Whether you are managing ADHD or fighting some other battle, you can sometimes feel like you are climbing a mountain. Climbing a mountain is daunting and takes hard work, as does battling ADHD. If you are on a mountain, there are some things you should know.

One thing that I have always struggled with is: What is normal? What is it like to not have ADHD? I am always going to have some level of distractibility. Even non-ADHDers do. So, where should I be? When it comes to treating and managing ADHD, am I where I should be? Do I need to be doing more? Do I need to up the dosage of my medication? Do I need to switch medications? Do I need more coping skills? Do I have non-ADHD issues getting in the way of managing my ADHD?

I am an introvert. Small talk is the worst. Meeting new people is excruciating. However, ever since I have started this job, meeting new people has become easier. Instead of feeling nervous about what to say, I yearn to be asked what I do for a living because I love talking about ADHD and my job. I have found that meeting someone I have never met for coaching does not give me the same uncomfortable uneasiness it once did. I find it exciting now.

Everybody always shares the same old advice for time management. The three big ones are: Plan on more time than you think you need (approximately 1.5–2 times as much time as you think you need) to do a task, aim to be 15–30 minutes early for everything, and use timers/alarms/planners. You’d think after years of people saying these things that everyone would be so much better at time management, but they are not.

The struggles an ADHDer faces on a daily basis can take a toll on their mental health. When you mess up as much as an ADHDer does, you start to believe the negative messages you hear both from internal and external sources. This is especially relevant if the ADHD diagnosis does not happen early in childhood. The longer one goes without an ADHD diagnosis, the more one wonders, “What is wrong with me? I must lazy and/or dumb.”

Recently, I was talking about ADHD to a group of college students, and I said, “Basically, if humans do it, ADHD affects it. I had ten minutes to explain all of ADHD to these students (NOT ENOUGH TIME!), so I did not take the time to expand on that. However, I will here!

Life with an ADHDer is not always easy, but it is rarely boring. I was reflecting recently about all of the ADHD things I do that will one affect my future wife. I have compiled this list in the hopes that it might inspire you to warn your future spouse about life with you. If you are already married, feel free to enjoy the craziness that follows.

Welcome to BOREDOM BUSTER! This is a new series of blog posts that I am introducing to help you find ways of getting rid of the boredom of certain mundane tasks to which ADHD brains have an aversion. How often will these BOREDOM BUSTER posts come out? I have no idea. Don’t expect them with any regularity.