Many adults with ADHD have found systems and coping mechanisms to manage the everyday symptoms of ADHD. However, others struggle daily with distraction, lack of organizational skills, and becoming easily overwhelmed. The strategies below can help adults with ADHD develop coping skills:

1. Make time for exercise every day. Exercise helps increase focus and attention, decrease excess energy, and helps combat symptoms of depression. Including an exercise program in your daily routine will provide you with many benefits.

2. Accept yourself and your limitations. Remember that ADHD is not a made-up diagnosis. A diagnosis of ADHD can help you to understand why you act in a certain way, but it is not an excuse for inappropriate behaviors.

3. Find people that accept you. Adults with ADHD may feel that those around them do not understand them, and criticize or judge them for their behaviors. If the people you are spending time with make you feel uncomfortable or inadequate, find other people to be with. Look up local support groups in your area or create your own network of friends that accept you and you feel comfortable around.

4. Look for time in your day to unwind. Use transitional time between activities to de-stress and unwind. Stop on your way home from work to sit at a park for 10 minutes or let your family know that when you arrive home you need a few minutes of downtime before entering family activities.

5. Create a system for prioritizing your day. Look over what needs to be accomplished and complete the items that are most important first. Leave those that are less important for later. Should you become distracted, you will know that you still have accomplished the most important items for the day.

6. Use your own internal clock to your benefit. If you are a morning person and are more productive early in the day, arrange your day for the most important items to be accomplished in the morning. If you find that you do best in afternoons, arrange your day this way. Look for jobs that will allow you to be flexible in your schedule to make the most of your own productive patterns.

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7. Create deadlines for projects. If you find that you constantly procrastinate, outline a project you are going to begin and set deadlines for each step of the project. Even if you are working around the house, give yourself a time limit to complete portions of the task.

8. Break down all tasks into steps. Adults with ADHD are often overwhelmed with large projects and tasks. Many times, this causes the project to go unfinished and, in some cases, never even started. Instead of looking at the project as one complete task, look at it in steps. For example, if you are going to clean your house, make it a system: first, make the beds; second, straighten the living room; third, dust and vacuum. Don't worry about any steps other than the one you are currently working on.

9. Provide your own structure. Develop systems to help you give your day routines such as a daily schedule. Use organizational helpers like to-do lists, PDAs, daily planners, and tape recorders.

10. Learn about ADHD. The more you learn about your diagnosis, the more prepared you will be to handle the daily difficulties. Read books, ask your doctor questions, or join support groups.

This article was originally published September 26, 2007 and most recently updated August 19, 2018.
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