How to ADHD

The Brain Chronicle | July 2025 Edition

Added 2025-07-31 15:00:12 +0000 UTC

Hello Brains & Hearts!

This month has been a whole flurry of activity! Between continuing to plan for the set refresh, to coming up with a new video series, and its related video style, to continuing to evolve the public newsletter based on reader feedback. My team and I have been hard at work!

I’m also starting to work on my second book about navigating big transitions when you have ADHD! If you receive our weekly newsletter you’ll probably have already seen a little survey that’ll help me decide how to shape this book, but in case you haven’t, and would like to help…!!!

Click here to share your experience with navigating big transitions!

We’re trying something new this month, where we expand a little on a strategy or tip mentioned in our weekly newsletters! We’re going to see how it goes… and we’d love to hear your thoughts as well! So without further ado…

How to Add Urgency, Novelty, and/or Personal Interest to Tasks

ADHDers often struggle to muster the motivation for tasks – even important ones! Why? Because our brains thrive on urgency, novelty, or personal interest to get going. "Important" isn't always enough.

We asked the How to ADHD YouTube community what ADHD-friendly methods they use to add urgency, novelty, and personal interest to tasks you gotta do, but feel that "UGH" towards.

Here are some unique strategies we love!:

⏳ Urgency

If you’re stuck, try setting a timer – it creates an instant, artificial deadline our brains can thrive on.

A community member recommended racing the microwave! Try to unload your dishwasher while popcorn pops, or do your stretches until you hear that sweet – ding, ding, DONE!

Racing the clock turns a task into a competition with your own motivation. Tapping into your competitive side can work surprisingly well.

Or, try doing less-fun tasks like paying bills on your bus commute. The ride to your stop becomes a built-in deadline that’s hard to ignore (lest you miss your stop!).

🎵 Personal Interest

Human brains naturally seek pleasure, so why not pair a less-fun task with something you enjoy hearing? Some community members listen to a favorite playlist while cooking or learning from a podcast while pulling weeds. It can make tasks more enjoyable, focused, and easier to start.

Music scores from video games can work as background noise for cognitively demanding tasks – a great way to tap into a personal interest and feel like you’re playing Zelda while being productive!

Or, why not add a dose of nature? One community member (whose grandma also uses this trick!) suggests having a bird feeder or native plants outside your kitchen window so they can watch birds and butterflies while washing dishes. 🦋

🧸 Novelty

While body-doubling is a common tool, here are some twists for adding novelty to everyday tasks:

Desk Diversity – Swap out your regular desk chair for a different seating option throughout the day. Think standing desks, kneeling chairs, and yoga balls!

The Bracelet Buddy – One community member brings a literal buddy along. "I have a slap bracelet with a plush Nerd (like the candy) on it. I put it on while I do the task, so I have a little buddy with me."

Robotic Boost – A robot vacuum like a Roomba can act as a body-double and motivator. Why not dust while Roomba vacuums? That’s twice the work done in half the time!

None of these feel particularly up your alley?

Click here to read more brilliant ideas from the community! (Or add your own!)

Looking for your perks? We got you!

My Operations Director was able to take the time off to move across the country without worrying about things falling apart!
I took a few steps outside my comfort zone and filmed the latest “5 Lies” video while out camping… and a lot of you really liked it!!!
I have a new series in the works and we’ve made a lot of progress on figuring out its structure--I can’t wait for you to see it! I hope you’ll enjoy it. <3
How to ADHD might be one step closer to having a more consistent Social Media presence! My Community Manager, Harley, is playing around with a new-to-us Social Media Management program that hopefully will make it easier for us to share information across multiple platforms in a way that’s more ADHD-friendly for us :)
I’ve started work on Book #2!! Right now it’s in the very early stages! I’m so excited!
Harley wasn’t expecting to be able to send this newsletter out via email until August… but between Harley & Steph they figured it out in time for July’s release!