8 Best ADHD Care Tips You Have to Learn About Now
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Self-care with ADHD can feel overwhelming. In this post, we will be talking about all the best ADHD care tips that will completely change the way you live your life!
When you feel like ADHD is controlling your life, it can be impossible to get anything done.
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ADHD Can’t Take Care of Myself
Having ADHD can make you feel really guilty for not being able to take care of yourself.
Don’t be too hard on yourself when you are in the throws of ADHD.
Start small and work your way up when you have ADHD or ADD.
ADHD Care Plan
Come up with a plan of things you can do when you are struggling. Come up with small and attainable tasks for when you are feeling down or depressed.
ADHD can be disheartening, but know that millions of people have it and are able to get through it. This should encourage you to keep on going.
The BEST ADHD Care Tips
1. Establish a Consistent Daily Routine
Tip 1: Establish a Consistent Daily Routine
ADHD leads you to follow dopamine instead of finding dopamine in your everyday life. I wrote a post about self-care habits and ideas you can add to your routine.
Structure is the name of the game when it comes to ADHD and ADD.
Find a morning routine that fits into your schedule.
Go to bed 10 hours before you need to be somewhere so you can sleep 8 hours and have 2 hours in the morning to start your day off however you like.
This could even mean watching a movie every day!
If you’re interested in learning about more morning routine ideas, I wrote a post about it!
Some great ideas for a morning routine for ADHD are watching a movie or YouTube while you create a list of things you like to do today (no longer than 7 things. I don’t know why, but it is a thing. Just trust me.)
Try combining something mindless with something you need to do every morning. This could mean putting on your favorite playlist while you clean your room or take out the trash. Or it could look like turning on a TV show you’ve watched before (but maybe never finished?) and journaling.
2. Implement Time Management Techniques
The BEST time management technique for ADHD is Google Calendar combined with the Pomodoro technique.
I could sing the praises of Pomodoro for hours, but here’s what it is in a nutshell: there is a timer that gives you 20-40 minutes of work time, then 5-20 minutes of rest. The process keeps repeating until you get all your tasks done.
Use Google Calendar mixed with Google Keep to create lists and then put the bigger tasks into the calendar so you won’t forget them when you leave whatever device you’re currently on.
Pomodoro is great because you can completely focus on your tasks and not worry about losing track of time, and there is a low barrier of entry because you don’t need to set up the timers yourself.
Never worry about missing an important text because you forgot about your phone when cleaning ever again since you will only be doing one task for 20 minutes at a time.
This also helps to get motivated because you could just do one 20-minute session and then be done, and it helps get you started.
Here are some of my favorite Pomodoro videos:
3. Create an Organized Environment
This can be tough if you work or need to be productive in a small place at home.
Hopefully, you have a desk or a specific chair where you always do your work, and you’re able to put energy into keeping that part of your home clean.
If you have energy for cleaning, I would say try to keep whatever is in the eye-shot of your work section.
This will ensure a clear mind and path that you can take.
Try to get rid of as much stuff as you can. Really.
Throw away old pens and pencils and only keep the ones you will use. Throw away unused paper and old unused notebooks and just take up space. It will clear up your mind.
Put on some ear plugs or earphones and focus on for some added focusing abilities.
4. Prioritize Sleep and Nutrition
Diet can have a huge impact on your ADHD symptoms. If you’re interested in how food affects your anxiety and mood, I wrote a post about it!
Sleep is necessary for everyone and can improve your quality of life in every aspect.
As I said earlier, get at least 8 hours of sleep by going to bed 10 hours before you need to leave. This will give you two extra hours in the morning to hang out and take your time.
5. Regular Physical Activity
Get up and run around the house when you start to feel a little jittery. This can help get out any restless feelings you may have and get your blood pumping.
Stretch every day to keep up with physical activity. Try to find a new way to move your body every day. Put your legs up on the wall when you lay in bed. Try new things!
All these things will help your blood flow and improve your thought process. It is also a great time to get your thoughts out and get your brain cleared.
6. Journaling and Mindfulness
Journaling is a great way to relax and get your thoughts out.
Try writing down what you learned that day about yourself or what you are proud of.
There are so many ways to slow down your life when you are always going at 110% in your mind.
Journaling and mindfulness are the best ways that are attainable to relax your mind.
Yoga is also a great addition because it also incorporates physical activity too!
The Calm app is the best for finding meditations that are easy to follow. Try following a few to develop your own technique.
7. Put on Your Shoes
Shoes may trick your brain that you are doing something important.
This is one of my favorite tips because it is so out there but also so useful.
Try putting on your shoes when you need to get something done because you will not be able to lie down, and you’re tricking yourself to get up and feel productive.
8. WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN
This goes hand-in-hand with the journaling ideas.
Write down everything. Get out all your thoughts and ideas and your to-dos.
Don’t let things sit in your mind and cause anxiety or for you to forget about something.
Try writing down everything for one day and see if it helps your life.
Let’s Recap!
ADHD and ADD can be hard to manage when you grow up, but learning to take care of yourself is a great first step to being fulfilled and satisfied in life.
All these tips can help you be more productive and take care of yourself even when you don’t have systems set up to do so.
