the biggest mistake I made when I was younger was thinking that I was lazy no I had ADHD but despite having a neurodevelopmental disorder as soon as I implemented these six steps Not only was I able to graduate medical school and get my dream job as a doctor in London no no no no no I did it all whilst growing a six figure business these are all the productivity strategies that have been my backbone for everything I have done to succeed whilst having a ADHD time stamped as always if you would like to skip so hello so those of you that are diagnosed with ADHD maybe trying to get diagnosed with ADHD or simply a little bit suspicious that you could be neuros spicy this rut that you're in right now does not need to last forever and I'm going to do everything in my power to grab you by your hands and yank you out of it section one turn in ADHD into your secret weapon this is going to be the most controversial section and for good reason your ADHD is not glamorous you're at a high risk of developing mental health conditions if you haven't experienced that already you've probably made a fair few impulsive decisions in your time some of them may have ruined your life and you probably feel like you're lazy or you're wasting your potential and I know this because I've experienced every single one of those things and honestly it wasn't until about a year or two ago that I finally managed to get to grips and not only tame my ADHD brain but master all the things that make it unique and could even set you apart from everyone else so what are the research backed strengths to having ADHD yes I said research backed number one hyperfocus if you've ever experienced a sudden surge to declutter everything or rearrange your entire room when you have an Shu the next day you may have experienced ADHD hyperfocus ADHD hyperfocus is this intense state of concentration and absorption that people with ADHD may experience during hyperfocus you may become completely engrossed in a task or activity which is wonderful however it is often to the exclusion of everything else that's important ignoring your responsibilities is not good however your ability to intensely focus is the ultimate productivity secret weapon when used correctly number two your creativity Research indicates that adults with ADHD May be better equipped to perform highly in Creative roles compared to non ADHD peers number three your adaptability now I mentioned some of the negatives associated with ADHD at the beginning of this section but those negatives often mean that we have to develop strategies to manage the everyday struggles of daily life that others simply don't have to deal with but how can you leverage these unique strengths without letting the negatives overpower them so first you need to understand understand how to harness hyperfocus and to understand how to harness hyperfocus you need to understand my friend Flow State I basically talk about Flow State in every single one of my videos and there is a reason for that flow State happens when you've been working on a task for about 15 to 20 minutes without any distractions and you become so fully immersed it might even start to become enjoyable the key there of course is making sure you have no distractions which is virtually impossible with your dopamine seeking ADHD brain you already know that your phone is your worst enemy if you have ADHD it's like a dopamine machine so if you're hoping to get anything done I suggest you do at least one of the following put your phone on silent kind of the most basic option number two personalized do not disturb modes I have a do not disturb mode on my phone that goes on automatically between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. I call this my digital fast and then I also have an automatic do not just disturb that goes on automatically when I arrive at work at 9:00 a.m. in the building where I work this way I don't even have to motivate myself or remind myself to remove distractions my phone does it for me and finally get to no Forest if you don't have Forest downloaded already this is an app on your phone where you set a timer for how long you want to stay off your phone for and during that time it grows an imaginary tree if you go on your phone the imaginary tree die and I'm sure you're thinking F why do I care about an imaginary tree I have no idea but trust me it works next way you're going to leverage your ADHD brain is seeking out creative roles this does not mean you need to be the next Pablo Picasso for years I thought that I wasn't a creative person because I was rubbish at Art but creativity is so much more than that it's about being able to think outside the box and problem solve whether that's business scientific research or marketing or whatever else interests you use your naturally creative brain to your advantage and the last way you're going to leverage your ADHD brain is by using your problem solving skills to find the most efficient path to achieving your goals my inherent ADHD trait of struggling to sit still and getting bored really easily is actually the reason that I was able to do well in my exams at Medical School and get my dream job as a doctor in London because I hated reading to study thus I needed to find a method of studying that got me the same results in half the time and it was my neurodevelopmental disorder that led me there people with ADHD like shortcuts that's often why we got in trouble when