March Madness

Ok, it is no longer March, but I do want to pay tribute to the fact that my team (University of Arizona) made it to the final four (unfortunately eliminated by University of Michigan, who won the Men’s NCAA championship today). I’m not a huge sports fan and don’t make March Madness brackets every year, but I do think they’re pretty fun when I do make them. Why am I telling you this? Well, I’ve been thinking about how useful brackets can be for ADHD!

Planning and prioritization are executive functioning skills that folks with ADHD tend to struggle with. This means that when we look at our to-do lists, we tend to weigh everything equally. This means that tasks that have deadlines or that we enjoy doing tend to be prioritized over tasks that may be more important. This also makes us vulnerable to experiencing task paralysis, where we feel so overwhelmed by everything that we have to do that we then feel completely stuck - unable to start even one of the tasks. So what does that have to do with brackets?

Instead of using a to-do list, which may leave us totally overwhelmed, we can make a task bracket! This is a bit of an adaptation of a prioritization matrix (this post will be way too long, if I describe a prioritization matrix, so you can read more about that through this article on SafetyCulture*).

In a task bracket, you will list all the tasks (chores, responsibilities, etc) that you have to do where you would normally put basketball teams. Then each task will face off against each other, until you find the task to focus on for today. Your criteria for what makes one task win over another can be based on what makes most sense to you - what is most urgent, what you feel most capable of (a low motivation day might mean the task that wins is the one that feels easier), or any other criteria. Below is an example of what a task bracket can look like.

I like this strategy for a couple of reasons. First, it allows us to conceptualize our to-do lists in ways that actually motivate us - competition, novelty, fun (see more about ADHD motivators in my previous post linked here). Second, it allows us to think about what we actually have the energy for or what is most important, forcing us to focus on one task, instead of focusing on how much we need to do. Even if we do something that feels like it is less of a priority, we’re still completing something that we need to do. My only word of caution is to watch out for hyperfocusing on creating the bracket!

To make your own bracket, you can download a blank form like my example, by clicking this link. You can also write it out yourself or use a bracket generator online at websites like: Free Bracket Generator or Bracket HQ.

As always, take what is helpful and leave the rest. I hope you have the week you need.

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*I have no affiliation with SafetyCulture and no knowledge about the product they sell