Make Doing Tasks Fun! Using External Rewards and Creativity for Individuals with ADHD

Whether you are a parent, teacher, therapist, friend of a friend, or a curious cat, you may have experienced the struggle of making task completion less… boring.

After all, things take time, and it can be demoralizing to start from the bottom of the mountain when the peak is so high it disappears between the clouds, especially for individuals living with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Though managing symptoms can be overwhelming, I’ve learned that working with your brain, rather than against it, can facilitate progress in a way that is beneficial and - you guessed it - fun.

So… What is ADHD?

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by three categories – inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and combined presentation – which are experienced at a significant level that negatively impacts one’s daily life and relationships with others.

Inattentive Type is represented as difficulty staying focused in a variety of settings (i.e. home, school, work), trouble initiating, completing, or staying on task, poor planning and organizing skills.

Hyperactive Type refers to excessive movement like wiggling, tapping, and fidgeting, or behaving impulsively, such as interrupting others, acting without thinking, and overtalking.

Combined Type is the presentation of both inattentive and hyperactive types in an individual.

As a result, those with ADHD may experience difficulties in a variety of aspects, including completing tasks, especially when the material is uninteresting, too long, or too difficult.

How to Stay Motivated When Tasks Feel Impossible

External Motivation: Individuals with ADHD are often driven to complete a task based on external rewards, such as praise or recognition, financial gain, avoidance of negative consequences, etc.

But what happens when external reward is far, far away? When a goal is weeks, months, or even years in the making, motivation tends to fizzle out. Because those with ADHD are prone to losing interest in a hobby, goal, or project fairly quickly, finding ways to maintain motivation along the way becomes imperative.

Ways to Maintain External Motivation

1. Body doubling (i.e. working alongside someone) to study or work on a project

2. Breaking down a large task into smaller, more doable tasks

3. Learning in bursts by incorporating frequent breaks based on a personal attention cycle (i.e. 30 minutes on, 5 minutes off)

4. Pairing tasks with external pleasures - snacks, music, fidget toys, company.

Don’t be afraid to get creative!

While those with ADHD struggle to control thoughts, attention, and behavior, many are able to navigate difficult decisions and tasks using creativity, allowing for innovative ideas, divergent thinking, and a sense of fulfillment during difficult challenges.

• Create a vision board or other visual representation of goals and planning

• Incorporate colors and visuals (sticky notes, markers, drawings, boxes to categorize) to make tasks less monotonous

• Change the environment as needed - outside, library, a friend’s living room

• Make small tasks into a game by adding rules or challenges

• Engage in movement - dancing, pacing, going for a walk

• Use non-distracting fidgets

• Incorporate self-care (hobbies, alone time, self-interests) daily to maintain emotional balance

For those with ADHD, it can be hard to complete a task, let alone initiate it. Though medication intervention and one-on-one guidance are useful, staying motivated is a challenge that many still find daunting to overcome. Learning what works for someone (or yourself) takes time, trial and error, and looks different for everyone. Be gentle to the process and hang in there!