Embracing Time Management with ADHD

Last Updated on February 6, 2025 by It’s Complicated

10 + 1 Practical and Science-Backed Tips from a Psychologist

Time can often feel slippery when you’re managing ADHD. Deadlines zoom by, tasks pile up, and just getting started can feel like climbing a mountain. The good news? By understanding the unique ways your ADHD brain operates and using a mix of practical strategies and scientific insights, you can create a time management system that works for you.

As a psychologist, I’ve guided many clients with ADHD to develop personalized approaches that embrace their strengths while addressing their challenges. Here are 10 foundational strategies—plus one vital mindset shift—to help you regain control of your time and feel more confident in your day-to-day life.

1. Use External Tools as Your Memory Ally

One hallmark of ADHD is struggles with working memory—the ability to hold information in your mind while using it. This makes it easy to forget appointments, tasks, or even what you just walked into a room to do. External tools can be your lifeline:

• Planners and calendars: Keep all your to-dos, deadlines, and appointments in one place. Writing them down not only clears mental space but also reduces the anxiety of potentially forgetting.

• Alarms and timers: These are game-changers for ADHD’s “time blindness.” Use alarms to remind you of upcoming tasks or to signal when it’s time to transition to the next activity.

Why this works: External tools act as an “extension” of your brain, supporting areas of executive function that may need a boost. By freeing up cognitive load, they allow you to focus on the task at hand.

2. Break Tasks into Manageable Pieces

Big projects can feel overwhelming to an ADHD brain. It’s common to freeze or procrastinate because you don’t know where to start. Breaking tasks into smaller, actionable steps makes them approachable:

• Instead of “Clean the house,” try breaking it into “Sort laundry,” “Vacuum living room,” or “Clear kitchen counter.”

• Set realistic micro-goals and check them off one by one.

The science: Each completed step gives your brain a small hit of dopamine, the reward chemical that increases motivation. Over time, these little wins can build momentum and make large tasks feel less intimidating.

3. Pause Productively When Distracted

Getting sidetracked happens—it’s part of how ADHD brains naturally seek stimulation and novelty. Instead of trying to “power through” or criticising yourself with negative self-talk, take intentional mini-breaks as soon as you feel your focus slipping.

• Move your body: Stretch, take a short walk, or even dance for a minute. Physical activity boosts dopamine and norepinephrine, both crucial for attention.

• Drink water or have a healthy snack to refuel your brain.

• Ground yourself with mindfulness: A few deep breaths or a brief moment of meditation can help calm an overstimulated mind.

• Avoid overstimulation: Steer clear of social media during breaks, as its fast-paced, dopamine-heavy content can make it even harder to return to focused work.

Why this helps: These purposeful pauses recharge your prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for decision-making and focus. They also satisfy your brain’s need for novelty in a way that’s refreshing, not draining. You’ll be back on track way sooner than if you fight against it.

4. Reward Yourself Often

For people with ADHD, rewards are even more powerful motivators. Use them to your advantage by pairing tasks with incentives:

• Small rewards: A healthy snack, stretching, a cup of coffee, a walk with some music after finishing a small task.

• Bigger rewards: Celebrate completing a major project with a dinner with friends, a new book, or a fun outing.

Neuropsychological insight: Immediate rewards activate the brain’s reward center, releasing dopamine. Over time, this strengthens the connection between effort and payoff, making it easier to tackle future tasks.

5. Prioritize with Clarity

ADHD can make every task feel equally urgent, leading to overwhelm or avoidance. Prioritising helps you focus on what truly matters:

• Identify 2–3 “must-dos” for the day. These should be tasks that align with your immediate goals or values.

• Use tools like the Eisenhower Matrix, which categorises tasks by importance and urgency.

Why this works: Prioritizing reduces cognitive overload and helps calm the amygdala (the brain’s stress centre), allowing you to think clearly and focus on what’s essential.

