Approximately 2 years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD after years of suspecting I had it. The fact that it presents differently in women caused me to go undiagnosed until the age of 29. Getting the diagnosis and finally getting on medication to help with my symptoms really helped me and has been a game changer. There are still days where the noise in my brain is loud and I literally can’t focus on a singular task, but they are fewer and far between. Although medication is a huge blessing, it’s not the only thing that helps me with my motivation and productivity.

Other factors in my life make motivation and productivity hard to attain…semi retired, work from home, living by myself….the list goes on. After years of having every aspect of my life managed by someone else (hello military life), I now have to make my schedule, get my work done, take care of my dogs, take care of my house and most importantly, take care of myself (that last one is usually a doozy).

Here are some ways that I motivate myself to get tasks done since my anxiety alone is not enough to motivate my to be productive….

~Setting a timer: It’s like playing a game with yourself…like when you’re in the car and try to beat the gps arrival time (okay, just me….got it). Typically, I ‘ll set a timer for 20-30 minutes and try to see how much I can get done in that amount of time…usually it’s far more than I originally thought.

~Making a to do list in order of priority….this helps because then you can see everything that needs to get done and it’s so satisfying to check things off!

~Getting out of your house…especially if you are a work from home person. I have to force myself to go to a coffee shop most days to get my work done because if I stay home I’m likely to get distracted with other projects I need to start working on.

~Asking a friend to help…even if it’s literally just to talk with you while you’re doing a task. This will make it easier for you to stop overthinking and just do the job…it also feels like someone is watching you, which brings me to…..

~Body Doubling…this is my number one tool for motivation and production. I will set my phone up somewhere and record on timelapse while I do a task (usually laundry, washing bedding or mopping). This makes it feel as though someone is watching you and needs you to complete the task. Having the video to watch post task is also super satisfying and can serve as a great social media post to help motivate others.

These are not full proof and I’m sure there are a lot of other ways that you can motivate yourself to be productive, but they work for me. What are your favorite ways to motivate yourself to be productive???