How to Stop Getting Distracted With ADHD

Episode Summary

Adults with ADHD often get distracted and have trouble staying on task, not because they can’t focus, but because competing thoughts, sensory input, and emotional signals more easily pull their attention.

This episode explains what many ADHD adults mean when they say they’re “getting distracted,” how attention regulation and filtering work differently in ADHD, and why redirecting attention can take so much effort.

It also covers how planning, reducing competing input, and making a clear decision about what you’re doing right now can minimize getting distracted and support follow-through for ADHD adults.

What You’ll Learn About ADHD and Distractions:

• What “getting distracted” often means for adults with ADHD, including difficulty filtering information and reorienting attention
• How top-down attentional control and bottom-up attention pulls affect focus for ADHD adults
• Why working memory challenges and transitions make it easier to lose your place and get distracted mid-task
• How emotional dysregulation and overload can interrupt attention and task persistence
• How planning, reducing competing input, and deciding “I’m doing this and not that” can help ADHD adults stay engaged with what matters

Transcript:

(00:02)

A client recently said to me, “I seem to be attracted to distractions.” Like him, you may be too.

You’ve tuned into Reimagining Productivity with ADHD, a podcast for ADHD adults like you who want to learn how to adopt the best strategies, tools, and skills to get your essential work done in a way that works with the way your brain is wired.

I’m Marla Cummins, an ADHD coach and executive function coach, and I’m glad you decided to join me today on this journey toward finding your way to doing what matters most to you without trying to do it like everyone else.

Contrary to what many people think, it’s not that adults with ADHD can’t pay attention. It’s that we tend to pay attention to too much in our environment, unless we learn how to put some guardrails up so that we can stay with what’s most important to us.

(01:01)

That’s what we’re going to talk about today.

So when we say that we’re getting distracted, what we often mean is that our brain is taking in too much information and we can’t filter it out well enough to focus on what we intended. The energy needed to redirect can feel so immense that it sometimes feels like Sisyphus pushing a boulder up the mountain.

We can try, but sometimes it just doesn’t work.

You may want to consider other factors that contribute to your tendency to get distracted, but today I’m going to focus on the ones related to ADHD because, well, that’s what I do.

(02:17) Why Do ADHD Adults Get Distracted So Easily?

First, we can think of ADHD as a regulation disorder due to several factors.

One factor involves brain chemistry and brain networks. You’ve probably heard about dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and other neurotransmitters. The simplest way to think about it is not that you’re missing these neurotransmitters, but that the signaling and regulation in certain brain circuits is less efficient and less consistent, especially in areas that help you focus, prioritize, and regulate your emotions.

When the system isn’t regulating smoothly, it’s harder to aim your attention and keep it there without getting distracted.

That brings us to what is commonly referred to as difficulties with top-down attentional control.

(03:40) Are Internal Thoughts More Distracting Than External Noise?

That doesn’t mean you can’t control your attention. It just means that it’s harder to engage and sustain, sometimes much harder, and more easily overridden.

So instead of attention flowing from goals downward, attention gets pulled bottom-up by whatever is new, loud, emotional, interesting, or urgent.

That competing pull might be internal, like your own thoughts, which can lead to daydreaming or shifting to new ideas. Or it might be external, like what’s in your environment, including sensory overload from stimuli such as sounds, smells, or even textures that make it hard to concentrate.

For example, let’s say you’re writing an email and your phone buzzes. If you were able to exert top-down control, you might say, “Oh, my phone is buzzing, but I’m going to keep writing this email.”

(04:52)

With an ADHD brain, the bottom-up pull might say, “Oh, a notification. Let’s see what that’s about.”

Let’s take another example. You’re working on a presentation for work and you suddenly think about a book you’re interested in. If you were effectively able to exert top-down control, you might write the name of the book on a piece of paper and then continue on with your work.

But with the bottom-up pull, before you know it, you’re online looking for the book and deciding what format you might want to get it in.

By the way, the reason you may engage in hyperfocus is related to the same dynamic. Your attention gets pulled by bottom-up stimulation, and we know hyperfocus can be its own sort of distraction, even though sometimes it can be a superpower.

(05:45)

Aside from competing stimuli, working memory challenges can also contribute to being prone to distractions because there’s a limited amount of space to hold information.

When you get waylaid by something, you may forget what you were initially doing. Or you may decide to pursue an idea that pops into your head because you’re afraid you’ll forget it later.

The last possible reason related to ADHD that I’ll share is challenges with emotional regulation. That is, you may get overwhelmed by emotions or anxious thoughts and then abandon a task because of those feelings.

I’m sure you can think of other reasons related to ADHD that make you get distracted, but let’s get on with exploring what you can do to minimize your chances of getting distracted in the moment and how to get back on track when you do inevitably get distracted. Because, well, you will.

(06:51)

The first thing you can do to minimize the chances of getting distracted is to plan for those things that typically get in your way of staying on task.

So you avoid being the Jack in the Box. You know, those times when you say to yourself, “I’ll just get up and do this one thing” or “I’ll just get this one thing.”

Obviously, one reason to do this is so that you can work effectively because you have everything you need before you start working. But the other reason to avoid these transitions is that there’s a greater chance that you’ll get distracted during these times.

Perhaps because of something that gets your attention or because of working memory challenges, you simply forget what you were doing. And the thing that distracts you during that transition could be totally unrelated to either the thing you were initially doing or the thing you decided to do or get. It happens, right?

(07:48) What Helps ADHD Adults Stay Focused Before Starting a Task?

So, as you’re planning to sit down for the task at hand, think of and get as much of what you need as possible.

