has any more questions or things they want to talk about on the subject feel free to DM me. With both anxiety and ADHD I have taken the approach that these are inherent weaknesses I have but just like anything if you practice and put in the work you can become proficient or even excel in everything. It’s not going to be easy you will have to work, I’ve had to work extremely hard at this. If you aren’t willing to put in the work my advice probably won’t be helpful. There is no magical steps to achieve any of this. If you’re willing to put in the work you can do incredible things with each of these perceived weaknesses and turn them to strengths.

I was diagnosed with ADHD in 3rd grade. So I’ve got about 20 years of experience in working through it. I’ve been medicated for it since being diagnosed. I’m a big believer in medication and it is the right thing for me. That being said, I don’t think medication is the answer for everyone. We know more about ADHD now than we did 20 years ago and had I developed some of the coping skills and mechanisms growing up I may not have needed the medication. I’ve tried going off it several times but it doesn’t ever go well. I know myself well enough now to know that medication works for me, I like who I am when I am taking it and don’t like who I am when I am not. Again, it’s not the answer for everyone and every situation, not is it the whole solution, but it’s part of the solution for me.

Okay moving past the medication part. Let’s get to the other stuff. Most of my ability to harness my ADHD has come post high school but by bit with post college actually wear I have been able to be the most successful with it.

Like most people with ADHD I struggle with impulse control, being scatter brained, can hyper focus on things when I’m interested, forget things at an annoying rate, get distracted easily, lack discipline etc….

Everything I have done to harness ADHD has been to take each of those attributes, discover what my triggers/situations are that cause me to act in those ways and find work around and solutions. I’ll also say that everyone with ADHD is different, every human is different. With that in mind I’ll try to keep things that I feel are pretty universal and not specific to me although some of that may slip in. Also, happy to get into my specifics if you want to know just BM me.

The first thing that helps me that I feel is pretty universal is have a routine. It may seem boring and predictable, but if you can start your mind off in the right flow the rest of the day will go much better. My mission was my first experience with this. Following the morning schedule did wonders for me. So I have a a rigid morning routine broken in out in time blocks that tell me where I need to be and what I need to be doing and at what time. I call this fake discipline because from the outside it looks like a really disciplined thing to do, but all I am doing is just showing up in the place I’m supposed to be when I’m supposed to be there and that is seriously like 95% of the battle.

The next thing that has helped me is plan, plan, plan. Again, I learned this on my mission. I wasn’t great at it post mission in college, but have become religious about it in my professional life. Plan everything in 30 minute blocks. I plan exactly what I’m supposed to be doing from morning to night. Even if it’s free time. That doesn’t mean my free time has to be structured but I put it in my schedule as free time. Doing all of this helps me stay on top of deadlines, less things fall through the cracks, and keep moving in the right direction.

Focus time. This is a newer one for me. It won’t look the same for everyone but find a way to work it in your schedule. I have 2 hours blocked on my schedule to specifically work on whatever project is most pressing. I turn off my slack, close my email, put my phone on gray scale and in do not disturb, close any tabs that don’t have to do with what I need to work on. I have somewhere where none of my co workers can bother me. I put in noise cancelling headphones and put on white noise (this is an important step as it helps keep my mind from getting distracted internally and get into that hyper focus mode) I list out on a white labor or note pad the next steps I need to achieve for the project I’m working on and check them off as I complete them through my block. I now use my hyper focus from having ADHD to my advantage and end up being extremely productive. This has been a work in progress. Start with baby steps, maybe it’s only 30 minutes, maybe it’s an hour, whatever you can do start from there and work up to 2 hours. There is often too many other things to attend to to make anything beyond 2 hours practical but if I can squeeze another focus session in I will. I’m sure there are a lot of questions about how you can actually make this work in your job but I promise it can be done you just have to set some boundaries. Happy to talk through how I approached this in depth.

I’m not perfect at any of these things. I still have bad days where my lack of impulse control gets the better of me and I spend my day on CB or YouTube or whatever it is that I get distracted with. I do have more good days than bad. These tools have helped me because they put me in a position to succeed. If you take ownership of your ADHD and decide you aren’t going to let it run your life you can do great things with it. Everything that is stated as a symptom or bad thing about ADHD can be good. If you step back evaluate them and think of how they could be used as good things instead of bad and then figure out how you can channel them into good things for you.

I am happy to be a resource for anyone on here. Believe me, I feel your pain and your frustrations. I’ve shed tears many times wondering why am I like this? Why can’t I be better? Will I ever be able to do anything in my life? I’ve said numerous prayers asking for help and guidance. I’m not anywhere close to “arriving” but I’ve learned a lot along the way to where I am now. You can do it, the Lord does turn weakness into strengths if you come into him and are willing to put in the work.