we were at school but in adult life it often means that we innovate and we achieve our goals in half the time as everyone else if you want to see my full study rou routine that I used in medical school I will leave the link down below so that you can watch after this one section two the routine Paradox structured chaos for Success your ADHD brain might hate the idea of a mundane routine but I promise you it's what you need Studies have shown that adults with ADHD who implemented structured routines into their lives reported significant improvements in time management organization and overall quality of life routines provide external structure and predictability which can compensate for internal regulatory challenges faced by people with ADHD leveraging technology can be particularly helpful in creating and maintaining consistent routines in people with ADHD if you're currently struggling to stay organized and focused a tool that I recently discovered that has been a lifesaver is Exiles it's not just another another productivity app it's a fresh visually appealing workspace designed specifically for those with ADHD and creative minds what sets xiles apart is its flexibility and ease of use it's a bit like having a digital bullet Journal but so much more powerful you start with a simple page and can quickly transform it into an organized workspace the drag and drop interface makes it incredibly intuitive and you can choose from a variety of templates that work like building blocks for your ideas one of my favorite features of xiles is how it helps you organize information you can create cre collections that connect different pages making it easy to keep track of related tasks and projects and when it comes to being productive and getting things done xiles has you covered with inbuilt calendars task managers and of course a mobile friendly notes system what I love most about Exiles is how it empowers your creativity whilst taking care of all the nitty-gritty details and it's not just about organizing it's about thinking in a completely different way you can freely brainstorm and ideate knowing Exiles will help you transform those ideas into actionable tasks and here's the best part Exiles is designed to help you achieve work life balance you can manage both your work projects and personal productivity in one app say goodbye to multiple apps and say hello to a more organized and streamlined life if you've tried other productivity tools like notion but found it a little bit overwhelming xiles may be the perfect solution it's built on proven productivity principles like par but presented in a much more accessible way if you're ready to revolutionize your productivity click the link in my description to try xiles completely for free trust me your ADHD brain will thank you routines just make life easier when tasks become routine they require less cognitive effort AKA brain power freeing up spacing your brain for other activities but there is a huge challenge I see time and time again when it comes to implementing routines if you have ADHD guilt let me explain while structure in routines is important research also highlights the importance of flexibility in the routines routines should allow for the spontaneity and variability associated with ADHD and as I discuss in my how to build a routine and stay consistent video that I will link down below the key to any good routine is to accept that one day it will fail your have a loved one's birthday and you won't work out or you'll go traveling and get back in your flat will be a mess or you'll get sick and you'll lose your daily gratitude habit and I bet when any of that happens you beat yourself up that ends today because you do not deserve your guilt to be holding you back from living a happier healthier more productive life because you missed a couple days and you can't recognize actually the huge success that it was to build up that routine in the first place and for you to rebuild your routine that took you so long to get right will be so much quicker to build up again than the first time round section three time wrangling taming the ADHD clock if you have no concept of time you're constantly late at everything even when you set all your clocks 15 minutes forward then you may have experienced something called time blindness time blindness in ADHD refers to difficulties accurately perceiving and managing time people with ADHD often struggle to estimate how long tasks will take lose track of time easily and struggle to plan ahead this can lead to chronic lateness missed deadlines poor time management procrastination and low productivity but what does the research say about evidence-based time management techniques for people with ADHD number one time tracking this is using apps or journals to log how much time a task actually takes for example I used to never actually know how long it would take me to edit a video because I would get so deep into a hyperfocus I wouldn't really pay much attention to when I started or when I finished which made it so much more difficult when I had a video that I had to upload by 600 p.m. because I didn't know how much time to allocate to get it done and even worse often I would think that I would still be able to get it up if I started at 5:00 p.m. now in my experience time tracking can interrupt hyperfocus which is why I love to use intuitive digital trackers like toggle track that actually syncs with your