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Beth Evans
29th July, 2024
Do you struggle with getting started with chores or school work? Try out some of these motivation hacks and apps!
@befmakesart
Pairing Tasks
This hack is a great one for when motivation is lacking and you don't want to spend a long time doing 'boring' things becaue it esentially doubles the amount you get done at a time. For me, this looks like playing some music, cooking my dinner and seeing how much i can get done around the house before the pasta overboils! Try to pair one thing that you enjoy with one thing you need to do that way there isn't so much aversion to getting out of bed and starting the task which i find is normally the hardest part. Once i get started, it's fine and quite often the 'boring' things aren't even that boring!
You can try saving your favourite podcast for when you're writing that report you can't stand. Watching the next episode of your favourite show only if you're folding your laundry whilst it's playing or facetiming your friends to provide some entertainment whilst you tidy your room. This leads us nicely into our next tip!
Body Doubling and Mirroring
Body Doubling is a productivity stratergy quite often used by people with ADHD to help them stay on task and engaged with that task. This doesn't mean the person you are doubling with has to be actively involved in your task, even just being in the same room as someone whilst you do your thing can help. There are a few different ways to practice this.
Firstly is what i call active, in-person body doubling. This is where you ask a friend or family memeber if you can work where they are or you and your friends head out the library for a study session. Next up is passive body doubling. This is where the people you're doubling aren't doing it intentionally. This is good for when your community are busy or you don't want to risk getting distracted. You can head out to a coffee shop and double with the laptop users there - you might already do this without realising why it's helping!
There's also virtual body doubling. Facetiming your friends whilst you do household chores is one example of this. You could also find a 'study with me' video on youtube - Jack Edwards even does 'Read with me' videos if focusing on a novel is something you find difficult. These can be extra helpful if you play them on your phone because then you can't get distracted swiping on another app or playing mobile games!
There are even apps programmed to help with body doubling and mirroring (mirroring is when the other person is doing the same activity and you match their actions and pace to stay on task - another good method to try out!) Check out Flown here for group deep focus video call sessions, meditation sessions and morning routine sessions with journalling and weekly planning! Deepwrk is a similar idea with the option for setting personal timers and shwoing you motivational quotes and listening to instrumental music in a genre of your choice. You can also use it to make to do lists, which can be shared with the Deepwrk Community so you have both acountability when reaching your goals and a dopamine hit when you tick them off - it literally sends confetti across your screen in celebration!
Keeping your Shoes on!
This is an absoloute classic. If you need to do something, put your shoes on and keep them on until you've finished the task! I find this works especially well if i've gotten back from work and i know there's loads of chores i need to do - or even just helping me make sure i go to the kitchen and cook something to eat. If i sit down and scroll, it is so hard to get back up. If i have my shoes on, i can't get too cosy and it keeps me in 'work mode' because i haven't made the transition back to home mode (taking my shoes off and putting comfy clothes on). If you're someone who gets stuck in wait mode quite easily, this can be useful then too. It won't work for everyone but it might be worth a go!
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