Managing Adult ADHD: Tools and Strategies That Actually Work
One thing I see often with my clients is the search for new tools and strategies to make life easier. As an Occupational Therapist, I tell a lot of my clients:
that new pretty planner will not get rid of your ADHD no matter how much you want it to.
No matter how many new tools and strategies we try, we will still have ADHD. This means we need to learn to manage ADHD. Managing ADHD isn’t about forcing discipline or willpower. It’s about learning how your brain works and unlearning how you think it should work. This helps us build systems that actually support ADHD symptoms, rather than fighting against them.
Let’s talk about what that really looks like, beyond planners and productivity hacks, but from a management lens that’s realistic, specific, and tangible.
First things first: ADHD management ≠ fixing ADHD
There’s a huge difference between trying to “fix” your ADHD and learning how to manage life with ADHD.
ADHD management is about understanding your needs, experimenting with tools, and adjusting the environment, not trying to become a different person.
This mindset shift is where most of our clients start to see real progress. When you stop viewing yourself as the problem, you can finally start building systems that work with you.
Step 1: Get curious about your ADHD patterns
Before you jump into tools, we need to start with observation. What’s actually happening day-to-day?
Notice:
When you focus best (time of day, environment, type of task, activities before/after)
What drains your energy & what energizes you
Which tasks you avoid… and why (too big, boring, unclear, emotionally heavy?)
How transitions or unexpected changes impact you
Does having other people around make it easier to start or focus, or does it make it harder
Where is it easy to do this task
This info becomes your “data.” You’re essentially running a little experiment on your brain… kindly, without judgment. An Occupational Therapist can help you identify your personalized patterns, as well as the activity or environmental factors that support or hinder you.
Once you know your patterns, and how to check in with yourself, you can start to choose supports that match your energy, symptoms, environments, and activities optimally.
Step 2: Design scaffolds, not rules for ADHD brains
ADHD management is easier when your systems are flexible and forgiving. Think scaffolding, not strict rules.
Some examples:
Instead of “I’ll exercise every day,” try “I’ll put my yoga mat out where I see it.”
Instead of “I’ll meal prep Sundays,” try “I’ll choose one food that makes my week easier.”
Instead of “I’ll focus for 3 hours,” try “I’ll work for one Pomodoro, then check in with myself.”
The goal isn’t perfection, it’s creating a structure that supports you even when executive function dips (because it will).
Step 3: Match Your ADHD Tools to Your Symptoms
One of the best ways to work with your ADHD brain (instead of against it) is to externalize your support… this means taking things out of your head and putting them into the world around you. It’s about compensating or accommodating for your unqiue symptoms rather than trying to push them away.
Here are some practical and neurodivergent friendly tools that target specific ADHD challenges
ADHD Challenge: Procrastination
ADHD Tools that help:
Chunking: Break tasks into smaller steps that are actually manageable. Read about my love-hate feelings on chunking here.
Use a procrastination check in tool: figure out WHY it’s hard to start the task. Picking from a list is easier than thinking of one from scratch. Once we know why we cannot start the task, it can be a lot easier to target with the right tool or strategy. Use this free tool here.
ADHD Challenge: “Time Blindness” or losing track of time
ADHD Tools that help:
Visual timers or alarms: Give your brain a clear cue when it’s time to start, stop, or switch activities.
Recurring calendar events and automations: Take the pressure off remembering the repetitive stuff (like paying bills or taking meds).
ADHD Challenge: Prioritization & Multi-Step Tasks
ADHD Tools that help:
“Yes or No” tasks: Write tasks so you can clearly say “yes, I did it” or “no, I didn’t.”
Example: Instead of “Work on presentation,” try “Choose topic,” “Make 2 intro slides,” or “Ask manager for attendee list.”
This helps reduce decision fatigue and makes progress feel more concrete
Visual task boards (physical or digital): These let you see what’s next, track progress, and offload details from your working memory.
Task manager apps: Choose one that lets you show only today’s and overdue tasks. Hiding tasks for later can prevent overwhelm and help you focus on what actually matters right now.
ADHD Challenge: Working memory & Losing ideas before you can write them down
ADHD Tools that help:
Voice notes: Capture thoughts on the go when ideas come fast and your hands can’t keep up.
Voice to text software: Use built-in tools (like your phone’s dictation, Google Docs voice typing, or apps like Otter.ai) to turn your spoken ideas into written words instantly. This helps bridge the gap between idea generation and execution before your working memory drops the thought.
ADHD Challenge: Implementing and Keeping Routines
ADHD Tools that help:
Environmental cues: Place reminders where you’ll naturally see them, like keeping medication next to your coffee mug or gym shoes by the door.
Habit stacking: Link a new habit to one you already do automatically. For example, “After I brush my teeth, I’ll take my vitamins,” or “After I start the coffee maker, I’ll review my to-do list.” This technique uses your existing routines as anchors, making new habits easier to remember and sustain.
Why this works for neurodivergent brains:
These tools are all ways of outsourcing your executive function: the mental “manager” that organizes, plans, and remembers. Instead of trying to make your ADHD brain work harder, you’re building support to compensate for challenges so life feels easier and more consistent.
Step 4: Build in recovery time, BEFORE you burn out
ADHD management is all about managing our energy and our unique demands.
Rest isn’t optional; it’s part of the system. If you don’t schedule it in, your body will do it for you (AKA crash days).
Try creating a few “micro-rest” moments during the day like listening to music, stretching, stepping outside, sensory breaks, or even just lying in the dark truly doing nothing. These help regulate the nervous system before overwhelm builds up.
If shorter rest periods feel not possible, or not effective in restoring energy, motivation, or focus, then burnout symptoms may already be here. This is a signal to scale back our systems and activities, not pile on more.
Step 5: Get Neurdivergent-Affirming support
ADHD management is not something you have to do alone. In fact, external support can make ADHD management possible.
Working with an occupational therapist, therapist, or ADHD coach can help you:
Identify what’s realistic (and what’s rooted in old “shoulds”)
Explore tools that match your lifestyle
Build your understanding of your current patterns, symptoms, challenges, and strengths
Learn regulation strategies for overwhelm or rejection sensitivity
Build systems that last beyond the initial motivation burst
Management of ADHD isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters in a way that’s sustainable for you.
You’re allowed to build systems that look unconventional like sticky notes everywhere, five alarms, body doubling, working later in the day, flexible structure, whatever works.
