What Are the Best ADHD Strategies? Real Advice from the ADHD Community

Written By Paul Brinker

For people diagnosed with ADHD, one of my recommendations is to check out the Subreddit ADHD, (r/adhd). A lot of the sub is people complaining about the medical profession brushing off their symptoms, but outside of that, there’s a lot of group support happening on this page. People who are diagnosed with ADHD ask questions and get good answers. Basically, an online support group. Of course with anything that is online, the advice should be taken with a grain of salt.  

This sub is a great place to ask questions and who knows, maybe some of the answers can be a BIG help.   
I used AI to scrape this sub for some of the good advice that has been offered:  

Core Productivity & "Getting Unstuck" 

  • The "Two-Minute Rule"

  •  If you are paralyzed by a task, commit to doing just two minutes of it. Often, starting is the hardest part, and this low-stakes commitment can break "ADHD paralysis". 

  • Anything Worth Doing is Worth Doing Badly

  • If a full task feels overwhelming, do a "half-assed" version. Washing one dish or just brushing your teeth without flossing is better than doing nothing at all. 

  • Body Doubling

  • Working in the presence of someone else (virtually or in person) can drastically improve focus and accountability. 

Organization & Memory Hacks 

  • Point-of-Performance Placement

  • Store items exactly where you use them. For example, keep your medication next to your coffee maker or the TV remote, and put your keys on your lunch bag so you can’t leave without it. (This has been a life/time saver for me, once I established a home for all keys and made it a rule that they have to go there). 

  • "Misc" Baskets

  • Place a basket in every room for items that don't belong there. Clean them out once a week during a dedicated "catch-up" period to prevent clutter from becoming overwhelming. 

  • Don't "Put it Away," Put it Back

  • If you constantly lose something you "put away," start keeping it in the very first place you instinctively looked for it. 

  • The "Second Brain"

  • Offload mental clutter into a digital system like Notion or Obsidian immediately when thoughts occur.  

Lifestyle & Environmental Tweak 

  • Dopamine Menu (Dopamenu)

  • Create a list of "healthy" dopamine sources (like a 5-minute walk, a specific song, or a puzzle) to turn to when you feel under-stimulated, rather than defaulting to doomscrolling. 

  • Strategic Waking

  • Use smart lights or timers (like Govee or Philips Hue) to turn on 15–30 minutes before your alarm to help your body naturally transition into wakefulness. 

Read more behavioral ideas and tips for ADHD here: https://513adhd.com/behavioral-strategies-for-adhd 

Emotional Self-Compassion 

  • A Symptom is Not a Character Flaw

  • Subreddit members often remind each other that struggling with laundry or being late is a neurological symptom, not a sign of being "lazy" or "broken". 

  • Reverse To-Do List

  • At the end of a "bad" day, write down everything you did manage to do (even small things like drinking water) to combat the shame of what you didn't finish.  

  • Beating yourself up is not a strategy to defeat ADHD. It just brings more depressive symptoms, which help no one.  

For more, check out the subreddit yourself, but remember, it’s the internet: https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/ 

 

Paul Brinker
Next

Women and ADHD