations about last night's poker game, or your growling stomach. But, whatever it is,  if the stuff inside of you is getting in your way, tackling the five regulatory factors, it's going to be your best bet.

Procrastination Tricks

Okay. so procrastination is really about feelings. And dealing with feelings is hard.  But you can do hard things.  

So here's the three-step process for doing THIS hard thing.

5. Identify the Feeling

So the first task is to figure out: what feeling am I avoiding?

Is it fear of failure?  Is it confusion?  Is it dread?  Is it boredom?

6. Strategize how to work THROUGH the feeling

The next task is to figure out how to work through that feeling best.  Notice I didn’t say avoid the feeling.  I said work through.  Because the goal isn’t to make the feeling disappear.  The goal is to keep doing the thing, putting one foot in front of another, while you have the feeling.  So what do you need to do that?  

Maybe it’s some soothing- like a cup of coffee, a warm blanket, or soothing music- while you do the task.  Maybe it’s a change of scenery to shift your mood.  Maybe you need to break the task down into smaller, more manageable chunks to fend off the fear and confusion.  Maybe it’s some really great self-talk.

7. Get in Motion

Now it’s time to get back in motion.  Getting the ball rolling, particularly when it's been stopped by a feeling, is tricky. Tackling that first step can often be easier if there is some small movement before it. And I mean movement. Try standing up at your computer,  moving to a different room, Or taking it on a walk. Getting your body moving is often the perfect first step to tackling a big scary task.

Whatever it is, the trick to fighting procrastination is facing the feeling– the task will follow.

Overwhelm and Confusion Tricks

Whether the task is overwhelming, uncertain, or unclear, there are a few things more focus-busting than overwhelm and confusion. It can cause you to work on the wrong thing, wander aimlessly from task to task, or jump down the rabbit hole of procrastination.   

The good news is that there are some specific strategies to deliver you from this aimless confusion:

8. Craft a Map

Because overwhelm is often the result of unclear expectations, uncertain priorities, or a flood of too many ideas, the trick to fighting overwhelms and uncertainty is to step back and create a map. Brainstorm all the possible steps or solutions.  Make a list of all the questions you have and uncertainties that exist.  Now, make a list of all the places you can go to answer those questions.  What steps could you take to get your questions answered?

9. Ask for Direction

One of the biggest reasons for overwhelming confusion is unclear expectations. if you're feeling overwhelmed by a task, go back to the person that assigned it and see if you can get more clarity on the exact steps they want you to take or the outcome they are looking for.

10. Break it down

I know you've heard this one before. But sometimes, we hear things over and over because they’re true. Tasks get very overwhelming when they're big- sometimes, a task doesn't even need to seem that big to someone else but can feel big because of the feelings attached. Try breaking the task down into tiny steps. (no, really- teeny, tiny- like: draft points to cover in the call, find the phone number, enter the phone number in the phone, press call, talk) the goal here is to create a part of the task that's so small there's no point in avoiding it.

Task Switching Tricks

If the constant bouncing from email, to report, to meeting, to slack, to your phone have you leaving a trail of sort-of-started tasks behind you, it’s time to streamline your day, time-blocking and setting boundaries so your brain can stop the constant task switch dance.

Now, as you read these strategies, you’ll realize- they are all about setting boundaries.  Boundaries with your time, your attention, and your effort.  Setting a boundary is hard.  It requires valuing yourself and your own process even when you face disappointing someone else. (UGH!  That is black-belt-level hard with an ADHD brain!)  So- this may take a little getting used to.  You may need to warm yourself up to this idea and figure out how to make it work in your life and your job.  But I urge you- don’t just dismiss it as impossible.  See what, if any, can fit.

11. Time Blocking

Time blocking can be a magical strategy that unlocks energy and motivation. The idea behind it is that we have specific times in our day when we do similar tasks exclusively. This means you block out all the other things that might steal you away.  Sound too good to be true? It's not, but it does require setting and communicating your boundaries. 

So let's just say your morning or when your brain is strongest. This will be when you tackle the hard stuff- staying away from email, messages, and notifications. How do you do that? Let's Dive In:

Email Appointments Blocks 

Blocking out time to respond to emails allows you to focus solely on that task and do it when it suits you rather than responding when it suits others. But to do this, we need to communicate to others how to get in touch. This can be done with a priority notification or an email signature that says ‘I respond to emails at 11:30 and 4:30 each day”. 

Worried you’ll miss something important?  Tell those closest to you how to get in touch if it requires an immediate response (ie, calling twice).

Notification Management

Those little dings and chimes? They're great and terrible all at the same time– they steal your focus in an instant, but they’re also super useful for brains that need external cueing. Enter Focus Mode: set your time blocks on your phone and your computer to screen out notifications during High Focus times and trust yourself to attack them during the next time block.

No matter what the distraction, you're not alone. Some days are going to be worse than others. Noticing if there's any pattern to these ebbs and flows, preparing against them, and giving yourself the boost whenever possible will go a long way and ease the struggle.

What distracts you the most? What are your favorite Focus building strategies?

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