People with ADHD can sometimes struggle with motivation and consistency, L360’s Priya Raj speaks to the experts who say the solution could lie in just a small adjustment.
Sticking to resolutions can be difficult at the best of times. Pair this with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and it may feel impossible.
Why do people with ADHD sometimes find it harder to reach their goals?
According to Sara Wrightman, an education coach and consultant at Seed Wellness, people with ADHD can find it hard to prioritise tasks, and once started, struggle to sustain focus to complete them.
We all know how it feels to be inconsistent with our goals, and this can feel even more disappointing for those living with ADHD who can find it inherently difficult. But experts are now suggesting that people with ADHD only need to make a few minor adjustments to set goals in a way that works for them. Intrigued? Scroll below to find out how.
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Why people with ADHD can struggle with goal setting
“Dopamine is the reason we enjoy anticipating rewards and motivates us to work towards them,” explains Judith Katz at Seed Wellness. “For those with ADHD, these processes don’t work exactly the same as in neurotypical people.”
In fact, people with ADHD often have reduced dopamine, which is particularly impacted when it comes to delayed rewards. “For ADHDers, rewards need to feel immediate and tangible,” Judith adds.
It’s important for those with ADHD to know that their struggle is not a lack of ambition but is actually due to a kink in their neurological machinery.
Read more: How to put yourself first — and stop feeling guilty about it
How to set and achieve goals with ADHD
Judith explains that a usual SMART goal structure — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound — doesn’t always work for people with ADHD, because it doesn’t account for setbacks or delays in achieving them. Instead, it can be useful to use another framework.
“Clients experience more success with WOOP,” she says.
“WOOP stands for wish, outcome, obstacle, plan, and was developed by psychologist Gabriele Oettingen. It incorporates obstacle anticipation into the goal-setting process, building in flexibility from the start,” she explains.
This can also help address the ‘all or nothing’ thinking that people with ADHD may experience, she says. This is where partial completion of a task can feel like total failure, leading to an increased chance of abandoning it entirely.
With this in mind, reducing the cognitive load of each step could be a vital way of helping people with ADHD reach their goals, says therapist Shelly Dar. Making the goal small so it’s almost too easy. For example, the to-do list would be, ‘put on workout clothes’ rather than simply ‘go to the gym’. “It also helps to anchor goals to existing routines or external cues,” Shelly adds.
While I don’t suffer with ADHD, I’ve been finding WOOP a helpful tool when organising my mornings before work and evenings after work. I’ve also been habit-stacking my routine in the morning; using my LED mask, journalling, putting collagen in my coffee and doing a quick dumbbell set with weights can really start me off on the right foot. It’s satisfying to tick off lots of items on my to-do list, which motivates me to keep going.
Feature image: Pexels
