TLDR: Have you any tips or resources about how to be motivated to do things which you enjoy having ADHD in mind?
Hey, recently I had to stop my ADHD meds for a while.
Additionally I have a lot of time right now bec. of medical reasons and I try to do things I want to do instead of proctrastinating, so whenever I realize that I’m just doing stuff without actually enjoying them, I try to sit back, make me some tee and think about what I want to do. Like not in the future, but right now.
But the thing is, very often I just sit there and there is nothing I want to do. I try to enjoy doing nothing but it is kind of frustrating sitting there and thinking about what I want to do and nothing comes up.
I wanted to ask if this is a me thing or an ADHD related thing, and if so how you manage that. I either am completly stressed out with 100 projects at the same time or doing nothing and having no motivation to do anything. How can I be motivated to do things I enjoy? How to find things which I enjoy without sitting there and stressing out that currently I’m not motivated to do anything?
I have definitely been there. I don’t think there’s anything that’s sure to work with everyone but this is what works for me. I need to set deadlines for myself that I actually care about. If they are arbitrary then they don’t work, part of me will know that there won’t be real consequences for missing them. So I try to set up a situation where there’s a deadline that has consequences, but not anything life-ruining if I miss it. If I want to do something like cleaning up, I’ll invite some friends over for a game night and then I’ll have until then to do dishes, tidy up, vacuum etc. I want the place to look nice and my friends are unwittingly holding me accountable, but if there are dust bunnies or I don’t clean the sink my friends are chill enough that it’s not that stressful.
Another thing that’s worked for me is setting a goal with a nebulous but semi-urgent deadline (like “before spring” or “before it snows” and whatever it is, magically I want to do anything other than that thing. It’s amazing the things I can get done while avoiding the thing I’m “supposed” to do. So let’s say you want to do your taxes before April, you’ll definitely get to them this weekend, watch how suddenly there are myriad things around you to do instead!
So you set a deadline of doing taxes in spring and then get other stuff done?
Pretty much, start thinking about what documents you need to gather up, what services you’ll need to use, and next thing you know, reorganizing your pantry and sorting all of your old paint will be irresistible!