Great write up Taylor. Thank you for writing about a term that is thrown around quite often these days.
Another concept to add to this discussion is "cognitive load".
It refers to how much load our working memory can handle at a given time. By doing things that externalize tasks like, using a visual timer on your desk, instead of telling yourself you'll stop in 20 minute, you reduce the cognitive load.
People with ADHD working memory deficits so making things "cheaper" can be a big help to get things done.
The more you can come up with ways to accommodate the way your brain thinks, the more you can reduce cognitive load. Combine a "cheaper task" with a "higher reward" and you can have a recipe for success.
Yes, this is an excellent point! The idea of cognitive load is so helpful. The way you use the metaphor of making the cognitive load "cheaper" makes the idea really accessible and actionable.
Hello, thank you so much for this article. I am just wondering...it's a nice suggestion to use external rewards. But what could this be? How could this look like? Do you have any ideas? Thank you so much :)
Yeah! So in his self-help book "Taking Charge of Adult ADHD," Barkley actually gives examples of rewards that he gives himself after finishing 5 pages of writing: make a cappuccino, play one song on the guitar, eat a piece of chocolate, and look out the window and appreciate the view.
If someone wanted to try Barkley's method, I'd suggest thinking of things that you could enjoy during a 5-min break from a task. For me, that might include light a scented candle, take a walk around the block, snuggle on the couch with my cat, or use a foam roller to massage my back.
I see external rewards recommended for ADHDers constantly, but I will say that anecdotally I've heard people say that this strategy just doesn't work for them. I think it's worth trying but it definitely may not be helpful, or it might only help in specific situations.
Thank you. This are some good examples. I tried the technique for myself in the past and the results where quite mixed. For example, I was telling myself I could make a nice cup of tea afterwards and that would result in endless internal discussions why I couldn't have the tea right now, wouldn't it be way nicer to do the work WITH a cup of tea. This makes me wonder how the overlap of people and the four tendencies from Gretchen Rubin are. I am more of a Questioning Rebel, Rebellious Questioner depending on some factors, so setting rules for myself does not work unless a) following the rule is fun or b) I totally see the benefits of it.
But then again: I tried these technique when I was still assuming I was neurotypical and just trying out soome methos from HowToADHD because, well, they helped, so why wonder about it?
I will think about what has changed since my self-realization and give this technique another go. I would also say that it really depends on the situation. Not that I think about it: what I think have more implemented in my life is making myself comfortable. Like a cup of tea during working, listening to asmr or music while working, just trying to make it a more appealing experience to do the work can help to get into working mode better. Yes, sometimes it also increases distraction, but well, accepting that I sometimes simply cannot work as I wish to is important. It means that I take myself serious.
Orion Kelley just posted a video: "Autism feels like oversharing is small talk" and somehow the substack comment section feels like this for me. But then: what are we here for? We're here for the real experience.
So thank you again for your reply, that clarified my questions :)
Yes I feel you SO much on the "but wouldn't it be nicer to just do my work WITH a cup of tea"? 😂
I love your point about making yourself more comfortable. That approach tends to speak to me personally much more than a reward -- basically, what is the way to make this unpleasant task as pleasant as possible for me? And I love the way you say that honoring this is a form of taking yourself seriously.
I am very grateful for your generosity in sharing! Thank you so much for commenting and chatting with me about this.💖
On this topic, I feel drawn to bring up the subject of intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation. Giving yourself "rewards" for completing goals is very much an extrinsic motivation, albeit one you have made for yourself. In my experience, that is less effective than the intrinsic motivation of appreciating the value of achieving a goal and has a feel of somehow "tricking" yourself into doing something - not necessarily a problem in itself, but can lead to a feeling of ... cheapening? ... the achievement and possibly making the reward less effective in the longer run. Whereas the intrinsic motivation of doing the thing because you want to ... or need to ... to get to where you want to be or as a step to getting what you really want ... can have more of a tendency to build self-confidence and self-esteem.
