10 ADHD FOCUS TIPS

Hey guys and welcome back to my channel. If you are new here, welcome. My name is Rhianne and for today's video we're going to be talking about my top 10 tips to help you focus. So as you may have gathered from the title, this is kind of intended for people with ADHD but it's also going to be relevant to anybody who has kind of like hard time focusing or really applying themselves. For those of you who aren't aware, I do have ADHD. I was diagnosed much later in life, very recently, but most of these tips I had kind of acquired along the way without even knowing that I had ADHD. I previously thought I just had other mental health problems like depression and anxiety and I thought that was the cause of my lack of focus. Turns out it was the other way around. I will go ahead and link my kind of diagnosis story in the description box below if you do want to watch that but this video is really going to be the things I have found that have helped me both before and after my diagnosis. Things I kind of picked up along the way without even really realizing that have then kind of been confirmed by my recent research as to how to get the best out of my brain. I will go ahead and list the 10 points I'm making in the description box below if you want to go back and reference them. These are in no order, just the order in which they came out of my head into my phone and let's get into my top 10 tips to help you focus. So number one, if you are someone who works on a computer, I obviously am editing a lot online or responding to emails, my top tip would be to full screen whatever it is that you are trying to focus on. For me, if I have a lot of applications open or they're kind of like showing on the screen while I'm trying to focus on one thing, I get very easily distracted. If I'm meant to be editing, I'll then see an email pop up, I will go and like deal with that, then I'll get distracted by something else and I will eventually hours later come back to editing. So what I like to do is if I know I need to edit a video, I will make it full screen, I will only focus on that and I will really try my hardest not to um not to get distracted by anything else. Which does bring us on to tip number two which is to use the do not disturb option on your computer. I think probably all computers have this, my Mac certainly does. So again, if I know I need to focus, I will put that do not disturb on which will mean I won't get any iMessages, emails or any other alerts like that that could distract me from what I'm meant to be doing and I find this is really really helpful and probably one of the best things I know of that will help me focus on what I'm meant to be doing on the computer versus the whole world of other things I could do instead. The other thing I like to do is I will put the ringer on on my phone so that I'm not continually checking it. This may seem to kind of counteract what I just said about having the do not disturb on but for me with my phone especially, I will just kind of like open it up to like just check it but then I will spend half an hour just scrolling through or switching between social media stuff. So I do keep the ringer on on my phone so that if I hear it I will look, I'll see if it's urgent, if it's not I'll put it back down. So I kind of do a combination of the two. I have do not disturb on on my computer if I need to focus on something and I will have the ringer on on my phone so that I'm not just like mindlessly checking it just to see you know. Number three is that if you do take a medication to help with your ADHD whether it be like a stimulant or some other kind make sure you are taking that in a way that helps you and doesn't hinder you. So what I mean by that is like I for example take Welbutrin and then an additional stimulant. I make sure I try and take my Welbutrin at the same time every day just to kind of keep that steady flow of it which I think for a lot of medications does give you like the best chance of it working for you and then with the stimulant medication I take I will sometimes adapt that depending on what I'm doing with my work day but that is also something I would always recommend checking with your prescribing doctor to make sure that you are getting the most out of it and that it is doing the most good for you. For example I work from home so I can go ahead and take my stimulant get straight to work. For you if you do work outside of the home it may be best to take it when you get to work or kind of on the way to work but again definitely check that with your prescribing doctor to make sure you are getting the most out of it and if you do have trouble remembering that that brings us on to the next point which is number four which is to set timers. So whether it's to set a reminder on your phone for when to take your medication or to set a timer when you know you need to focus on a task for me I'm very kind of stress driven and I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way that is the reason that I procrastinate because then there is so much pressure on me that I know I can finish what I'm meant to be doing if I've put it off for long enough which you know maybe not the best but also does kind of work for me so set timers when you know you need to do a task. For example if I know that I need to maybe give the house a quick tidy I will set a half an hour timer on my phone put a podcast in my ears and then I know I only have to do it for that long and my phone will remind me when it's time to stop and for me that adds