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Homework started at 9 p.m., the presentation prepared the night before, the paperwork piling up: procrastination is very common in ADHD. It is not laziness. Here is why it happens and how to help someone get into action. Understanding its mechanisms makes it possible to find effective strategies.
Starting a task requires planning, organising and motivating oneself for something that is not immediately rewarding. These are precisely fragile functions in ADHD. The longer or vaguer a task seems, the harder it is to start.
You will find more details in the article ADHD and executive functions.
People with ADHD often struggle to perceive the passage of time and to anticipate a distant deadline. As long as the deadline is not close, the task does not seem urgent. Intermediate deadlines make the work more concrete.
Our article ADHD and organisation complements this advice.
Many people with ADHD work better under the pressure of urgency, which stimulates attention. However, this way of functioning is exhausting and a source of stress. It is better to create small artificial urgencies, with steps.
To go further, see ADHD and anxiety.
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Procrastination linked to ADHD is not a lack of willpower. The person often wants to do the task but cannot bring themselves to start. Understanding this mechanism helps us to be more compassionate.
Reproaches reinforce guilt without solving the problem.
The article ADHD and self-esteem looks at this question in detail.
A task broken down into small, concrete steps is easier to start. The first step should be very simple, such as taking out one’s exercise book. Once under way, the child often carries on more easily.
This point is explained step by step in Organising the homework of a child with ADHD.
Visual timer, displayed planner, intermediate deadlines: making time concrete helps with anticipating. Time then becomes easier to manage.
Working in short sessions, with breaks, is also easier.
To go further, read our article ADHD and diary.
Working alongside someone, having reminders, being supported by a coach or a therapist can help with getting into action. These external aids are often very effective.
We detail this point in ADHD Coaching.
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Because starting a task calls on functions that are fragile in ADHD. Starting is the hardest part.
No, the person often wants to do the task but cannot bring themselves to start. The relationship with time is particular.
By breaking tasks down, making time visible and working in short sessions. Break the tasks down.
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