Daily Tools to Help Treat ADHD in Kids and Adults
Ever feel scattered and out of focus? Feel a tornado in your brain? Everyone experiences this sometimes, but the ADHD patient feels this struggle all of the time. It can feel like a constant tornado is going off in your brain. Treatments for ADHD have evolved, and so has the use of stimulant medications to redisperse the dopamine in the brain — all for the treatment of ADHD. But ADHD is multifaceted. Medications can only take you so far and the remainder is treated with behavioral modification. This behavioral modification will often focus on creating structure and routine. Structure is one of the most important treatments for adults and children with ADHD.
Structure is the thing in life that creates organization and predictability. Think of it as the scaffolding of your day. Routine and organization help to structure your day so you are able to be as successful as possible. Using things like calendars, to-do lists, and timers can create an external organization to help you when your internal organization is lacking. Digital tools to say organized can be found online and are often free.
Some great tools that can help you get organized are:
THE SPYGLASS
You can use these tools to help you build a system of organization that works for your brain. Looking at needing to clean a room? Feel overwhelmed? Try making a spyglass out of your hands. Turn away from your project and put your “spyglass” around your eye. Turn back around and look at your project through your “spyglass.” What do you see? That is where you will work in for the next 20min – just in the spyglass zone. If you choose to do additional work, that is okay, as long as your one spot is already finished.
GOAL SETTING
Goal setting is also an important part of creating structure. Setting goals for your day, week, month, and so on can help you determine small goals and larger long-term goals. Taking each project and breaking it into smaller, attainable goals with a timeline, can help decrease procrastination and increase productivity. Have a big project due next week? Break it into small goals with what you will work on each day. Small goals help ADHD patients stay on task and be successful.
SLEEP HYGIENE
Ever heard of sleep hygiene? That’s right. Having good sleep hygiene is necessary to be the most successful you can be in your day. Staying up later than usual can cause you to be tired, which can perpetuate ADHD symptoms, causing you to feel tired, frustrated, and foggy, and unfocused. Getting at least 7-9 hours of sleep nightly and going to bed and waking at the same time each day can be the best foundation for your new structured behaviors. Getting adequate sleep is the base of your scaffolding you are structuring in your life. Structuring your sleep schedule, as well as your pre-bed routine, can relieve stress and insomnia. The implementation of these sleep hygiene practices gives you the best start to your day and allows your brain the time and support it needs to recharge your neurotransmitters so they are ready to work.
FIND WHAT FITS
Building the proper scaffolding for your day will look different for everyone. Finding the combination of proper structure, schedule, sleep routine, and daily organization tools can give you the best tools you need to be successful throughout your day. If the tools here aren’t right for you, the internet has a plethora of articles listing great tools for ADHD patients. Visit Chadd.org and CDC.gov to find great recourses for adults and children with ADHD. Look through the resources and build structure and a routine that works for you.
Written by Nurse Audra, with guidance from Dr. Edwards