ADHD Curiosity Challenge: A Dozen New Activities

The rapid-thinking brain type of ADHD is always hungry for more tasty information to gobble up.

Feed your curiosity this month! Browse this list of hobbies and goals and pick a few new things to learn. Part useful, part fun, each one is inexpensive (or free!) and easy to get the hang of.

Learn A New Skill

1. Meditation. I’m taking a stand this year (have you noticed?). I think that everyone with ADHD should be practicing meditation. It’s free. It hardly takes any time. It makes you feel clearer, energized, and in control. What’s not to like about that? Start a habit of your own with my step-by-step guide.
2. Stargazing. If you’re a night owl or interested in outer space, spend an evening with your local astronomy clubs. Trust me, with almost 800 registered astronomy clubs in the United States, you do have a local astronomy club. These groups are a mix of pros and newbies, so jump right in and ask for guidance about what special celestial events are happening, and why they matter, and how to identify them… Let your curiosity go! Find a group through Astronomy Clubs or Sky and Telescope.
3. Fitness. Enlist a personal trainer to work on a fitness goal one-on-one. Run a faster mile, lift a heavier weight, or become more flexible. By using a personal trainer, you’ll get advice that is totally catered to you and your exercise habits. You also know that you’ll be working towards your goal in the safest, healthiest way possible.
4. Cooking. We all have to eat, right? So why not get better at preparing your food? Expand your skills beyond that one thing you make pretty well (nachos? burgers? toast?) and impress everyone you know. Martha Stewart has broken down the basics of cooking into a 26-part web series (and she’s still not done), and she is the master of traditional and precise cooking techniques. If Martha’s a little too uptight for you, try the flavorful all-American recipes from chef and ADHD advocate Alexis Hernandez.

Look at Your Hometown from a Fresh Perspective

1. Geocaching. Have you heard of this hobby? It’s basically treasure hunting. People pick a precise spot on a map and designate it as a “cache,” a hiding place. Then they post the coordinates online. You can look up the caches, go find them, and see what the treasure is. Be a good geocacher and bring a trinket of some kind to add to the treasure. Learn more at www.geocaching.com/.
2. National and State Parks. Sure, everyone knows about the famous parks. But with 6,624 parks currently run by the National Association of State Park Directors, there are literally thousands that you’ve never heard of! Plenty of them are probably within a tank of gas of your home. There are over 20 within the city of Boston alone, where I live. Find your nearest National Parks here. Find your local State Parks here.
3. Staycation tourism. When is the last time you acted like a visitor in your hometown? It can be embarrassing how natives of a place, like New York City, never actually visit its famous landmarks, like the top of the Empire State Building. Check out your local library, visitor’s center or Chamber of Commerce for tips on affordable ways to visit the must-see historical landmarks, museums and one-of-a-kind locations in your backyard.
4. Volunteer. You can meet a whole new group of neighbors by volunteering. Use a service like VolunteerMatch or your state’s SERV (State Employees Responding as Volunteers) verified nonprofit list to find a charity that fits your interests. There is no faster way to feel like a valuable member of your community than to volunteer your time to charity.

Create Something Beautiful

1. Origami. You already have paper lying around, don’t you? In just a few folds, you can make something truly special. The E-Z Origami YouTube channel offers foolproof directions.
2. Photography. Every phone now comes with a camera. Use yours for more than selfies or snapshots of your latest meal. With high-powered technology packed into smartphones today, you can actually take some impressive photographs. Here are quick tips on honing your skills from ReadWrite and Pop Photo.
3. Knitting. This is the one hobby that will take a little investment: a ball of yarn and two needles. The standard needle size is 8, and 10 inches long is the best kind to learn on. If you’re at a specialty yarn store, ask the person behind the counter to get you started, or check out KnittingHelp online. People with ADHD often find that once their hands get into the rhythm of knitting, it is very soothing.
4. Poetry. It’s funny how poetry used to be the most beloved art form in the world and now it’s all but forgotten by pop culture. So why am I suggesting that you give it a shot? Because it’s still a great form of creativity. Remember, not all poems are schmaltzy or stuffy. Poems can be funny, sarcastic, angry, you name it. Let your words and punctuation go wild, like the off-the-wall poems of E. E. Cummings. Or challenge yourself by following the strict rules of a poetry form like a haiku: the top line has five syllables, the middle line has seven syllables, the bottom line has five syllables.

Don’t you think that you

Could manage to write something

That short? I think so.