What is ADHD goal setting? At some point in our lives, we have all made goals for the betterment of the same lives. Goals are important to move forward in life itself but completing or fulfilling them is not an easy task. One has to follow through and trail behind these goals in order to get to them. This can especially be difficult for people who are suffering from ADHD (you probably have an idea about it but we’ll talk a little more on this). In this piece of writing, we are essentially going to talk about how to set goals with ADHD, so let’s start.
What is ADHD?
ADHD, which is abbreviated from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is capable of affecting the executive functioning of the affected individual with its onset usually happening during childhood.
You may be wondering about executive functioning. You might also be asking what it is essentially. Well, when symptoms that are commonly associated with ADHD, such as restlessness, hyperactivity, excessive energy, inability to focus on a single task, disorganization, overthinking-type anxiety and last but not least, procrastination contribute to impairing the daily life of the affected individual, we are essentially saying that the executive functioning is affected. This is because these ADHD symptoms are essentially able to interfere with daily life activities so prominently that it becomes debilitating for the affected individual to sustain a productive daily routine let alone complete work or school-related tasks or even maintain relationships properly. By looking at this, you can realize ADHD can be as debilitating as disorders such as schizophrenia or eating disorders.
Read More: Understanding Time Blindness ADHD Symptom
But how does all this relate to ADHD goal setting? Let’s find out!
What is ADHD Goal Setting?
Goal setting is just the usual process of setting up goals and trying to complete them. While ADHD is debilitating, in some instances it can be a superpower. One such instance can be when you have some goals and want to complete these goals. Let’s put it in a better way. ADHD is indeed impairing but rather than looking at the weaknesses it can bring about in you, you should look at its strengths, which can be used to fulfill what you want in life. Just like dyslexic students cannot read but are essentially way more creative than people with normal brains, ADHD also has its strengths such as the ability to go into hyperfocus mode, which makes everything ultra interesting and helps you focus on that task at least for some time. For goal setting in ADHD, we can essentially use that to our benefit. Let’s discuss how.
Read More: Hyperfocus in ADHD: What is it?
Setting Goals With ADHD
Let’s start with grouping for setting goals with ADHD. If we are able to differentiate different goals according to their types, we’ll be able to recognize which of these will be easier to achieve with the help of ADHD’s symptoms. Here are the ways you can classify different goals according to their types:
Learning Goals
ADHDers are fond of and shine through when it comes to trailing the learning goals. Learning goals are easier on ADHD-affected individuals because these goals tend to involve research, which they love to do. An example would be that an ADHD goer is learning a new hobby, you know something like calligraphy, which due to the sheer interest, the affected individual will get into with hyper-focused intensity. This is great for when you as an ADHD-affected individual want to learn new things as part of your goal journey because at the end of it that very same individual will probably come out learning that new skill.
Read More: What is Executive Dysfunction ADHD? Causes, Symptoms, And Treatments
Performance Goals
When it comes to ADHD goal setting, performance goals are a bit tricky as performance-related things and ADHD don’t mix well. For example, you have essentially learned the basics of coding but when it’s time to create actual software, now that would be difficult with ADHD at the back of your brain. Sticking with a project that involves actually performing, takes organizational skills to sift through the process seamlessly but with ADHD around, you essentially lack the very same organizational skills. Affected individuals will always fail to see the bigger picture and prioritize their tasks properly, making reaching the end of performance goals a bit daunting as it would in something like bipolar disorder.
Short-Term Goals
Like learning goals, short-term goals also tend to be easier on you if you are asking questions such as “How to accomplish goals with ADHD?”. ADHD thrives in the realms of instant gratification and the completion of short-term goals can exactly be that. Researchers have termed this phenomenon as “delay discounting” and have found conclusive evidence that the need for instant gratification in ADHD people is actually genetic (Sanchez-Roige et al., 2018).
Read More: Normal Brain Vs ADHD Brain – How We Are Wired Differently
Long-Term Goals
In contrast to short-term goals, waiting months or years to reap the benefits of a long-term goal will be difficult, if not impossible. For example, if your long-term goal was to become a pilot, you would need to join a flying school, possibly get a degree in a related field, and accumulate flying hours to get a flying license, you will need a lot of time and pre-planning both of which are impaired in terms of ADHD goal setting. The only way to do that would be doing something by setting numerous short-term goals, otherwise you as an affected individual will end up with depression because of the low self-esteem that can stem from not completing your long-term goals.
Goal Setting, ADHD Style
To overcome and circumvent the difficulties of long-term and performance goals, you can try goal-setting, ADHD style, where you can essentially create smart goals for ADHD. How can you do that? Well, use the strengths of ADHD against its weaknesses:
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Make goal-setting meaningful
Remember when we said if you as an affected individual are interested in doing something, then that person will put their entire focus on doing that thing and will fulfill all the related goals. You can retain that interest if you make your goal-setting with ADHD more meaningful. This increases the likelihood of following through with your goals even when your momentum wanes, because these goals are important to you and are what truly matters.
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Reflect on the emotions more
If you exchange tangible goals with emotion-based goals, you will see a big difference in your ADHD goal setting, and that too in a positive way. You will be more interested in completing your goals if you believe you will get happiness from it rather than what material benefit it will provide.
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Make your goals less outcome-based
If you set goals like “By the time I am 25 I will be a rockstar,” then you might end up becoming disappointed. If you make them interest-based and all about the process, for example learning different types of musical instruments by 25, then you can become more successful through ADHD goal setting.
Read More: Psychotherapy For ADHD in Adults
How To Set Goals With ADHD Using Treatment
ADHD and goal setting, both can become easier for the affected individual if one seeks treatment. Treatment can be something like psychotherapy, which is a talk therapy that helps people look inward into their problematic behavior, so resolutions can be found for them, or something like psychiatric medication management, which is essentially a monitored version of medication such as Ritalin that can make everything related to ADHD goal setting a lot easier and less daunting, even when it comes to difficult goals.
Wrapping Up!
ADHD goals or not, goal setting is an important part of life and should not be ignored. Treatment and goal-setting, ADHD style can really help. If you are looking for treatment such as the ones mentioned above or flexible options such as telehealth psychiatry, then look no further than Inland Empire Behavioral Group, because we are not adept at treating ADHD but other problems such as psychosis too. Looking forward to your treatment.