just enough stress that I'm not as likely to get distracted by something else and this is kind of a take on the is it the pomodoro technique which is like based on the little tomato timer thing that people would use um similar to that so you could use this for work you could use it for home whatever it might be setting a timer so you know you only need to do that thing for that long and maybe you won't have even finished your task in that time so what you can do is just take a break start the timer again and keep going and I think the timer both reminds you that you don't need to be doing it for forever it's only for that finite amount of time but also like I said adds just enough stress that you may actually focus on it and then number five is actually one you can kind of use in conjunction with the timers which is to have a reward in mind for when you are done so it may be something like once I've cleaned the house I will take a bath or maybe you are like a yoga lover it could be once you have finished this piece of work you need to do you're going to do an hour of yoga whatever is you really truly enjoy and kind of cherish use that as a reward for when you've finished the thing you would rather not be doing so whether it's a work thing be like washing the dishes doing the laundry do something nice afterwards because I also think for me at least I don't know if this goes for everybody else with ADHD but um I'm quite reward driven so if I know there's going to be something good at the end of number six is to write it down so whether it's like ideas that just popped into your head errands you know you need to run I have notebooks basically in every room of my house so that I know I can do it some people may find it works for them to keep it on their phone but for me actually physically writing it down and having like a tangible non-electronic thing to reference is really helpful and I also find just the action of writing something down I'm more likely to remember it I especially find that my thoughts and ideas whether it's something creative or just I need to send an email to this person those thoughts can be really fleeting so being able to write it down immediately is really helpful for me because I can reference it later or the next day and I also do have a lot of ideas or thoughts running through my head when I'm trying to go to sleep as well and sleep is a really big issue for me and I know it is for a lot of other people with ADHD as well it can be really hard to kind of shut off or to kind of keep that circadian rhythm working for you I don't think I have one of those so especially if I have kind of ideas or thoughts pop up at night I have a notebook by my bed I will do a brain dump and then my mind is a little bit clearer and I have a better chance of being able to fall asleep and that also stops me from like taking action on those things at 3am because that's another thing I will do is I will be ready to go to bed I'll have an idea and think like I don't want to forget this I'll get up and do it now which in turn messes up my sleep schedule even more so writing it down is great because at night time it stops you from laying awake and like thinking of things again and again and again and also when your thoughts are pretty fleeting it can be helpful so you can go back and reference them so keep a notebook everywhere and then kind of in the same vein number seven is to create basic checklists and I really want to emphasize the word basic because I'm definitely guilty of creating massive lists of all the things that I need to do in my lifetime when all I actually want to do is figure out the three things that I need to do that day so even if you keep a big old running list on your phone perhaps and then you just pull from that for your basic list that you know you need to do that day that really works for me so have two lists one mammoth one one that you can actually focus on and check things off because although it's helpful for me to remember all of those things on the big checklist it's also very overwhelming so that is why I have the smaller one that I know I can actually check things off and accomplish things and feel good so basic checklist and your mammoth checklist very helpful okay and then number eight is to ask for what you need now this could be in your relationship it could be at work it could be at school I think sometimes this can be one of the hardest things to do is to actually ask for what you need especially for me I did not know that I had ADHD through my whole school career so I wasn't able to truly ask for what I needed that is something I've learned throughout the years and I do think as you get easier so whether it's maybe you don't want to sit next to a window in your class because you're too easily distracted whether it's that you need to have headphones on so that you can actually focus on maybe like an exam or something like that or maybe at work it's easier for you to have headphones on or earplugs in so that you're not distracted by everything going on around you don't be afraid to ask for what you need because ultimately you know what works best for you which will make you be the best kind of worker student and partner that you can be just to give you an example of something you could ask for in a relationship for me I work from home so it's really important for me to say like I know that I need to focus on this editing for a while so would you mind giving me some quiet time for the next like hour or two hours and that is really helpful because