Most "coping strategies" lists give you the same advice repackaged. Here are 12 strategies grounded in what we know about executive function, dopamine, and the actual neuroscience of ADHD.
Getting started
1. The 5-minute on-ramp
Don't commit to the task. Commit to 5 minutes. Task initiation is the hardest part because your prefrontal cortex can't generate activation energy on demand. Five minutes lowers the threshold. Once you're moving, momentum carries you.
2. Body doubling
Work near another person — in person or on video. Their presence provides the external regulation your brain can't generate alone.
3. Externalize everything
If it's in your head, it's at risk. Write it down, set a timer, tell someone. Your working memory holds 4-5 items. Your notebook holds unlimited.
Managing time
4. Visual timers
Time blindness means you can't feel time passing. Visual timers — countdown bars, sand timers — give your eyes something to track. UpOrbit's timeline was built on this.
5. Transition buffers
Build 10-15 minutes between activities. Close the current thing. Stand up. Get water. Look at what's next. Without this, you lose 30+ minutes to the unstructured gap.
6. Energy matching
Tag tasks as high, medium, or low energy. Do hard things during your peak. Three aligned hours beat eight mismatched ones. More on this.
Emotional regulation
7. Name the feeling
"I'm overwhelmed" or "I'm in a shame spiral" activates your prefrontal cortex and reduces amygdala intensity. Labeling creates distance.
8. The dopamine menu
Pre-build a list of activities sorted by effort that reliably give your brain a boost. Have it ready for when motivation disappears.
9. Celebrate comebacks, not streaks
Forget streaks. Track returns. Came back after a week off? That took more effort than day 47. Give it more credit.
Building structure
10. Anchor to objects, not time
"After I pour coffee, I take meds" works. "At 7:15, take meds" doesn't. Physical anchors are reliable.
11. One system, not five
Pick one capture tool and commit. A mediocre system you use beats a perfect system spread across five platforms.
12. Build for failure
Your system will break. The best systems are easy to come back to, not hard to fall off of. That's how UpOrbit is designed.