Adult ADHD - Lists, Patterns, and Repetition

By Donovan Baldwin

Everybody with ADHD has a different set of experiences, problems, and solutions.

For me, one of the best things that ever happened to me was being diagnosed. Once I had that, I could forgive myself for some of the things I had done, as I realized that they were part of the condition.

However, it WAS KNOWING that gave me tools to work with...or, at least, set me on the path to finding those tools.

As I researched ADHD in general, and adult ADHD in particular, I became aware that I, like many others with the condition, had stumbled on some of the tools for coping with adult ADHD by accident.

One simple tool is the list.

Even "ordinary" people can benefit from a list, whether it's a "to do" list, a packing list, or a shopping list.

In one of my favorite books, The Art of Thinking, by Abbe Ernest Dimnet, which was published in 1928, I believe, the author recommends using lists to accomplish various tasks, as most humans cannot keep up with all the details involved in packing for a trip or a major shopping trip.

For the person with adult ADHD, a list is invaluable.

Not only does it allow you to use time BEFORE the event to cover all your bases, it allows you to effectively perform all the actions required, or acquire all the goods required, but, it also allows you to forgive yourself for what you didn't get, since it wasn't "on the list".

Patterns are another adult ADHD coping device.

Every morning, I make coffee for my wife and myself.

Making coffee sounds like a simple task, but, if you have ever taken, or taught, as I have, the course on how to talk someone through making a peanut butter sandwich, you realize that even such a simple activity has a lot of finite and discrete steps.

It is easy for someone with adult ADHD to get lost in the process.

However, having a pattern helps.

I found that if I went in cold, especially just out of bed in the morning, I could really screw things up. I would up with hot steaming cups of water (no coffee), unsweetened coffee, or my wife's coffee in my cup and mine in hers, and neither of us likes our coffee the way the other does.

Now, I set up the cups left to right in the same order every day (and at the QuikTrip when we stop there for coffee), and set the sweetener packets behind them in the proper order. I then put in the sweetener, add the coffee, add the cream...etc. In fact, since I know exactly where the cups and the sweeteners should be, for example, I can even set everything up the night before (while I am still wide awake), and stumble through the process in the morning with my eyes closed...metaphorically speaking, since I AM dealing with boiling water.

Repetition is another adult ADHD coping tool.

Some actions, including the coffee ritual, are done regularly. If I repeat them often enough, they can become more natural and rely less on my "Look! There's a squirrel!" brain to complete the task without missing something.

As they say, practice makes perfect.

These are tools that I use almost daily...well, the coffee ritual IS not only daily, but multi-daily. I would really like you to leave a comment to let me know whether or not this has been of help to you, and to share YOUR tools and techniques for coping with adult ADHD.