When at work, you need your ADHD brain to cooperate so you can focus and be productive. However, as anyone with ADHD knows, it’s not so simple. You can’t just turn a switch. There are some smart hacks that we’ve shared with ADHD coaching clients for years that can give you the tools you need to boost your work performance.
Get Control of Your To-Do List
To-do lists are kind of a necessary evil to keep track of things. In reality, those lists cause anxiety and overwhelm, especially when they just keep getting longer. So how can you tackle this with your ADHD brain? Don’t jump from task to task—finish what you are working on now.
This all sounds good in principle but can be hard to do. So, begin to take control of your to-do list by pronouncing, “This is what I’m doing right now.” With this declaration, you should be able to focus and conquer the task at hand. You’ll get interrupted by incoming emails, phone calls, or texts, but don’t respond. Remind your brain by declaring out loud that you intend to finish what you are working on right now.
Take a Breath
There’s a principle in yoga called the 4-7-8 technique. Breathe in deeply through your nose for four counts, hold your breath for seven counts, and exhale through pursed lips for eight counts. Typically, repeating this three times helps you achieve heart rate variability. Now, you are ready to clearly and calmly dive into the tasks before you.
Change Your View
You can positively disrupt boredom and unfocused patterns of behavior by changing where you are. When you change venues, it revitalizes the ADHD brain. Even if you don’t have other areas in your office or building to go, you can get a drink of water, take a walk, have a short conversation, complete a to-do task, readjust your position at your desk. Something as simple as this will increase focused work sessions.
Cut the Sugar, Feed Your ADHD Brain Better
Processed sugar isn’t a friend of anyone with ADHD. It offers spurts of mental energy with little to no sustainability. Bouncing up and down is discouraging and time wasting. Changing your snacking to fruit and protein like nuts or lean meats will result in a noticeable difference in your performance.
Recover
ADHD brains are known to not have access to key neurochemicals that sustain mental acuity and effort over long periods of time. Thus, you tend to feel restless at regular intervals during your workday. You have to accept that your brain isn’t designed to operate at the same level all day. So, you can depend on recovery time. There are a few things you can do to create this recovery:
- Two-minute meditations
- Stretching for a minute
- Cleaning up your desk to reset your mind
- Take a short, brisk walk
You do have more control over your thoughts and actions. These brain hacks can help you with that control and may allow you to be more productive and less overwhelmed. For more brain hacks and a better way to manage your ADHD symptoms, consider ADHD coaching. Get in touch today to learn more.