it both means that your partner knows what you need and it's also helpful because if you had not asked for that and then they came in um tried to talk to you about something and you just kind of like maybe snapped or were like I don't know right now it just alleviates some of those stressors because you've already asked for what you need which kind of helps you avoid any of those like awkward situations where you're just like super flustered and not able to handle both the conversation and the task at hand so get to know yourself get to know what helps you and ask for those things and then number nine is to know your limits and come up with your own concept of what productivity means to you so you may never be able to be on the level of like a neurotypical person and you may not ever get tasks done in the same way that they do but that doesn't mean that you're getting things done to a lesser level or that you are less valuable than that other person it just means you're going to do it in a different way and I really think that like diversity or neurodiversity in that sense is really important because that's how other ways come about that's how people can learn from you and it's how you can get to know yourself best to get the stuff done that you need to without comparing yourself to people constantly for example for me in my situation working from home for myself I may not be able to get like a video up and published every day but I know I can manage about three videos a week so that is what I aim for I'm not comparing myself to what other people can do I'm focusing on what I can do well and doing that to my best ability and I really cannot stress enough to stop comparing yourself to other people because truly in some ways ADHD can be a gift it makes you think outside of the box it helps you come up with different ways that other people would never have thought of and that is so valuable in itself what is that saying comparison is the thief of joy and it truly is focus on your strengths your idea of productivity and what you can manage and just try and zone in on that and keep improving for yourself instead of trying to get to someone else's level and then lastly number 10 is to adapt and just keep trying and this really goes for everyone not just people with ADHD but I think being able to adapt change the way you're doing something and just keep on persevering is really important thing to be able to um try and do and I think that's where a lot of growth comes from as well as finding that ever elusive balance what is balance so maybe you've tried a technique that you think might help you focus on your work and it didn't work or maybe you found something that worked for you and then it kind of stopped working just try and adapt find something else that might work or try things in a different way and again one kind of like blessing of having ADHD is that you have always had to come up with ways to do things differently to work for you and a lot of the time I don't think people even notice they've been doing that I certainly didn't and I think that often gives people with ADHD that kind of trait of always adapting things to suit them and finding ways outside of the norm to get something done which sometimes can just be a better way of doing things keep on adapting trying new things trying slightly different ways of doing things that you want to do and I'm sure you will come up with a way to suit you and get the most out of your own brain and really get the most out of life as well so that is it for my top 10 tips to help you focus I would love to hear in the comments down below things that help you focus in your day-to-day life or kind of little brain hacks you found to get the most out of your own brain I will meet you down in the comments now I've also listed the 10 things in the description box below if you want to go back and reference them or maybe copy and paste them save them to your phone a couple other resources I find are super helpful that I'm also subscribed to are um how do you say it I never said it out loud attitude mag it's like addattitude um they post like several articles a day I'm pretty sure on either people's experiences with ADHD helpful tips um they've had like ADHD gift guides they really do have a ton of information and especially for me having been diagnosed later I feel like I've kind of missed out on you know kind of like a lifetime of information on what my brain is doing so it's definitely been a really helpful way for me to learn new things and most of the time I read their articles and I'm like wow that makes so much sense this is something I've struggled with my whole life so it's been really great for me to kind of feel um normal I guess in a way and then the other resource I really love is a channel here on YouTube which is called how to ADHD she creates so much helpful content whether you're a parent of someone with ADHD whether you have had an adult ADHD diagnosis she kind of interviews professionals with ADHD and their experience of it and how it's maybe helped them as well as made things difficult for them and it's just a really great resource both of those things are awesome and I will link them down below if there's any other kind of similar content to this you would like to see definitely let me know in the comments like I said I will meet you down there if you did enjoy this video please do give it a thumbs up and subscribe I would love to have you all of my social media will be on the end screen to come and I will see you in my next video bye