Tag Archive for: adhd transitions

ADHD and Transition Time: Why Starting and Finishing Can Feel So Hard (and How to Make It Easier)

 

adhd and transition time

If you live with ADHD, you already know that the hardest parts of a task often aren’t the task itself. The real challenges can come with getting started, stopping when it’s time, or shifting from one thing to another. These challenges are initiation (starting), completion (finishing), and transition time (switching gears). These can take extra energy and feel overwhelming at times. While others may move smoothly from one step to the next, for those with ADHD, it can feel like slamming on the brakes or trying to start a car that just won’t turn over. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and there are ways to make these transitions easier and gentler on your mind and energy.

 

Why Transitioning Is Hard with ADHD

People with ADHD struggle with executive function, which is your brain’s system for planning, initiating, organizing, and following through. It can feel overwhelming to start even the smallest of projects because of multiple steps. Ending a task because of hyperfocus can feel impossible. You can feel resistance to switching between tasks and activities. The ADHD brain processes time, urgency, and priorities differently.

 

Strategies for initiation

Make starting a task or project easier with these cues.

  • Expect to use an initiation strategy for your hardest tasks and projects. Resistance with emotional regulation, such as feelings of fear or being overwhelmed, prevents you from beginning.
  • Use external signals to help you get started. Use a timer to begin any task. Once you start, most likely you will continue on that task.
  • Set a transition alarm and a starting alarm. That way you can finish up and prepare for the next action.
  • Curate music playlists as a cue to start your efforts. You can set up playlists for a variety of tasks such as organizing, cleaning, and working.
  • Start with the ridiculously easy. Lower the barrier to entry with micro-tasks. That can be “Put on Sneakers” instead of “Go for a Run.” Or it can be “Open laptop” instead of “write essay.”
  • Know the “why” behind the task. Getting the big picture can help you buy in to the task more fully.

 

Strategies for completion

Wrap up your work more easily.

  • Don’t expect your brain to wrap up. Cue your completion.
  • Start with external cues. Try alarms or calendar alerts. Place reminders where you’ll see or hear them so they can gently pull you out of your hyperfocus.
  • Instead of aiming to “work until it feels done,” define what that endpoint is. That could mean sending the email draft, uploading the file, or cleaning off your desk. A clear, concrete endpoint makes it easier to stop without feeling like you’re leaving things undone.
  • Tell someone when you plan to be finished, whether it’s a colleague, friend, or family member. Even a quick check-in text like, “I’m wrapping up by 5:30 today,” can provide the external nudge to actually stop and close out your work.
  • Create a wrap-up routine to finish your work. Write a note to yourself to share where you are finishing and the next steps.
  • Be mindful of your level of perfectionism. Most likely, it is more important to complete the task or project with 90% perfection. There is a saying, “Done is perfect.”

 

Build in Transition Time

Don’t expect your brain to shift instantly.

  • Create written buffer zones in your calendar for meetings that go longer, have heavier travel traffic, and require time to get out of the house.
  • Work backwards to create a workflow for a transition. Start with the finish line and work backwards, adding in all the steps to accomplish that task. Include all the transitions between steps.
  • Plan a pause. That can be 5 minutes of stretching, a short walk, or straightening your desk.
  • A transition routine like closing tabs, writing a to-do list, or changing environments

 

Getting started and wrapping up are two of the most common sticking points for people with ADHD. By breaking tasks into smaller steps, adding external cues, and building simple routines around starting and finishing, you can create smoother beginnings and clearer endings. Progress is about finding strategies that work for your brain and giving yourself credit for every step forward.

How to Simplify Back to School Transition

 

Back to school transition

 

Back. to. school. It’s time when we reset, organize, plan and set new routines.  It’s a transition from lots of free time to structure and deadlines.  Maybe transition is more difficult for you and your family?  We can simplify this transition with these tips.

 

Simple calendars and planners

Families + school time = dates and deadlines. Make it easy for you and your family and a calendar everyone can access. Google calendar is available on all devices to connect families to what’s due when, what needs to be purchased, and when will the parents be available.  Encourage your family to all populate the calendar during your family meeting.

 

Simple labels

Stuff gets lost and families don’t know where stuff goes. Make it easy with a label.  Label school binders, devices, lunch boxes and clothes. Label your pantry where lunch fixings are found.

 

Simple bedtime routines

The age old question of preparation for a shift in bedtimes. Parent ask, “do we start a week out with earlier bedtime or just have the kids crash the first week of school from exhaustion?” Only you know the kiddos in your home best. Take care of yourself with your own earlier bedtime the week before school starts. If you are well rested, everything will be better!

 

Simple laundry

Whittle down the loads this year with fewer clothes for everyone. Laundry and closet organizing work best with less.  How many items for each of you?  Start with just 7 sets of clothes that coordinate through a capsule wardrobe. It will save money and time!

 

Simple mornings

  • Family has been getting up later and later all summer. This transition is one of the biggest!  Getting up on time for school starts with everyone having an alarm clock.  Be sure these are set correctly the first few weeks of school, then practice getting up just a smidge earlier than you think.  Make morning simple by getting lunch and what you are wearing together the night before.
  • Place analog clocks in transition spots throughout your home. An analog clock helps you see time elapsing and helps you be on time.  Clocks are best in bathrooms, bedrooms, and by the exit and entry doors.
  • Use music to keep everyone energized and positive.  A morning playlist can be played at a low volume.

 

All transitions take time.  Celebrate the first day of school success!   Give yourself the opportunity to create a positive transition by scheduling less on the first weekends school is open. This extra time translates to more rest and more time like summer with less structure.  Keep spirits and energy high with family fun bike rides, ice cream sundae parties or family game night. Expect a few tears and set aside time to acknowledge the toughness of the first few weeks of school because of this transition.

 

More ideas on ADHD here in my newsletter.