6. Try Time Blocking

Time blocking assigns specific intervals for focused work followed by short breaks, giving your day structure:

• Allocate “work” blocks for deep focus on tasks, like 9:00–10:00 am for emails or 1:00–2:00 pm for creative projects.

• Incorporate methods like the Pomodoro Technique (25 minutes of work, 5 minutes of rest).

The science: Structured time encourages your brain to stay on task and reduces procrastination, while scheduled breaks prevent burnout and help maintain energy.

7. Manage Distractions

ADHD brains love novelty, which means external stimuli like notifications, noises, or clutter can quickly derail focus. Minimise distractions with these steps:

• Turn off notifications during work periods.

• Use noise-canceling headphones or soothing background music.

• Tidy up your workspace—physical chaos often mirrors mental chaos.

Neuropsychological insight: ADHD brains struggle to filter out irrelevant stimuli. A calm environment allows your prefrontal cortex to stay engaged with the task at hand.

8. Organize Your Space

This point builds directly on the previous one. Having a dedicated spot for everything reduces the mental load of searching for misplaced items or navigating cluttered spaces.

• Designate homes for keys, bags, work tools or electronics.

• Create systems for commonly used items—like a “launch pad” near the door for daily essentials.

Why it works: An organized environment supports executive functioning by conserving your brain’s energy for more important tasks. Interestingly, many people with ADHD enjoy organizing their space once they move past the initial overwhelm, as it often resonates with their desire to create inner order.

9. Apply the “2-Minute Rule”

And I’ll keep this one short. If something will take less than two minutes, do it immediately. No negotiation, do it without even thinking. This stops small tasks from piling up into a mountain of “to-dos.”

The science: Completing quick tasks gives you an instant sense of accomplishment and prevents procrastination spirals, keeping your brain engaged and focused.

10. Be Kind to Yourself

Managing ADHD is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ll experience both good days and challenging ones, and that’s completely okay. 

Some of these tips will resonate with you, while others may not—and that’s completely normal. What’s most important is acknowledging and celebrating your progress. No matter how small the improvements may seem, they all add up over time (remember, it’s a marathon).

• Instead of thinking, “I’m so disorganized,” consider reframing it to: “I’m working on finding the strategies that work best for me.” This approach acknowledges that progress takes time and that it’s normal to go through a process of trial and error.

• Similarly, when you feel like saying, “I’m so lazy,” replace it with: “I have a harder time with tasks that don’t excite me, but I’m doing my best to work through them.” This reframing recognizes that ADHD can make certain tasks feel more difficult, but it also affirms your efforts to overcome those challenges.

Neuropsychological benefit: Self-compassion reduces stress and activates areas of the brain tied to motivation and resilience, such as the anterior cingulate cortex.

+1. Befriend Your ADHD

Instead of viewing ADHD as an obstacle, consider it part of what makes you unique. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) emphasizes aligning your expectations with reality and working with your ADHD rather than against it.

• Focus on achievable, values-driven goals.

• Celebrate the strengths ADHD brings, like creativity and problem-solving.

The science: Acceptance reduces mental resistance and frees up cognitive resources for growth and problem-solving. Shifting from a negative to a collaborative mindset can make your ADHD traits an ally rather than a foe.

Managing time with ADHD isn’t about fixing or changing who you are—it’s about finding tools and strategies that work with your brain. 

Whether it’s using external aids, practicing self-compassion, or reframing your ADHD as a unique strength, these strategies can help you cope more effectively. By personalizing these techniques, you can reduce the stress and guilt often tied to time management. Small, consistent changes will help you regain control, minimize overwhelm, and make tasks more manageable. Above all, remember: the goal is progress, not perfection.

References

• Barkley, R. A. (2012). Executive Functions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Evolved.
• Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64.
• Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., & Baler, R. D. (2011). ADHD, dopamine, and the brain’s reward systems. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15.
• Neff, K. (2011). Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself.
• ACT Resources: Mindfulness and values-driven approaches for ADHD management.

Prepared by: Zsofia Nyul (MA, GMBPsS)

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