Five ways to boost your motivation when you have ADHD

Of all the topics I coach around within ADHD, motivation is by far the most frequent: “How do I motivate myself to do my work? To keep my house clean? To complete all those lingering, annoying tasks?” If you’re here, I’d imagine you’re in a similar boat.

Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is there isn’t one single way to increase your motivation. There isn’t one single strategy that works for everyone, every time.

The good news is that you can find ways to motivate yourself.

It just may take some trial and error and a bit of introspection. You have to tune into what motivates you. That’s what this blog post is for - we’re going to get to know you and your motivation a little better, and then we’ll go through a handful of motivation strategies that could help you out.

Step 1: Do a little soul-searching

Think about the last time you were motivated. What was it about that situation that was motivating? Keep in mind that there may have been several factors at play that helped motivate you. It’s okay (and good!) if you identify multiple factors for your situation. 

And if you’re thinking, “Rachael, I can’t remember the last time I felt motivated to do something,” remember that every action is a choice. Even scrolling on your phone in bed for hours is a choice, and something motivated you to choose it. It’s best to think of a moment when you were motivated to do something positive like eating better, being active, or learning something new. However, any time you experienced high motivation will work for this exercise and will help you learn more about yourself.

Here are some possible motivation factors:

  • It was novel. You’d never done it before or the newness of the situation appealed to you. Or you had a shiny new object as part of the experience.

    • Examples: a new set of pens, a new cookbook, a new college class.

  • You had support. Maybe you were doing something with a friend.

    • Examples: a running group, a book club, working with a tutor.

  • It was intrinsically enjoyable. In other words, you enjoyed the process of the activity.

    • Examples: You enjoy the process of knitting, so you finished a whole sweater. Or, you think folklore is interesting, so you spent three hours reading about it online.

  • You were rewarded or recognized for doing it.

    • Example: If you got good grades on your homework, you were taken out for ice cream.

  • You saw progress or improvement as you were working on it.

    • Examples: After lifting for two weeks, you noticed it was easier to move a certain weight. Or, after practicing calligraphy a few times, you noticed that your letters improved.

  • It was easy.

    • Examples: The post office is on your walking route to your favorite coffee shop, so you dropped off a friend’s birthday card with no issues. Or, you were able to add more fruit to your diet because your work keeps a bowl of bananas in the break room.

This is not an exhaustive list of things that might motivate you. Your motivation might look different! Take a while to think it over (it’ll work even better if you write it down). The more you know about your motivation, the better.

Very frequently, the answer to the problem we’re facing involves asking yourself, “why?”

Step 2: Lean into your motivation factors

Now that you know what motivates you, try to include those factors in whatever you’re trying to do next. Write down what it is that you want to do. Then write down your motivation factors. How can you include them as part of your plan?

Let’s use social support as our motivation factor since it works for a majority of people. See if you can buddy up. This might look like calling a family member to body double when you need to clean your kitchen, asking a friend if they want to take a pottery class with you, or asking if any of your coworkers are interested in attending a public speaking workshop.

Now that we’ve done some tailoring for your own personal motivation, the next five strategies can help when all else fails.

Strategies to Boost Motivation

One: Take a course, watch a video, or read a book

You can find an expert on literally every goal you might want to set. Instead of trying to do it all on your own, learn from those who have done it before you. As we have been seeing an increase in awareness around ADHD, more experts have begun addressing problems from an ADHD-informed perspective. You can search online for ideas to help you get started.

In addition to giving you a starting point, watching videos or viewing content modeling your goal, action, or behavior you want to do can itself be motivating. Personally, if I’m struggling to make myself set up my bullet journal to keep myself organized, I’ll search Pinterest for inspiration for new page layouts. I’ll suddenly find myself itching to put those ideas into practice.

Two: Gamefy the task

I’ve seen a whole bunch of social media content on how folks with ADHD brilliantly turn their task list into a game. Some treat it like a video game, where completing a task gives them “experience” or currency to be applied toward rewards. Get creative and make your own game out of the situation. I’ve put tasks on individual sticky notes and stuck them on a wall, and used a sticky hand to choose what I have to get done that day. 

It’s silly. And it works.

I highly recommend including a childhood novelty in your task management system.

Three: Create visual reminders of your end result

ADHDers struggle to think about the long-term. Our brains operate in the right-now. We operate on instant gratification and often choose the shiniest activity with the greatest amount of dopamine. Going against this natural tendency can be really tough. To help yourself out, try to bring yourself as close to your end goal as possible. Let’s go through an example so you know what I mean:

Let’s say your goal is to go to bed on time so you get a full night of sleep. You want to do this because you want to stop feeling exhausted during the day. The things that keep you up are: scrolling on your phone, watching TV, and your endless list of hobbies. These are all instant gratification, high-dopamine activities that are hard to avoid. 

  1. Start by visualizing how your life would be different if you felt well-rested. What would change for you? Would you be more productive at work, which would lead to a promotion and more career opportunities? Would you finally be able to say yes to your friends who ask you to go to trivia on Thursdays? List out all possible positive outcomes. 

  2. Then, find a way to make these outcomes visible. You can create a statement like “I want to get up easily in the morning” and put it on a note in the area where you typically do things that keep you awake. You can put a photo of your friends’ faces next to your TV, like Homer Simpson putting photos of his daughter Maggie up at work next to text that says “Do it for her.”

Fun fact: some wonderful person on the internet has created a template of this image so you can actually make your own “do it for her” sign.

Four: Find an accountability buddy

You’re more likely to follow through if you tell someone about what you want to do, and you know you’re going to have to tell them whether you did it or not. It’s why I have a job as a health coach - you know I’m going to ask you if you went to bed on time this week, and if you didn’t, you’re going to have to tell me what happened! Even though there’s no shame in things not going as planned, knowing that you have someone checking in on your progress can be motivating. 

Obviously, I’m going to recommend working with a health coach to improve motivation because we’re experts at helping you get things done, but I also understand the reality of tight finances. In place of working with a behavior change professional, find a trusted friend. Make sure you choose an accountability person who will be nonjudgmental - someone who will offer words of support and encouragement when things get tough. 

Five: Write it down

I know it sounds simple, but seeing it on paper makes it more real. In addition, writing out the steps of what you want to do can make it easier to get started or keep going. Remember that we’re motivated by whatever seems easiest. The goal of writing a book is a HUGE one! Instead, try “write 10 pages a day.”

And remember: it doesn’t matter if it takes you a while to reach your goal. It’s far more important that you’re making regular progress, and it’s okay if your progress is baby steps at a time.

I hope you gained some motivation simply by making it to the end of this blog post. After all, this in itself is progress toward what you want to achieve. You’re doing better than you think you are.

Rachael Bordo

I’m a board-certified health coach and health and wellness content writer with a decade of experience in helping people improve their lives. When I’m not coaching or writing, I’m most likely out getting lost in the woods.

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