Another Q from the Q&A bucket I get a lot is “How do you manage to get so much done when you have unmedicated ADHD?“

First off, I find this hilarious. Why does everyone assume that if you have ADHD you are dysfunctional? Get rid of that notion immediately because it’s bullshit. And I’m calling you out on your ignorance of that fact. Yes, having ADHD makes this more difficult for small children that have not been taught discipline, but it’s totally doable and workable. If you know someone with it that has not developed discipline or not been trained to have self-discipline, then it’s likely going to make you miserable trying to “calm them down”. We’ll come back to that.

If you are someone with ADHD and you’re trying to go au naturale, this is where you need to be. I’ve been unmedicated all of my life, and undiagnosed for a good deal of it. I’ve got a mountain of tricks to pull from, not all of which will be published here, and an even bigger mountain of discipline for you to learn from and be inspired by.

Tip 1: Stop thinking there is something wrong with you. Instead, embrace ADHD as your superpower.

You know that feeling of absolute crazy you get when you have too much energy and can’t sit still? People envy that. They want to bottle that energy up and store it away for their own use. That envy means it’s your bloody superpower, not something to stop with a pill and scolding. What you need is training and discipline to harness that superpower so you can use it for good, not evil.

To the outside world, this is what we look like:

In this case, good is where you can direct all that energy to build your empire, evil being where you are a scattered brained squirrel looking for last season’s lost nuts.

 Discipline and training comes in a myriad of forms. Not all of which will work 100% of the time. You’ll feel like you should invest in some life coach who sounds great, feels like a perfect match… and then get bored and wander off wasting hundreds of dollars, if not thousands. But, this training and direction is often needed, especially if you have had none so far in your life other than “well-meaning” teachers and elders telling you to sit the hell down, stay still, and shut the fuck up.

But you also have energy. Lots. Of. It. I’m talking so much that you drive yourself batty if you’re not careful, and then you go and do something crazy for a while. (I usually end up dancing wildly around for a while looking like a one-woman mosh pit.) So, discipline feels like it’s so far out of the realm of possibilities right now you’re not sure what to do.

Stop. Just think of ADHD as your superpower. You’ve got the energy to figure all this out, and the capacity. Now, you need to build the discipline.

1. Start small. If you’re really bad like I am, start with just a section of the day and focus on containing yourself and directing all those energies where you want them to go. I do this when I first wake up because that’s when I’m the least scattered. However, you may find that you’re more relaxed in the evening and that’s the best time to commit to focusing on discipline.
2. Meditate. Yes, that hippy shit? It works — but don’t sit down. Stand up and move. Find your meditation happy place in moving meditation while you move to a beat, walk around in nature, or go even go for a swim. The point is to get your mind connected to your body and your body connected to your mind. You should practise mindfulness as often as you can to make this connection so you’re not repeatedly doing crazy things without thinking. (Ahem, put that box of cookies down.)
3. Repeat these two things as often as you need to. Sometimes this will be multiple times a day. Sometimes you will be good to skip a day before you start to lose it again. Sometimes you’ll love the routine so much that you form a ritual around it that makes your neighbours raise their eyebrows — especially if it includes yodelling. What? Don’t judge.

While those three steps are all you need, I find that daily exercise is the key component to getting your energy to a maintainable level so you can focus for longer periods.

Train like you’ve got a fire in you every day to teach yourself focus. If you can find a mentor that can whip it into you, even better. I use martial arts with a fairly strict master to kick my ass in shape and my mind in gear. That’s not everyone’s style, though. I recommend anyone dealing with ADHD join some sort of structured sport. Anything from dance to baseball to rugby to MMA to Crossfit. Not videos, not the gym, but a real class with real classmates and most importantly, a real instructor. This will make you more accountable to your group, which will in turn benefit you by training your own superpower. You’ll gain focus, discipline, and better health. Who can really complain about that?

Remember, ADHD is a superpower. And like any superpower can be a curse if not properly trained to use it for good.

Tip 2: The Master List will post next week. But until then, share your wisdom of what keeps you sane, healthy, and happy. ADHD or not.