Of course, trying to operate solely using intrinsic motivation may involve recognising that some tasks are just not worth doing! But then prioritising is an important skill, too 🙂
Yes, thats so true. I also remember that from my psychology lecture and what really sticked with me was that students who where given external rewards did enjoy the task less and also did it less in the future whereas the students who where not externally rewarded felt more joy and also the task more or the same in the future. I also like your point about prioritising. Also, prioritising in itself is such a paradox: there is only one priority, only one first thing. There are no priorities. Only one priority. We can shift our priority from time to time because the demands of the world and our goals shift and change, but we can only have one priority at a time.
Thank you for this interesting article. This may be barking up the wrong tree, but this debate being based around lab testing vs self reporting reminds me of the deep misunderstandings by non-autistic researchers of autism who, observing what they perceived as "abnormal" behaviours, developed a deficit model without ever actually asking autistic people what purpose those behaviours served for them.
The autistic community, in coming together and discussing these behaviours and how they relate to internal experience, have reached very different conclusions about autism and autistic "behaviours", especially in relation to society, non-autistic culture and behaviour and trauma.
Slowly, some of this understanding is seeping into research, in large part through the work of actually autistic researchers (e.g. Damien Milton, who developed the theory of the double empathy problem), which we can hope will eventually lead to a paradigm shift in broader understanding of autism.
It would be fascinating to know how much proponents of each of these schools of thought on ADHD think personal experience of ADHD worthy of consideration in the context of their studies, and whether any research has sought to combine lab test results with self-reporting on experience of those lab tests by ADHD vs non-ADHD individuals. i.e. did ADHD individuals do anything different in preparation for the tests, feel any differently about how easy or hard the tests were to complete, feel differently after the tests (e.g. needing recovery time or to reschedule other activities) or, indeed, have any different issues/ experiences around attending for the tests (e.g. arriving at the correct time, feeling stress/anxiety about being on time, finding the location, etc.)
One would hope that the importance of the internal experience of ADHD, autism and other neurodivergences is becoming more recognised in the world of psychological research - but scepticism can be hard to shake off, in the face of such blatant disregard as has been exhibited by some, historically.
Great write up Taylor. Thank you for writing about a term that is thrown around quite often these days.
Another concept to add to this discussion is "cognitive load".
It refers to how much load our working memory can handle at a given time. By doing things that externalize tasks like, using a visual timer on your desk, instead of telling yourself you'll stop in 20 minute, you reduce the cognitive load.
People with ADHD working memory deficits so making things "cheaper" can be a big help to get things done.
The more you can come up with ways to accommodate the way your brain thinks, the more you can reduce cognitive load. Combine a "cheaper task" with a "higher reward" and you can have a recipe for success.
Yes, this is an excellent point! The idea of cognitive load is so helpful. The way you use the metaphor of making the cognitive load "cheaper" makes the idea really accessible and actionable.
Hello, thank you so much for this article. I am just wondering...it's a nice suggestion to use external rewards. But what could this be? How could this look like? Do you have any ideas? Thank you so much :)
Yeah! So in his self-help book "Taking Charge of Adult ADHD," Barkley actually gives examples of rewards that he gives himself after finishing 5 pages of writing: make a cappuccino, play one song on the guitar, eat a piece of chocolate, and look out the window and appreciate the view.
If someone wanted to try Barkley's method, I'd suggest thinking of things that you could enjoy during a 5-min break from a task. For me, that might include light a scented candle, take a walk around the block, snuggle on the couch with my cat, or use a foam roller to massage my back.
I see external rewards recommended for ADHDers constantly, but I will say that anecdotally I've heard people say that this strategy just doesn't work for them. I think it's worth trying but it definitely may not be helpful, or it might only help in specific situations.
Thank you. This are some good examples. I tried the technique for myself in the past and the results where quite mixed. For example, I was telling myself I could make a nice cup of tea afterwards and that would result in endless internal discussions why I couldn't have the tea right now, wouldn't it be way nicer to do the work WITH a cup of tea. This makes me wonder how the overlap of people and the four tendencies from Gretchen Rubin are. I am more of a Questioning Rebel, Rebellious Questioner depending on some factors, so setting rules for myself does not work unless a) following the rule is fun or b) I totally see the benefits of it.
