I had a realization the other day that I can’t stop thinking about.
Over the past few years, I’ve often wondered why the standard behavioral treatment for ADHD only includes task and time management, when I believe mind and pull management are also critical.
Here’s my realization: mind and pull management aren’t discussed because non-ADHD minds don’t rely on them.
The productivity needs of non-ADHD minds have shaped our understanding of productivity
What techniques make productivity easier for non-ADHD minds with higher executive function levels? Task and time management. It’s hard for anyone to keep track of all the tasks they need to get done and to visualize how best to allocate limited time towards those tasks. So productivity has become synonymous with task and time management.
Mind and pull management, on the other hand, are important for adapting to low executive function levels. Mind management techniques restore executive function whenever it drops throughout the day. Pull management makes it easier to start and continue working on a task even when executive function is low.
Non-ADHD minds tend to have higher executive function baselines, meaning they simply don’t have as strong a need for these techniques. So mind and pull management haven’t been on people’s radar. And when clinicians went looking for strategies to teach their clients with ADHD, these techniques largely weren’t there to be found.
ADHD minds need more than the standard productivity approach
Task and time management strategies are important for ADHD minds — but they aren’t enough. That’s why most ADHDers still struggle to get our work done, even when we’re trying to stay organized and manage our time well. For ADHD minds to thrive in their work, they need a productivity approach that was designed with them in mind.
A more robust productivity framework
My productivity framework reflects the needs of ADHD minds, but does that make it only applicable to them? I’ve always said that my framework can be used by anyone struggling with productivity, with or without ADHD. And now I can more clearly articulate why that is:
People who find themselves with depleted cognitive resources for any reason (e.g., due to high stress, less sleep, high work demand, or other factors) need the mind and pull management strategies to compensate for that. I developed these techniques to cope with low executive function due to ADHD, but there are many sources of cognitive depletion.
If your executive function is high, then you simply won’t find yourself needing to reach for the mind and pull management techniques as often. Though it will be helpful to have them as options for those times in your life when you do find yourself mentally drained.
Your productivity framework should be more than a fair-weather friend
We need more than a productivity toolbox that only helps you when you’re mentally sharp. We need tools that help when we’re mentally depleted and desperate for distractions. Task and time management can only help so much under these circumstances — the addition of mind and pull management strategies gives you the best chance of turning the situation around.
What do you think about the idea that the productivity needs of non-ADHD minds have shaped the productivity recommendations we make to people struggling with ADHD? And that this has resulted in a more limited productivity understanding for everyone?