From a Maryland therapist specializing in anxiety and adult ADHD

Have you ever felt that feeling where you know you need to do all the work you need to do but can’t bring yourself to do it? It’s hard to pick up that pen and finish the hours of paperwork left on your desk or the endless amount of chores in your house? Let’s talk about…

What is motivation, anyway?

Simply put, it’s the desire to do something. We often have motivation to do things that are relaxing or fun (i.e. reading a new book by your favorite author or going axe throwing) but often struggle with motivation for tasks we find tiresome or boring. *Cough cough* work.

Motivation comes and goes. However, there are ways to create space and structures for ourselves to help increase the habit to do work. When we increase the habit, we increase motivation — the motivation is already built into our schedule and we don’t have to think about it.

Why is motivation harder for adults with ADHD?

Your ADHD brain functions completely differently when you are interested in a task than when you are not. Motivation is interest in doing something. Not interested? You’re not motivated! This is why adults with ADHD can be perceived as lazy or unmotivated.

Your ADHD brain is also highly motivated, or driven, to do tasks you find interesting. The trick is to discover some aspect of the task that makes it interesting to you. Or build enough of a habit that you can do the task on autopilot (like brushing your teeth or getting dressed). For more on unlocking the potential of your ADHD brain, click here.

How does anxiety block motivation?

Have you ever heard that “perfect is the enemy of done?” Your anxiety might lead you not to start a task unless you think you can get it just right. Or keep you working on it when you should be getting motivated to do something else.

As an adult with ADHD or anxiety, sometimes the challenges we face regarding motivation mean that we have to structure our work time carefully. But how do we get that done?

Try these three steps to jump start your motivation:

Step 1: Physically separate work from home

Do work in work areas and home in home areas. Have clear boundaries around your job and home. This primes your brain to attend to the right things at the right times.

Work from home? Or have to do leftover work at home? Pick a regular spot to work from — it could be a home office, the seat closest to the window at the dining room table, a spot on the kitchen island — and stick with it.

Make sure it’s not a space where you generally do other activities — don’t pick your bed or the couch where you normally kick up your feet and watch tv. Using a space for both leisure and work messes with our motivation. Especially for adults who have ADHD and/or anxiety, creating strong boundaries and structure is extremely important for increasing our motivation. So you don’t slip into doing something more fun when you are trying to concentrate on work.

Step 2: Schedule a time to do work

Scheduling a time to do work is an extremely effective way to increase motivation. Just like with sports and other kinesthetic activities, our habits are ingrained in our bodies. Building habits to work at certain times increases our motivation by making our working hours habitual.

Sometimes it’s hard as an adult with anxiety. Rather than nagging yourself to do your work, having a set time where you know you have to work gets you in the practice of working. Before you know it, it’s second nature (and you can stop yourself from thinking about doing work to actually doing work).

Step 3: Set reminders, especially if you have adult ADHD

This is a great one for those of us with challenges around forgetting. If you are an adult with ADHD, it’s great to have both a physical note reminder as well as phone reminders to help us remember the tasks we need to do (and when). Having a phone reminder is a great way to not let our work slip behind us, especially when we’re having a great time surfing the internet or binge-watching the latest reality tv show.

Interested in working with a professional to address motivation and build life-changing habits? Schedule a free 15 minute consultation with us here.

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