If you are an Adult with ADHD it is most likely you are a procrastinator. Although it may sound harmless, it can cause problems in professional and personal relationships. When adults with ADHD fail to complete tasks on time, people may see this as a sign of disrespect, incompetence, or laziness. Luckily, there are some strategies you can use to help overcome chronic procrastination.
1. Change your negative thinking – For an adult with ADHD, it is easy for the mind to bring up negative thoughts such as “I will never get this right, or what is wrong with me.” Instead try to tell yourself positive but realistic messages like “I may not be able to finish this today, but I can do the first steps within the first thirty minutes.” The positive thoughts that you tell yourself when completing a task can be a very powerful deterrent to ending procrastination
2. Break down tasks and projects into chunks – One of the reasons that adults with ADHD procrastinate is that the task or project is too big; they don’t know where to start. When you break projects and tasks down into smaller pieces they become more manageable, you feel less overwhelmed.
3. Do something interesting first– Adults with ADHD find it helpful if they work on a task/project that they find interesting first, to light up their ADHD brains. After that it may be easier to move onto a task/project that maybe less enjoyable.