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
No More Midnight Tears: The 6-Question Technique That Gets Things Done
The Kipling Method (5 W's and an H) isn't just for writing and research—it's a powerful framework for helping ADHD brains complete work or school assignments and DIY or passion projects successfully. By answering six key categories of questions before starting any task, you can avoid midnight tears and self-recrimination when facing unfinished work and impossible deadlines.
• Ask "who" questions to mitigate ADHD disorganization and take advantage of dopamine boosts from collaborating with others
• Identify your phone-a-friend, emergency contact, potential partners, and body doubling options before beginning
• Define exactly what the task entails and what materials/information you'll need
• Determine where to find necessary resources, where to work most effectively, and where to submit completed work
• Establish concrete timelines including deadlines, optimal work times, and realistic time estimates
• Consider how to make the work more engaging and how you'll reward yourself afterward
• Connect the task to your personal values to enhance motivation when challenges arise
• Students should establish class-specific support systems at the beginning of each term
• Always read assignment instructions twice and highlight key components to avoid missing credit
• Remind yourself of your personal "why" when feeling like quitting
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Most of us learn to use the Kipling method or 5 W's and an H approach for writing or research, but would you be surprised to know we can use those same six questions to set ourselves up for success in completing projects for our careers, for schoolwork, even hobbies and DIY projects? Using this technique should help you avoid those midnight sessions of tears and self-recrimination while faced with a half-done project and an impossibly close deadline, or at least that's been my experience. 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.
Alex Delmar:By the way, the object here is not to halt your impulsive urges to improve your environment or create something, but to increase the likelihood that when that mood strikes, you'll actually finish what you start. So here we go. There are who, what, where, when, why and how questions to answer before you begin any project.
Alex Delmar:The who questions are to mitigate the ADHD tendencies to be disorganized, to get stuck on minor details, to shy away from asking for help and to take advantage of the dopamine boost from working with someone else. The first one is "who is my phone-a-friend? This is the person you call when you get stuck my phone-a-friend. This is the person you call when you get stuck, so at work, it's likely to be a helpful, more experienced colleague or a search engine like Google. For a DIY project it's your handy neighbor. Or maybe a parent For students, a helpful classmate who can remind you what the assignment is and where to find the resources needed to complete it.
Alex Delmar:"Who is my emergency contact for when I'm completely lost or I've really messed up At work? Maybe your supervisor? For a DIY project, you might need to call in a professional handyman or a tradesperson handyman or a tradesperson and, if you're a student, a reputable educational site, a tutor, the instructor or the teaching
Alex Delmar:"Who
Alex Delmar:"If
Alex Delmar:Who can I "what with to complete this task? For work or for school presentations, it's most effective to partner with someone whose skill set and knowledge base complements yours, so you can each lead on the parts you are best at. For projects around the house. A friend with experience in similar tasks, or that handy neighbor, preferably someone you can return the favor in the future. Students should work with a partner for anything that needs memorization through repetition,
Alex Delmar:such as foreign languages"where vocabulary, words, formulas and processes. Any conscientious student taking the same class could be a good study, buddy. If I have to work independently, who can I body double to extend my focus? If
Alex Delmar:you work in an office, pretty much anyone productive is a good candidate. If "where work at home, there are websites that allow you to virtually co-work with another person For home projects. Youtube demonstration videos can keep you on track. Students can work in person or virtually alongside anyone who has their own quiet work to do.
Alex Delmar:There "when two what questions you need to address before beginning. The first is what is the task? Be realistic about the scope of the project and what it will entail, beginning to end. If someone else has assigned it to you, make sure you understand their expectations. The other question is what materials and information do I need? Mentally go through the steps or look them up and come up with a list of everything necessary to complete the task. Then you're into the where questions
Alex Delmar:when"how do I find that information and materials I need? Refer back to your list of required items and note where you can get them. Plan to gather everything you need before beginning to work.
Alex Delmar:If the task isn't dependent on a "hy, like painting the house, ask where is the best place for me to do this work and try to work in the setting that's most conducive to completing the activity. The last where question, if applicable, is where do I submit this when I'm done? Is it supposed to be emailed, or a shared document, or a hard copy left in a mailbox? You've done the work. You want to be sure to get credit for it. If it's a passion project, what platform will get you the most traction? What platform will get you the most traction?
Alex Delmar:The when questions obviously include anything related to time. For instance, by when does this need"who to be done? When is the best time for me to work on this? That's a concrete day and time you're committing to. Based on my previous experience, how long is it likely to take me to finish this? And if you expect it will take more than one work block, when am I going to realistically work on it? Next, again committing to a specific day and time. The how questions are how can I make this more fun or interesting or impose a sense of
Alex Delmar:urgency, and how will I reward myself when I'm done? These questions are crucial because they can determine your level of motivation to begin the work and ability to persevere to the end. Persevere to the end. Speaking of motivation, there is just one. Why question it's? Why am I doing this? If you
Alex Delmar:are clear on the benefits of doing the task, it can help motivate you, and it will be most effective if you can find a way, however circuitous, to relate completing the work to your values or something meaningful to you. .
Alex Delmar:Now here are some notes for students about homework. You only need to go through the who questions at the beginning of a new grading period or when you start a new class, but you need to answer them for each class and do it as soon as possible. Also, at "I beginning of each term, decide where are the best locations available to you to do your homework and when is the best time for you to do it. Determine what are the crucial supplies you need for these courses and put them all together in a caddy you can move around with you. Also,
Alex Delmar:come up with some immediate rewards for when you've completed your work, like 15 minutes of screen time for each assignment completed, a pat on the back and streaming, one minute of continuous applause, or making a check mark on a chart if you are
Alex Delmar:working towards a bigger reward. Whatever works for you Each day, before beginning your homework, make sure you understand what the assignment is. Read it through twice and underline or highlight key words. Also, double check when the assignment is due. Estimate how long it will probably take you based on previous similar work, and plan accordingly. Make note of where this teacher wants you to submit the assignment when it's done.
Alex Delmar:Students with ADHD waste a lot of time and energy on work they don't get credit for because they didn't follow the instructions. When you feel like quitting, it can be helpful to remind yourself why you're doing this assignment. This will be unique to you, but an example might be I need to get a C to stay on the team. I want to show my little sister with ADHD what is possible. I don't want to embarrass myself in class. Whatever will keep you on task for a little while longer. Class Whatever will keep you on task for a little while longer. I'm Alex Delmar and this has been Thoroughly ADHD. I know your time is valuable, so I hope you found this useful and that you'll like follow, subscribe, let us know how you're doing in the comments and come back next Tuesday. Thank you.