Living with Adult ADHD: Practical Strategies
A practical worksheet of everyday strategies for adult ADHD - ways to work with your brain rather than against it by externalising what you need to remember and making it easier to get started. Includes a personal plan and a note on self-compassion.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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Living with Adult ADHD: Practical Strategies
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Working with your brain, not against it
The aim of this worksheet is simple: to work with your ADHD brain, not against it. Most ADHD strategies do two things. They externalise what you need to remember - getting it out of your head and into a calendar, a list, or somewhere you will see it - so you are not relying on memory that often lets you down. And they reduce the friction of getting started, because starting is frequently the hardest part. This is scaffolding, not willpower. You are not trying harder; you are setting things up so that the right thing is easier to do.
Strategies to try
Here are strategies that many adults with ADHD find helpful. Read through and tick a few that you would like to try - you do not need to do all of them. It is better to pick two or three and actually use them than to take on the whole list at once.
My plan
Now make it personal. Pick a few of your own challenges, choose a strategy to try for each, and decide exactly when and how you will use it. Being specific makes it far more likely to happen.
| # | Challenge (e.g. forgetting appointments, starting tasks, losing things) | Strategy I will try | When and how | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 |
Be kind to yourself
This part matters as much as the strategies. People with ADHD often grow up on the receiving end of a lifetime of criticism - to try harder, focus, get organised - and many become fiercely self-critical as a result. Please hear this: struggling with these things is part of how your ADHD brain works, not a character flaw or a sign that you are lazy or careless. The goal is to drop the shame and build the scaffolding. You deserve approaches that fit your brain, and patience with yourself while you find the ones that work.
Over to you
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When to use ‘Living with Adult ADHD: Practical Strategies’
‘Living with Adult ADHD: Practical Strategies’ is an interactive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) worksheet. As a core CBT skill it is used right across the model, with presentations including depression, anxiety, OCD, trauma and low self-esteem, rather than being tied to a single diagnosis.
It is designed to be used within therapy rather than as a standalone self-help tool: a therapist introduces it, works through it collaboratively, and helps make sense of what it surfaces. You can preview the full worksheet above, then assign it digitally for clients to complete between sessions on any device — or download it as a print-ready PDF.
How it works
Most people work through it in around 15 minutes. It moves through five short steps:
- Working with your brain, not against it — The aim of this worksheet is simple: to work with your ADHD brain, not against it. Most ADHD strategies do two things. They externalise…
- Strategies to try — Here are strategies that many adults with ADHD find helpful. Read through and tick a few that you would like to try - you do not need to do…
- My plan — Now make it personal. Pick a few of your own challenges, choose a strategy to try for each, and decide exactly when and how you will use…
- Be kind to yourself — This part matters as much as the strategies. People with ADHD often grow up on the receiving end of a lifetime of criticism - to try…
- Over to you
Completed on the Formulate platform, your client's answers are saved automatically and shared straight back to you, so you can review them before the next session rather than waiting for a paper copy to come back.
The CBT approach behind it
In common with other CBT methods, ‘Living with Adult ADHD: Practical Strategies’ works by noticing the links between situations, thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviour — and finding practical ways to change unhelpful patterns. The aim is not positive thinking but a clearer, shared understanding of what keeps a difficulty going — and practical, testable ways to change it.
Because it is a CBT tool it stays focused on the here-and-now links between thoughts, feelings, the body and behaviour, and it works best as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis.
Evidence & sources
This worksheet is grounded in established cognitive behavioural therapy theory and practice. Key sources include:
- Safren, S.A., Sprich, S., Perlman, C.A., & Otto, M.W. (2005). Mastering Your Adult ADHD: A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program, Therapist Guide. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Young, S. & Bramham, J. (2012). Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for ADHD in Adolescents and Adults (2nd ed.). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2018). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management (NICE guideline NG87). London: NICE.
For use alongside professional support
Formulate provides educational CBT resources for use with a qualified therapist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis, or crisis care.
If you need urgent help now:
- Emergency services: 999 — if you or someone else is in immediate danger
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- SANEline: 0800 689 5555 — 4:30pm–10:30pm, every day
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