As some will know, ADHD doesn’t lend itself well to routines and consistency. I have some basic skills that I can apply here and there, but I always seem to lack the consistency to keep at it well enough. Or maybe there’s other related roadblocks I don’t even realize.
If anyone with ADHD has gotten pretty good at mnemonics (without it being one of your hyperfocuses/dopamine buttons), what advice would you offer for staying consistent, getting enough memory palaces, and methods or ways you might approach mnemonics differently than others?
Habit Stacking with the memory technique of linking one action to another.
For example,
Day 1) wake up → get out of bed
Day 2) wake up → get out of bed → see the sun to wake up
Day 3) wake up → get out of bed → see the sun to wake up → enjoy the morning sun on your skin
Day 4) …add doing an exercise
etc
Another thing has been GROWTH MINDSET. If you know that something won’t be fun at first, but if you can simply do the first step, that helps a lot. Further, there’s this secret where if something isn’t fun at first, but if we keep at it, eventually it can become enjoyable.
An example is the morning run. At first, I HATED it. But after doing it for a while, I just don’t feel right if I don’t get my vitamin D and early morning sunlight.
So the same applies with exercise of any kind.
A key part of this process is to BE IN THE MOMENT and focus on what you are doing.
Thus, don’t confuse your body by mixing activities. If you run with headphones, you’ll be dependent on those headphones and not training your body to enjoy specifically running.
If you COUNT while stretching, you won’t be focusing fully on the sensations of stretching.
I hope this helps! It certainly helped me a lot in life.
Actually, to really get going on running I did another thing, which was to count whenever I felt a resistance to something and put one of my major system characters into my virtual cookie jar. I was collecting them like Pokemon. Come to think of it, maybe I should start that again; “Do something every day that makes you uncomfortable” - Dave Goggins.
Thanks for the input. Some of that sounds like mindfulness, which is an area of focus, and some just sound extremely difficult. Is all of this something you used to combat your ADHD?
My bit about habit stacking is nothing to do with focus.
But it’s true that if your mind is scattered, it’s harder to actually make the process enjoyable.
People manage to do it though. I did it. David Goggins did it inextrmeis and he had pretty extreme adhd.
Edit: I should listen and think more. Adhd can be pretty debilitating. Better to address that than think about mnemonics.
As you probably know, It’s a dopamine thing. Possible instant fix is a ice bath. Agitating the gut with a jog or exercise might help to release serotonin, which in turn might help dopamine. Eha/dha fatty acids might help; some people can’t digest them well or convert saturated fat to what they need, maybe due to inherited a microbiome change from antibiotics. Finally, b vitamins.
Other things: freediving, adrenaline sports, nature and feeling small. Generally getting aware from the city and modern life is a big help
Some of these things will start to help dopamine, and when they do, it gives you feedback for a virtuous cycle.
The key thing I wanted to share in my precious comment is the effect where something not fun can become fun just through exposure. That’s next level stuff and really a game changer, changing my whole perspective on life personally, because before this I had no idea how successful people manage to do what they do.