Google calendar or if I'm using Forest I tend to add a little tag to the timer which basically indicates what area of my life it is for when I was in medical school whether it was for studying or YouTube stuff or life admin number two using timers and alarms can be really helpful for some people in helping them stay on track and transitioning to new tasks personally this isn't my favorite because I like to get into a hyperfocus state and if an alarm goes off in the middle of my hyperfocus that might break it however I do always do this if I have to be somewhere and I can't be late so I'll do a timer 5 minutes before I have to leave 10 minutes before I have to leave 15 minutes before I have to leave and probably also half an hour before I have to leave to make sure that I do not lose track of time it could also be useful if you have the classic dilemma of having an appointment at 2 p.m. and being so scared to do anything before that time because you're worried you'll get distracted and miss the appointment because if you've got some Tim is and alarms going it might give you that security to allow you to get into a productive State before having something to do later on in the day number three time blocking this is literally just scheduling in slots of time for different activities to provide structure now the key with this is you need to know how long each task will take which is where digital AIDS like toggle tracker can come in and when you have a rough idea of how long a task takes you could then pop it in an Exiles page so you have a clear place to look to see how long each of your most commonly performed tasks take number four the pomodora method personally I never loved this because I felt like it interrupted hyperfocus however so many people find it really useful so I thought it was worth mention but it's basically working in focused 25 minute blocks and then having a short break in between five having visual schedules and calendars I use a life domain method that I detail in my how I make time for everything strategies for time management video that I will link down below six making sure that you're using prioritization methods to ensure that you're staying focused and not reorganizing your wardrobe when you have an SAU the next day a framework that's really helpful for this is the Eisenhower Matrix I will put on screen now basically you group tasks into four different quadrants so urgent and important this is what you need to get done straight away not urgent but important not urgent and not important and urgent but not important seven it's really important to build in buffer time in into your day this is allowing extra time to account for Transitions and unexpected delays it can also allow for any extra time you spent hyperfocusing because you felt in the zone and you didn't want to stop so when you're planning your day you could either add on 10 to 20 minutes at the end of each slot free or leave one or two hours at the end of the day to catch up on anything number eight I've said it before I'll say it again you need to get yourself into a consistent daily routine not only is this going to reduce decision fatigue but it's also going to improve time perception because if you do the same tasks every single day you're going to have a much better idea of how long each takes Section four environment engineering designing your productivity Paradise your brain is a dopamine and distraction craving machine you sit by a window and suddenly you're daydreaming about a business idea or having a conversation with someone you see a message pop up on your phone and you go to check it and before you know it it's 4 hours later and the entire time you've been scrolling down your Tik Tok feed you say you're going to take a break and make a snack but the next thing you know you've meal prepped for the entire week and deep cleaned your kitchen instead of writing your report that is due tomorrow never has your environment been more important than if you have ADHD research shows that distracting and disorganized environments can exacerbate in attention and impulsivity in individuals with ad h d conversely well structured and supportive environments can help manage symptoms and improve productivity so to optimize work and study spaces for ADHD number one you're going to create a distraction free environment declutter your desk earplugs Do Not Disturb mode on your phone and you are good to go it's also very important to create designated spaces for work and relaxation I learned this the hard way for many years in medical school I thought it would be a good idea to study in bed please don't do this having set purposes for different areas makes it so much easier for your brain to switch between work mode and relaxation mode creating an environment that's conducive for productivity when you have ADHD isn't just about your physical environment it's equally as important to curate your digital environment so using digital tools like ex tiles to stay organized Forest to keep you off your phone and even using a website blocker if you find that when you're on your laptop top you can go on websites like YouTube or even maybe Netflix when you get a little bit bored another useful tip for curating your environment is a tip I might have taken a little bit too far and that is to personalize your space to include elements that Inspire Focus or motivation for example every exam season I would change my laptop