Are there documents or emails that you need to have at hand to do the task? For example, do you need a sweater, water, coffee, anything like that? You get it.

It’s also helpful to have a large sheet of paper next to you, not a sticky, but a large white piece of paper that you can write things down on as they pop into your head, so you won’t worry about forgetting them or feel compelled to take care of them in the moment.

Perhaps even better than a sheet of paper, and what I use, is a notebook, a cheap one from Staples. At the end of the day, I process all my random notes, throw away the piece of paper, and start over the next day.

(08:38)

You may also decide to turn off the ringer notifications from your phone and only allow ones from certain people to get through.

If your phone is a big distraction, you may choose to use an app blocker or the Brick, which they describe as a physical device that temporarily removes distracting apps and their notifications from your phone. I’ve included links to these in the podcast show notes on my website.

And of course, if you take medication to treat your ADHD, you’ll want to think about the timing of when you want to be most focused and, if possible, consider timing when you take your medication for those moments.

(10:00)
Exercise anytime each day can also help improve focus, attention, and mood for ADHD adults because of the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.

However, when it comes to managing distractions, exercising just before you’re about to do your most intensive work can have an outsized impact.

It’s also really important to have a list beside you of exactly what you plan to do each day with the time you have available. That is, you need to make a decision: I’m doing this and not that.

All of the things you’re not doing could become distractions if you let them. This is one of my favorite mantras.

Some people have a list on a whiteboard. I write mine in the notebook I just referred to. I also have a task manager that, as of this recording, probably has a hundred tasks. Each day, I write down just what I’m going to do that day so those other tasks aren’t such a distraction.

(11:57) How Do ADHD Adults Cope With Distractions While Working?

For some, it’s also helpful to identify a time when you’re going to do the other tasks or projects you’re not working on that day so you can be more confident they won’t get lost and you don’t need to keep thinking about them.

If throughout your day you’re looking at or thinking about everything on your task list, wherever it may be, it can be overwhelming and distracting. You may think, “I should be doing X.”

So again, decide what you’re going to do each day and remind yourself, “I’m doing this and not that.”

Before you start working, it’s also helpful to identify the entry point that’s possible for you to take action. If there’s friction from the get-go because you’re not sure how to start, there’s a greater chance you’ll get distracted by something that looks more interesting or easier than what you intended to do.

When you can, choose to do the heavy cognitive lifting at a time that works best for you. If you’re really wiped out, it’s going to be hard to work, and yes, you’ll be more likely to get distracted.

It’s also helpful to have a buffer between tasks to ground yourself. It could be a short walk, listening to music, whatever works for you.

(13:14)

So what about when it’s time to actually do the work? What can help minimize distractions then?

For some people, body doubling, either in person or virtually using a video platform or a site like Focusmate, can be helpful because you’re less likely to get distracted when you’re mirroring the behavior of another person.

While you’re working, it can also help to give your floating attention something neutral to do, so it doesn’t keep pulling you off task. Everyone has some floating attention. Adults with ADHD tend to have more of it.

If you give it a job, like listening to music, walking on a treadmill, working in a café, or even having the TV on quietly in the background, it may actually help you work. I even had a client who listened to the TV while she worked, and it helped her focus.

(14:22) How Do Emotions and Dysregulation Increase ADHD Distraction?

For many ADHD adults, having a small amount of background stimulation makes it easier to stay with the task they’ve chosen.

At the same time, it’s important to learn to be okay with some discomfort as you’re working, so you don’t automatically turn away from the task and get distracted by something that feels easier or more interesting.

When you feel yourself becoming dysregulated while working, which of course is a distraction, take time to identify the feeling and what you need in that moment.

Do you need to take a break and ground yourself? Is there something you need to take care of rather than continuing to work? Or can you identify a later time when you’ll take care of what’s causing the dysregulation, perhaps by talking to someone else about it?

Ignoring your feelings can make it harder to work effectively because the undercurrent is still there. You may be sort of working and sort of not working, while also not taking care of yourself.

Helpful self-talk can guide you as you work, such as reminding yourself, “I’m doing this and not that,” or reminding yourself why you chose to do the task, even if it’s not intrinsically interesting or feels hard.

(15:24)

Last, before I close for today, one of the most important things you can do so you can continue doing this hard work of trying to minimize distractions and stay on task is to give yourself self-compassion in the moments when the strategies just don’t work.

As irony would have it, while I was working on this podcast, I got it into my head that I wanted to figure out how to use Google Lens to identify an earring because I lost the mate and wanted to see if I could buy a similar pair. I decided to go with it for 15 minutes, because sometimes it just is what it is.

(16:11)

What I hope you’re taking away from this episode is that for ADHD adults, having trouble staying on task and not getting distracted is often about how much your brain is taking in, how well it can filter, and whether you’ve made clear decisions about what you’re doing in the moment.

When you can plan, reduce competing input, and remind yourself, “I’m doing this and not that,” you give your brain a better chance to stay with what matters most.

That’s it for now. If this resonated with you and you’d like more strategies for working with your ADHD, follow the podcast so you don’t miss future episodes. Click “like” so more people who might benefit can find it.

Until next time, this has been Reimagining Productivity with ADHD. I’m Marla Cummins, reminding you that ADHD doesn’t define you, but how you work with it can shape what’s possible.

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ADHD and Preventing Distractions Resources:

• Learn how to plan better with my Free Guide: 6 Common Planning Mistakes Adults with ADHD Make.
• See how Brick can remove distracting apps from your phone.
• You can also use Freedom, an app & website blocker.
• Ready to body double? Try Focusmate, a virtual coworking service.
• Discover why body doubling, a form of accountability, is so helpful for ADHD adults.