ADHD and Procrastination, Part 3: Effort

In Part 1 of my series about ADHD and procrastination, I introduced Dr. Thomas E. Brown’s executive function model for ADHD.

In my last article, I spoke about procrastination and how focus challenges can lead us down a path of avoidance.

The third common EF challenge that Thomas E. Brown discusses in his book, Smart but Stuck, is “Effort.”

He explains effort in terms of “regulating alertness, sustaining effort, and processing speed.”

Regulating Alertness:
Regulating alertness can undoubtedly be tricky when one has a tough time falling asleep on time. This is a common refrain from many ADHDers. Drowsiness, though, may occur during a mundane or sedentary task, even if someone got plenty of sleep the night before. Dr. Brown mentions that this drowsiness can especially appear when one must do a task that requires very little movement, such as writing or reading. Given the situational variability of ADHD, though, if the subject matter is of substantial interest, the ADHDer will not experience this symptom. They may be able to hyperfocus for hours because the task is of interest. If the interest is low, though, they may find it hard to stay alert; try as they might.  

Most individuals I meet do not enjoy dealing with paperwork. They find it monotonous. It also requires a lot of sitting still and reading. Imagine that an individual needs to organize his papers before a friend comes over to help him get a better understanding of his financial situation. This individual may procrastinate on pulling the necessary papers together because he knows that if he waits until the last minute, he will feel sufficient urgency to stay alert while doing the task.  The challenge with this strategy is that the individual risks running out of time and thus having an unproductive meeting with his friend, which will leave them both feeling dissatisfied.

In what other way could this individual raise the alertness without relying on stress? He may do exercise to raise his energy level right before sitting down to the task. Not only will he feel more alert, but he may be able to better focus afterward as well. He can turn on music that energizes him and wakes up his senses. He might sort the papers while slowly walking on a treadmill under his desk. He might race the clock to create some artificial interest. Perhaps he sprints through the task in many lighting rounds. All of these tactics help raise the alertness to get the job done.

Sustaining Effort:
Someone with ADHD may have trouble staying on the course until they reach a goal. In the example above, the individual sits down to organize the papers but has difficulty continuing the monotonous task long enough to complete it. He may abandon the ship sooner than required to complete the task. Without an immediate reward, the individual may procrastinate on returning to the task after a break because his friend is not coming over for another week. The reward of feeling relief after meeting with his friend is too far in the future to make a difference.

In this case, he can set up multiple short sprints of paper sorting. Each session would last as long as he could remain focused. He may raise interest by creating a more immediate reward. Better yet, he may reward himself for each sprint. In this way, he does not have to wait for the distant future reward of feeling that anticipated sense of relief after meeting with his friend.

Processing Speed:
ADHD may affect how quickly one processes information. In an area of low interest, it can take someone much longer to read or write than their neurotypical counterpart. The low interest may not only feel boring but also take quite a bit of time to complete. If the individual who must sort his papers is unaware of this, he may severely underestimate how long the task will take. He risks not having the paperwork project completed before his friend arrives. In this case, he can do himself a favor by tripling or quadrupling his initial time estimate. When he catches himself wanting to procrastinate, his new estimate will reveal less time available than he initially thought he had.  

Does this executive function of effort create a challenge for you? If so, can you pinpoint which three subcategories (regulating alertness, sustaining effort, and processing speed) are present? If so, then go ahead and create multiple strategies so you can sustain your efforts long enough to reach your goals and feel great as a result!

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