4 Easy Tips To Help With Time Management For ADHD
Introduction
As an ADHD coach and parent of ADHD children, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “I just don’t have the time for it even though I think it will be great.”
So many people feel this way, and when you have ADHD this challenge is common. This mindset can also be the reason behind saying no to a great opportunity, or not saying yes to something that will benefit you. Like ADHD coaching. In this blog, we’ll delve into the reality behind time management, and explore four simple, effective tips to combat this.
Lack of time is real
But first, is lack of time real, or is it a situation we create?
I spoke in a podcast about how some of my ADHD coaching clients found time management techniques one of the most powerful things they learned in coaching. Because lack of time is real. Time is one of life’s precious commodities, and meeting work, children and family needs alone can take up most of the available hours we have.
Who and what we give our time to says a lot about what we value. But it’s so easy to get sucked into spending time on the stuff that needs doing but doesn’t serve us.
So how do you carve out hours to spend on activities that are life-enhancing, make you feel great, and can take your life in the direction you want it to go in?
Why do we say no when we should say yes?
So we know that time is a commodity and we are in control of how we spend it. That said, there are pressures to spend time on certain allotted things in life. Work is an obvious example, but there are plenty of others. So why do we say no to something we want, when we could say yes and enhance our lives?
Let’s look at the reasons why we say no:
We allow our priorities to lie somewhere other than where we think they do
Change is hard – we have to create new habits to bring in new activities or new behaviours which are hard to maintain when life gets busy and stressful
Other people are dictating how we spend our time
Your diary is full each day – there’s just no space
You aren’t sure this new thing you have to make time for is going to be worth it
Taking back control
Of course, we have to balance the time needed for our responsibilities. That doesn’t mean that we have to sacrifice all our time for our duties and save nothing for ourselves. The question is, how do we carve out some space for those important, life-changing things?
Here are four simple tips to help you take control of your time to serve you better.
List your priorities: List 6-10 key areas of your life (work, study, children, other family, exercise/health, friends, TV watching, reading/podcasts etc) and rate it 1-10 on how much of your time it takes up. Be honest about the time spent with the TV/radio/reading/podcasts or dog walking with a friend after school drop off, or how much time you spend doing stuff for other family members. What seems like a quick job may take you an hour or more each time.
Think about how you’d love to spend your time: Now, how would you spend your time in an ideal world? Factor in all the necessary things like children and work but think about how you would delegate/organise/deliver if you could have anything. One client realised she needed some time away from her 18-month-old but couldn’t afford nursery whilst she was studying. So she did a care share with a friend, carved out some time alone and then paid for the nursery when she completed her studies and got a pay rise.
Where are the gaps: What’s the difference between your reality now and your ideal scenario? Would you rather spend an hour walking/exercising/coaching than watching TV? Where would you like to make some swaps? Go back over your lists and see where the wiggle room is or how you could creatively solve the problem.
Start stacking: Think of using a habit stack. Let’s say it’s hard to find the time for an hour of exercise. Stacking one new habit on top of an existing habit can help make the new habit stick. How about finding a gym or exercise class straight after work or school drop off and being done before you get home? Or finding time to read before you go to bed at night and replacing habitual TV watching.
To find out how our coaching can help with time management for ADHD, contact us now.