{"id":108360,"date":"2023-07-17T13:55:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T17:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=108360"},"modified":"2025-09-15T11:16:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T15:16:55","slug":"how-to-cope-with-adhd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-cope-with-adhd\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Cope With ADHD: Get to Know Yourself Better"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you struggle with ADHD symptoms? How can you cope with ADHD?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every person with ADHD is different, and their ADHD affects them differently. There\u2019s no cookie-cutter method for organization that will work perfectly for everyone, so you have to form an understanding of how your ADHD affects you personally in order to devise the best organizational system to manage it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how to cope with ADHD, according to Order From Chaos<\/em> by Jaclyn Paul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of Shortform’s guide on ADHD<\/a>.\u00a0If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understand Your Purpose<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An essential part of Paul\u2019s recommendations on how to cope with ADHD is to identify the reason you want to get organized and keep that front of mind as you begin implementing her tips. Staying motivated<\/a> is particularly difficult for people with ADHD, so you\u2019ll need to have a purpose<\/a> for organizing that you can come back to any time it starts to feel too difficult. This purpose should be unique to you and related to the values that are important to you. It also can\u2019t stem from the belief that you should<\/em> be able to do something. That comes from a place of judgment and external pressure, and your purpose<\/a> needs to provide you with internal motivation<\/a>. Your purpose should help you nurture your genuine self so you can live the life you want to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, you may want to get organized because you value time with your friends and family, and better organization would give you more time to enjoy their company. You may value the serenity of an uncluttered workspace, or the freedom to take time off from work when you need it without feeling like you\u2019re falling behind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using Happiness to Find Your Purpose<\/strong>

Other experts also identify purpose as an important motivator in life. In The Success Principles<\/em><\/a>, Jack Canfield explains that finding your life\u2019s purpose helps you direct your actions toward a specific goal and achieve what you want.

To identify your purpose<\/a>, he recommends that you reflect on what makes you happy<\/a> in life and what you like about yourself and distill these into a purpose statement<\/a> you can refer back to whenever you need to remind yourself of your motivation. If you identify your purpose<\/a> by reflecting on what makes you happy, you\u2019re less likely to come up with a purpose that stems from a place of judgment. For example, if you know that being creative<\/a> makes you happy, your purpose statement<\/a> could be that you want to get more organized so you have more time for creative pursuits.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Understand Your Limitations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another part of getting to know yourself is understanding your capabilities and limitations. Organizing becomes much easier when you only have to organize a manageable number of items. This means you need to be able to say no to people<\/a> and commitments, let go of things in your life that don\u2019t serve your purpose, and only use as much physical space and belongings as you can reasonably manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul explains that ADHD brains have less dopamine\u2014the neurotransmitter that drives the body\u2019s reward system\u2014available to them. This means ADHDers seek stimulation and novelty, which can lead them to take on more obligations and commitments than they can handle. While it may be frustrating to accept, sometimes you need to demand less of yourself so you can consistently meet expectations. You may simply have a lower threshold for what you can reasonably take on than someone without ADHD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t Expect Yourself to Be Perfect<\/strong>

Setting reasonable expectations can be especially hard for ADHDers because they often have perfectionistic tendencies<\/a>. These may result from always feeling like you\u2019re not doing enough or from a belief that you\u2019ll perform better under unreasonably high expectations, but in any case, they tend to lead to procrastination and frustration. It can help to remember that you don\u2019t have to do things the way everyone else does<\/a>\u2014if you find you can\u2019t take on as many commitments as your peers can, don\u2019t force yourself to. It can also help to reverse the adage \u201cAnything worth doing is worth doing well\u201d by understanding that \u201cAnything worth doing is worth doing poorly.\u201d Making some progress on a task or expectation\u2014and getting the resulting dopamine boost\u2014is better than not doing it at all just because you won\u2019t accept anything less than perfection. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Understand How You Learn<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Paul, understanding your learning style will help you on your journey to better organization. Getting organized is a process of teaching yourself<\/a> new habits, so it\u2019s important to understand the best way to accommodate your learning needs. Paul describes three types of learning<\/a> styles: auditory, visual, and tactile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n