How to Get Dialed with ADHD
Lock in, Get Sh*t Done, Become the Best Version of Yourself
Good morning friends. Lets get Dialed.
Like many of you, I have ADHD. My brain isn’t wired like my neurotypical peers. This has made doing extraordinary things effortless and ordinary things impossible.
“I don’t how you can be so smart and so dumb at the same time” - My mom
To this day, my biggest struggle is getting sh*t done. Willpower doesn’t work for me. I know what I need to do but I just can’t do it.
To the dismay of therapists and psychiatrists, I refused to feel sorry for myself or take Vyvanse (diet meth). Instead, I nutted up and figured out how to get sh*t done with an ADHD brain.
I worked smarter, pondered harder, and started from first principles. So should you.
In this process, I created a workflow that has enabled me to overcome my ‘deficit’ and rack up some decent accomplishments by my mid-twenties.
Here’s how I get shit done
Work Smart, Think Strategically
The real hack is to create a life so complementary to your nature that everything becomes effortless. One that lets intuition take over.
But this life won’t be handed to you. You need to play the games presented to you to earn that life. And that requires hard work and strategy.
Use willpower to build a life that doesn’t require willpower
The path to greatness is filled with monotony. Your ideal life will not come on a silver platter. It must be built from the ground up.
The Hunter-Type Toolbox for Deep Work
Everything I present in this list is a TOOL. Something that you pull out when you need to get dialed. Use these tools to build a life that no longer requires them
The core premise here is DEEP WORK
ADHD/Hunter Types work best in sprints. Farmers work best at a slow steady state.
So dial in your deep work. Get 8 hours of work done in 2. Focus on the ONE thing that, if accomplished, makes all other things on your list unnecessary
Remove Mental Clutter
You need to get all your ideas out of your head an on paper. Externalize Mental Problem Solving
Get whiteboards, post-it notes, non-ruled paper. Voraciously mind-map
We are non-linear thinkers. One idea sparks another which sparks another. Your note-taking should reflect the natural neural communication going on in your brain
Do this as frequently as possible. Keep it as frictionless as possible. Doodle on napkins if you have to.
This declutters your brain. It stops the never-ending pinball of thoughts in your subconscious.
Then and only then can you truly become dialed.
Use the Law of Association & Repetition
You sit on the couch and watch movies. Your brain now associates that couch with movies
You scroll TikTok in bed at night, your brain now associates your bed with TikTok
You eat junk food when you drink alcohol, your brain now associates alcohol with junk food
The more your repeat, the more you associate. We are highly adaptive creatures.
Use This to Your Benefit:
Create a work ritual reserved only for a certain type of work. Layer your work habits onto existing habits
Dedicate a specific playlist only to deep work
Get a second monitor you ONLY use for work
Go to a coffee shop or co-working space (and only do one type of work)
This will get you in the zone, but you cannot break this ritual. You break the association bond the second you start watching YouTube on your work computer or listen to your work playlist while doing something else.
Apply this as much as possible:
Use one browser only for work
Have a certain food/drink only when dialing in (my brain has hardwired Iced Coffee & NicNac with deep work)
Use one pair of headphones for work
Make Distractions Impossible:
Reduce unwanted stimuli. Don’t bring your phone anywhere near you. Block social media sites with BlockSite.
Tone down visual stimuli with sunglasses and a hoodie (this actually works wonders)
Tone down auditory stimuli with noise-proof headphones and your "work ritual” music
Resist the Urge to do Something Else
Keep the work pace high. Any lull in activity can cause you to lose focus.
You will inevitably reach for distractions. You’ll convince yourself you’re thirsty, need to go to the bathroom, or have to check email. You don’t
Every time you catch yourself getting distracted and reorient, you become that much better at focusing in
I use a grip trainer as a fidget toy, every time I’m waiting for a site to load or get antsy, I grab that instead of my phone. Works wonders.
Use the Pomodoro Method
ADHD brains work great under pressure. Set a timer for 25 minutes and an objective. Race to get it done before the clock runs out.
This has been a game changer for me. I love pressure and competition. Racing against the clock gives me no other option but to dial in.
If you’re really in a lull, use FocusMate. This app connects you with a random person also doing a Pomodoro session and puts you on a video call with them.
Sounds weird, but try it. It works
Can’t Start the Task? Prepare for it Instead
The ADHD brain cannot be brute-forced into doing work. It must be negotiated with.
No matter how hard you try, you can’t start a new task. Thats okay. Instead, start preparing everything you need to do that task at a later date.
I needed to write this article, but I got major writer’s block. So instead I started preparing to write this article later on. I gathered key points, wrote a brief outline, jotted down some notes
Before I knew it, I was 1,000 words in.
Break down the task into the most minuscule parts, don’t even worry about executing. Before you know it you’ll be plowing through your to-do list
Embrace Pressure and Constraints
The ADHD brain is constantly understimulated. One of the best ways to stimulate it is to add pressure. I perform best when I have a full plate. It forces you to focus on the 20% of tasks that yield 80% of results
Try taking on more responsibilities. Fill your plate. Pressure creates diamonds. Constantly try to get more done in less time. One of the many paradoxes of the neurodivergent brain
There’s not much motivation to hunt when you only have one mouth to feed.
Tie it all Together:
Here’s how this plays out for me:
I have removed all redundancies from my life. If there’s ever something I have to do multiple times that drains me, I figure out a way to automate, outsource, or simply not have to do it at all (work smarter)
I have identified all tasks that energize me, The more I do them the more energy I have to do more (This is why I don’t have to use tools/nootropics very often)
I lay out all the projects I have on a whiteboard every few days, I mindmap all the things I could do and hone in on the ones that would make all the other actions unnecessary
Anything that takes me less than 5 minutes to do, I do immediately. This clears up headspace and builds accomplishment momentum
I nullify distractions by making them impossible → Block all sites, leave my phone at home, go to coffee shop
I layer activities based on my natural energy flows of the day → Busy work in the morning, research at night, writing after exercise
I spend time daily strategizing and thinking about my life, work & performance. I remove emotion from the equation and treat myself like an employee (Self-observation comes from mindfulness practice)
When I need to dial in, I hop on FocusMate to force myself to perform. I take pride in the fact that people are dependent on me.
I reserve stimulants for work time. My brain now associates nicotine and coffee with productivity
I know that Focus is a muscle, the more I train it, the stronger I get. I accept that I will get distracted, but I know if I catch myself I can revert my attention to the task at hand
I assess my performance at the end of the day. I document what I did well and want to replicate tomorrow, as well as areas I can improve.
Most importantly, I enjoy the process. Like everything in my life, I gamify it. Taking things seriously has never worked for me. The more playful I am, the better my results.
This is the Price you Pay for Independence
I used to wish I had a boss to tell me what to do. That I could clock in, do my work, then not have to think about it for the rest of the day. It would be nice sometimes
But the only way you can be truly autonomous is by learning how to get shit done by your own doing. So figure out what motivates you. Treat your life like a perpetual science experiment. Always be tinkering.
Try a few of these out this week, take what works, disregard what doesn’t. Use these as a foundation to build your own strategy.
This was a great read 🤝