Sometimes the ADHD brain loves to be off in the future, and struggles to be here, now. Here are some ways to gently guide the brain toward awareness in the now.

Start very tiny. Pick one small activity you do every day.
Making coffee
Brushing teeth
Pulling up the sheets on the bed

Today, while doing your chosen activity, think words in your head about the activity, something like, “Here I am making coffee.” Give yourself a phrase that describes what you’re doing. You can say it out loud or silently.

By putting words to the activity, you are activating the language network of the brain, which is in this quite magical region between the temporal and frontal lobes. In so doing, you are bringing a different level of awareness to your experience. You are bringing language to something that has become wordless. By activating this additional brain network, there’s more of your brain involved in that moment.

Then, notice just one breath. Don’t change the breath, just notice it. I am breathing in. I am breathing out. And, blammo! In this moment, you’ve connected your aware mind to the breath to the present moment. 

Now, repeat steps 2 – 4 tomorrow during the same activity. 

This is the way to do it, gently, in small steps, draw your attention to the thing you’re doing now. You will find that this awareness grows and expands as you make a habit of it. It’s a noticing of self-in-action. 

Just one thing, just one breath.