background and my phone background to something that would encourage me to study which most years was a plain blue background that said studying sucks less than failing and it was actually quite effective how I took this tip a little bit too far is I ended up getting a quote from Legally Blonde tattooed on my arm so just there it says what like it's hard which is an Infamous quote from lwoods and the reason that was there is when I was failing my exams when I was 17 and 18 if I'm being completely honest I think I got pretty depressed and every day I would come home and like a little bit of a comfort blanket I'd put on the YouTube recording of Legally Blonde the musical and lie in bed and quite frankly feel about myself they're saying what like it's hard just represented in a little bit of a comical way all these really really hard things that I have done which the girl who used to watch Legally Blonde back because she was too depressed to get out of bed would have never thought was possible and I showed myself I was capable of doing hard things so just before I start my fourth year exams I got this tattooed on my arm so that every single time I was struggling with my studying I could look down at my arm and remember all the hard things I have done and I am capable of doing as I said I did take that one a little bit far you can just change your laptop and phone screen saver section five the body brain connection I'm going to tell you something that I wish someone had told me sooner because it took me way too long to work out for myself what you want and what you need are two very different things you may want to curl up in a ball and watch Netflix all day because you're so overwhelmed with your to-do list and I would love to tell you that that's going to help you be more productive but that would be a lie exercise can increase dopamine levels which may help alleviate symptoms of ADHD and improve cognitive function as little as 10 minutes of yoga or cycling May improve impulsivity in people with ADHD improve moving focus and task completion even quick exercise interventions like running or skipping or jumping for 5 to 10 minutes can have a positive effect on ADHD related behaviors so keeping a skipping rope in your desk for every time you might hit a productivity roadblock might be a good idea some Studies have shown that exercise May improve executive function attention motor skills and cognitive flexibility in people with ADHD leading to improve improved productivity if you do not currently have an exercise routine and you have ADHD get started however that looks for you exercise can be team sports exercise that makes you forget that you're exercising yoga gentle stretching walking cycling to work getting a standing desk suggesting Walkin meetings instead of sat down meetings absolutely anything you find enjoyable and can help you sustain a daily movement habit that will likely have the greatest effect on your ADHD symptoms than anything other than medication section six the mystifying mindfulness a study with adult and Adolescent individuals with ADHD who attended a two-month mindfulness course showed significant improvements in ADHD symptoms and performance and another study even found that a single meditation Session One meditation session can positively affect psychology in individ idual with ADHD mindfulness can improve productivity in people with ADHD in a variety of ways number one improved detention and focus mindfulness trains the brain to sustain attention for a long period of time two reduce stress and anxiety because we know that high levels of stress can make symptoms of ADHD worse three enhanced executive functioning mindfulness can help you be more organized better with time and better at planning and finally mindfulness can even improve your working memory but if you are terrified by the concept of mindfulness because it has been completely over Complicated by social media then let me introduce you to five simple mindfulness activities that anyone can Implement into their daily life number one breathing awareness you're literally just going to sit and focus on your inhale and exhale for a couple of minutes number two body scans this is literally where you just gradually pay attention to different areas of your body noticing how each area feels three mindful walking just take yourself out for a trot and be present focusing on each step for the five senses exercise potentially one of my favorites pause and notice five things that you can see four things that you can touch three things that you can hear two things that you can smell and one thing that you can taste finally mindful eating the next time you have a snack eat it slowly paying attention to The Taste texture and smell it's literally that simple to practice mindfulness for short bursts of time every single day to reduce your ADHD symptoms and improve productivity now you know how to be productive with ADHD but you might be a student and want to know the study methods that I used to graduate medical school and get my dream job as a doctor in London if so I will link that video here and there will be a video specifically recommended just for you based on what your interested in just below if you enjoyed the video please don't forget to like comment subscribe I read all your comments and I love to see suggestions for new videos I hope you have a wonderful wonderful wonderful week and I will see you in the next video