Controlling ADD without Medication

One doesn't simply control the ADD mind. One can only steer it in the right direction.

My mother sent me the following email:

Noah – I work with a woman whose son is 12 and struggles with concentration/focusing.  She would like to try to deal with this in a way other than medication at this point and I thought you would have some suggestions for her.  -mom

Here's my response:

Mom,

Master To-Do: I have had a lot of success keeping a single master list of "to-do" items. I prioritize them and rearrange them based on what I want to get done first. Anything that makes the list gets done at some point (sometimes it takes over a month, haha, but it always gets done).

Gaming Out: "Gamifying" tasks (turning them into a game) is a great way to incentivize the easily distracted mind to focus. The more instant the feedback we can receive for a task, the more we will want to do it again.

Perfectly Challenging: Sometimes it's hard for me to focus on a task if it is too easy (probably why I slept through a lot of classes except for science in high school). Crank up the difficulty! Add a real challenge. I will also say that if a task appears (or actually is) too difficult for me, it will make focusing on it much harder too. There's certainly a sweet spot, no doubt about that. 

Creative Outlets: When I am especially having trouble focusing, I will switch to a creative task (e.g. watercolor painting). A task like this requires me to focus in, I can enjoy it, and it helps me relax. When I need a break from high-logic computer tasks, I'll throw on some music and do some right brain activity to recharge. This can even just be doodling in a notebook. :)

I hope this helps. Medication can really kill creativity, and a kid that can learn to control his wandering mind wields a powerful tool for creating the future. It may not be terrible to experiment with medication for a while to develop some good habits and to give the kid a taste of a more focused mind. However, I strongly support never getting to a point where one relies on a substance to function.