ADHD and Motivation

# title: "Understanding and Overcoming Motivation Deficits in ADHD"

Key takeaways:

1. ADHD is a "motivation deficit disorder" that makes it difficult to cross the "Motivation Bridge" between intention and action.
2. ADHD brains require different motivators, such as urgency, novelty, and personal interest, to overcome motivation gaps.
3. Strategies like making tasks urgent, novel, or personally interesting can help fill in the motivation gaps and increase productivity.

# Understanding Motivation Deficits in ADHD

• ADHD is a "motivation deficit disorder" that affects the ability to bridge the gap between intention and action.
• The "Motivation Bridge" is built using motivational planks like "This will be good for my career," "It will make my family proud," or "I told a bunch of people I would."
• For people with ADHD, the bridge is often missing half of the planks, making it difficult to overcome motivation gaps.

# The Importance of Understanding Motivation Deficits

• Not understanding ADHD motivation deficits can lead to frustration and confusion for both individuals with ADHD and those around them.
• It's essential to recognize that ADHD brains work differently and require different motivators to overcome motivation gaps.

# Strategies for Overcoming Motivation Deficits

• Make it urgent:
  • Create artificial deadlines or accountability to increase motivation.
  • Recognize the importance of tasks and how they impact the rest of the week.
• Make it new or novel:
  • Do tasks in new environments or in new ways.
  • Iterate on tasks to find easier, better, or faster ways to do them.
  • Use gamification to make repetitive tasks more engaging.
• Make it personally interesting:
  • Find ways to make tasks more interesting or relevant to personal goals.
  • Use rewards that are interesting and immediate to increase motivation.
  • Recognize that ADHD brains are interest-based learners and require personal interest to stay motivated.

# Conclusion

• Filling in the motivation gaps requires understanding what motivates ADHD brains and using strategies to make tasks more urgent, novel, and personally interesting.
• By doing so, individuals with ADHD can overcome motivation deficits and increase productivity.
• It's essential to approach motivation deficits with curiosity and understanding, rather than frustration and judgment.

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