Put Down Your Weapon of Mass Distraction
And use a timer instead
One of the best tips for getting stuff done when you are neurospicy is to use a timer. And not the one on your phone. If you use the one on your phone, you’ll end up replying to a message, noticing a notification, or doomscrolling.
Put down the phone, at least for a little while.
I’ve known about the power of timers since my mum used to use a kitchen timer when my brother and I were gaming as kids.
As many of you know, time is slippery when gaming. This is especially true when you’re in a two-player game and it’s just so much fun being competitive and beating your younger brother every time (just me?). I’m looking at you Road Rash on the Sega Mega Drive.
I rediscovered the power of using time when I wrote my first book. It’s a technique I still use, and I think I’ve turned myself into one of Pavlov’s dogs.
This is how it goes; I have a piece of music that is one hour long. No vocals. I wouldn’t call it instrumental, because it’s more electronic. Almost dance/house in rhythm. But it is kind of orchestral because it peaks and flows and changes through the track. It warms me up, getting me in the flow state. Then it brings me down again.
The most similar types of tracks are binaural beat things, but they are a perpetual and repetitive sound. There are no crescendos, etc. Perhaps Alanis Morissette’s meditation album, The Storm Before the Calm would work well. I heard this recently and I could feel myself getting in the zone.
Anyway, I can write a thousand words an hour listening to this. I’m using it for edits too and I can get two or three pages done. But editing is taking me longer, so I may listen twice, and have a break in-between.
BUT even the smallest amounts of time can be productive. Let’s bring it back to the kitchen timer.
I’ve recently been seeing a medical herbalist for some health conditions. (side note- it’s brilliant seeing someone who treats the whole person rather than just the symptom) I’m getting on incredibly well with the herbs I’m taking. One thing the herbalist1 prescribes for me is a tea blend that I must steep for 10 minutes and take three times a day. Enter my trusty kitchen timer.
Reader, this is when the magic happens.
I set up the infusion, set the timer, and then I have 10 minutes. Ten whole minutes. It’s amazed me what I can get done in this small amount of time. Having this tea three times a day also means I’m getting half an hour that I probably would fritter away otherwise.
So I’ll empty the dishwasher. Or clean the sink and drainer, or mop the kitchen floor, wipe down the worktop and cabinets, empty the bins and take them outside, or prep some veg for a meal later that day, or empty the washing machine, or clean the toilet, or I might just stand there and do some on-the-spot exercise and stretching.
All these things can feel like too much to do for an ADHD brain. They feel overwhelming because you know all the steps that go into a massive cleaning session, for example. But this 10-minute window translates in the following way.
There’s no pressure to do a huge and brilliant job. Done is better than perfect.
There’s an element of challenge, a race against the clock. We love proving people wrong- including ourselves.
It’s only ten minutes; there’s a very close-by endpoint to the task.
There’s a reward at the end. For me, my tasty herbal tea. For you, it might be something else.
Honestly, get a kitchen timer. Get one that ticks loudly and has a bell. These audio triggers are so helpful in adding the urgency we need. Here’s the one I use. It’s from Cats Protection UK.
