Thoroughly ADHD
I'm Alex Delmar, a certified ADHD coach and person with ADHD. I'm here to share what I've learned so other people with ADHD can enjoy better lives!
Thoroughly ADHD
The ADHD Brain's Motivation Manual: Urgency, Interest, and Novelty
Motivation isn't just elusive for those with ADHD—it operates fundamentally differently. As someone living with ADHD and coaching others through similar challenges, I've seen how conventional advice to "just push through" consistently fails us.
The ADHD brain needs specific conditions to engage: urgency, interest, or novelty. This explains why we often start projects at the last possible minute and struggle with tasks others find simple. Rather than fighting this neurological reality, we can work with it. For urgency, you might create artificial deadlines, use timers, or schedule accountability check-ins. To boost interest, try playing music, using colorful tools, or transforming mundane tasks into games. And for novelty, simply changing locations or methods can make a tremendous difference in your ability to start and sustain work.
Social strategies prove particularly effective for many with ADHD. Accountability partnerships create external motivation when internal drive is lacking. Body doubling—having someone present while you work, even virtually—can dramatically improve focus without requiring their direct help. Combined with breaking tasks into smaller steps, implementing modified time-management techniques, and creating personal reward systems, these approaches form a comprehensive toolkit for ADHD motivation. The goal isn't to force neurotypical motivation patterns but to honor your brain's unique wiring while still accomplishing what matters to you. Take a moment to try one strategy this week and notice the difference it makes in your productivity and wellbeing.
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If you have ADHD, you understand why it's been referred to as a disorder of doing. You've probably spent the time you should have been working on something doing literally anything else, or staring at a blank page or paralyzed on the sofa, wondering why can't you just get it done. Oh, I've been there. I'm Alex Delmar, a certified ADHD coach and person with ADHD. Welcome to Thoroughly ADHD, where I share what I've learned to help other people with ADHD enjoy better lives. Motivation can be elusive for anyone, but for those with ADHD, it often feels like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands. The traditional advice to just power through or push yourself harder tends not to work for us. So what can you do instead?
Alex Delmar:The short answer is that to motivate the ADHD brain, the task generally needs to be urgent, interesting or novel. The urgency aspect is why so many of us start projects mere hours before they are due. For tasks that don't have externally imposed deadlines, you can manufacture one, for example, by trying to beat a timer, turn the goal into a race plan, an activity that requires it be completed by a certain time, like hosting game night, or schedule someone to check in with you that the task is done.
Alex Delmar:S ome easy examples of making something more interesting are to play music, turn the task into a game or a competition, or even use different colored pens. Or you can think big picture and play to your strengths. You're much more likely to dive into tasks or reach for goals that you find personally rewarding. Keep that in mind when you sign up for projects, do volunteer work, divide up chores at home or think about career moves. You can try to make things feel novel by switching up locations, trying a different method, using a new gadget. Even something like changing the scent of your cleanser can help..
Alex Delmar:For many of us with ADHD, the most effective strategies involve other people, for instance, finding an accountability buddy. Having someone to check in with can help you keep on track. Ask a friend, family member or coach to hold you accountable by regularly checking on your progress. Knowing that someone else is expecting an update can provide the external motivation needed to follow through. Or try body doubling. This strategy involves having another person present while you work. They don't need to help with the task. Just their presence can help you stay focused and reduce distractions. You can do this in person or virtually.
Alex Delmar:If you feel overwhelmed, you can break a big task into bite-sized pieces. Instead of thinking about cleaning the entire house, focus on folding just one shirt. That small win can build momentum and trick your brain into thinking hey, I can do this. Or you can try the Pomodoro technique: Set a timer for 25 minutes and commit to working until it goes off. Take a 5 minute break, then restart the timer. This method helps reduce the pressure of starting and gradually builds momentum. I recommend you play around with the length of the work period. You might need more frequent breaks for some tasks, and I've used this method to get started on a task that I dread, but I just work until I get to a logical stopping point instead of when the timer goes off.
Alex Delmar:Make sure you celebrate your successes. Create a reward system to motivate yourself for tasks that don't naturally stimulate your dopamine response. Promise yourself a reward once you've completed a task, or even once you've started it for something that you find especially difficult. Associating rewards with completion can help mimic the dopamine hit that your brain may otherwise lack during unexciting tasks.
Alex Delmar:I'm Alex Delmar and this has been Thoroughly ADHD. I know your time is valuable, so I hope you found something useful here and that you'll like follow or subscribe and that you'll come back next Tuesday. Thank you.