But then again: I tried these technique when I was still assuming I was neurotypical and just trying out soome methos from HowToADHD because, well, they helped, so why wonder about it?
I will think about what has changed since my self-realization and give this technique another go. I would also say that it really depends on the situation. Not that I think about it: what I think have more implemented in my life is making myself comfortable. Like a cup of tea during working, listening to asmr or music while working, just trying to make it a more appealing experience to do the work can help to get into working mode better. Yes, sometimes it also increases distraction, but well, accepting that I sometimes simply cannot work as I wish to is important. It means that I take myself serious.
Orion Kelley just posted a video: "Autism feels like oversharing is small talk" and somehow the substack comment section feels like this for me. But then: what are we here for? We're here for the real experience.
So thank you again for your reply, that clarified my questions :)
Yes I feel you SO much on the "but wouldn't it be nicer to just do my work WITH a cup of tea"? 😂
I love your point about making yourself more comfortable. That approach tends to speak to me personally much more than a reward -- basically, what is the way to make this unpleasant task as pleasant as possible for me? And I love the way you say that honoring this is a form of taking yourself seriously.
I am very grateful for your generosity in sharing! Thank you so much for commenting and chatting with me about this.💖
On this topic, I feel drawn to bring up the subject of intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation. Giving yourself "rewards" for completing goals is very much an extrinsic motivation, albeit one you have made for yourself. In my experience, that is less effective than the intrinsic motivation of appreciating the value of achieving a goal and has a feel of somehow "tricking" yourself into doing something - not necessarily a problem in itself, but can lead to a feeling of ... cheapening? ... the achievement and possibly making the reward less effective in the longer run. Whereas the intrinsic motivation of doing the thing because you want to ... or need to ... to get to where you want to be or as a step to getting what you really want ... can have more of a tendency to build self-confidence and self-esteem.
Of course, trying to operate solely using intrinsic motivation may involve recognising that some tasks are just not worth doing! But then prioritising is an important skill, too 🙂
Yes, thats so true. I also remember that from my psychology lecture and what really sticked with me was that students who where given external rewards did enjoy the task less and also did it less in the future whereas the students who where not externally rewarded felt more joy and also the task more or the same in the future. I also like your point about prioritising. Also, prioritising in itself is such a paradox: there is only one priority, only one first thing. There are no priorities. Only one priority. We can shift our priority from time to time because the demands of the world and our goals shift and change, but we can only have one priority at a time.
Thank you for this interesting article. This may be barking up the wrong tree, but this debate being based around lab testing vs self reporting reminds me of the deep misunderstandings by non-autistic researchers of autism who, observing what they perceived as "abnormal" behaviours, developed a deficit model without ever actually asking autistic people what purpose those behaviours served for them.
The autistic community, in coming together and discussing these behaviours and how they relate to internal experience, have reached very different conclusions about autism and autistic "behaviours", especially in relation to society, non-autistic culture and behaviour and trauma.
Slowly, some of this understanding is seeping into research, in large part through the work of actually autistic researchers (e.g. Damien Milton, who developed the theory of the double empathy problem), which we can hope will eventually lead to a paradigm shift in broader understanding of autism.
It would be fascinating to know how much proponents of each of these schools of thought on ADHD think personal experience of ADHD worthy of consideration in the context of their studies, and whether any research has sought to combine lab test results with self-reporting on experience of those lab tests by ADHD vs non-ADHD individuals. i.e. did ADHD individuals do anything different in preparation for the tests, feel any differently about how easy or hard the tests were to complete, feel differently after the tests (e.g. needing recovery time or to reschedule other activities) or, indeed, have any different issues/ experiences around attending for the tests (e.g. arriving at the correct time, feeling stress/anxiety about being on time, finding the location, etc.)
One would hope that the importance of the internal experience of ADHD, autism and other neurodivergences is becoming more recognised in the world of psychological research - but scepticism can be hard to shake off, in the face of such blatant disregard as has been exhibited by some, historically.